Trenitalia and Italo Treno have now BEGUN to upload their train schedules for SUMMER 2024 (beginning June 9)!!!
So far, I am seeing schedules for the Trenitalia FRECCIA and a few Intercity trains, as well as the Italo trains. Schedules for the Trenitalia Intercity and the unreserved Regionale (commuter) trains will be uploaded in due course, but perhaps not for several weeks.
In the meantime, I'm seeing fantastic discounted fares, such as:
Florence/Rome: 12.90 Euros on Trenitalia Frecciadays fare (Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Florence/Rome: 9.90 Euros on Italo Treno Extra Magic fare (Tues-Wed)
Venice/Rome: 22.90 Euros on Trenitalia Frecciadays fare (Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Venice/Rome: 17.90 Euros on Italo Treno Extra Magic fare (Tues-Wed)
Florence/Naples: 18.90 Euros on Trenitalia Frecciadays fare (Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Florence/Naples: 16.90 Euros on Italo Treno Extra Magic fare (Tues-Wed)
Afraid to book too early because your travel plans are not yet set in stone, or you're concerned about unexpected contingencies arising? No problem: buy the PARTIAL CANCELLATION OPTION simultaneous with ticket purchase. It costs only 2 Euros per ticket per leg of travel (e.g. Milan to Reggio di Calabria on one ticket with two different fast trains = 4 Euros),
Here are the simple rules:
TRENITALIA: you get a 90% refund as long as you cancel the ticket no later than 23:59 (Italy time) two days beforehand. The partial refund is usually given as a credit to your payment card BUT as a travel voucher (valid for 12 months of future Trenitalia travel) in the case of the Frecciadays and Speciale Frecce fares. See the full rules:
https://www.trenitalia.com/it/offerte_e_servizi/opzione-tirimborso.html
BEWARE: the English-language webpage is outdated and gives incomplete information!!!
ITALO TRENO: you get an 80% refund as long as you cancel the ticket no later than 72 hours beforehand.
The lowest of these discounted fares can yield a savings of up to 80%.
Also bear in mind that if you wait to purchase the ticket on the day of travel (or even the day beforehand), you may very well end up paying a PREMIUM over the "Base" fare (Trenitalia) or the "Flex" fare (Italo) which can be as high as 20%. The PREMIUM can vary according to route, day and time of travel, and can be higher during peak travel periods of the year (such as during the summer).
BE CAREFUL if you buy one of these discounted fares for travel IMMEDIATELY AFTER ARRIVAL BY PLANE IN ITALY: if you MISS your reserved train for whatever reason (e.g. late plane arrival, traffic jam getting to train station, etc.) you almost always stand to FORFEIT the ticket. Forfeiture can also occur if you have a "full-fare" ticket and are outside of the grace period. There are ways to reduce (but not eliminate) this forfeiture risk, which I have discussed here:
www.sloweurope.com
So far, I am seeing schedules for the Trenitalia FRECCIA and a few Intercity trains, as well as the Italo trains. Schedules for the Trenitalia Intercity and the unreserved Regionale (commuter) trains will be uploaded in due course, but perhaps not for several weeks.
In the meantime, I'm seeing fantastic discounted fares, such as:
Florence/Rome: 12.90 Euros on Trenitalia Frecciadays fare (Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Florence/Rome: 9.90 Euros on Italo Treno Extra Magic fare (Tues-Wed)
Venice/Rome: 22.90 Euros on Trenitalia Frecciadays fare (Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Venice/Rome: 17.90 Euros on Italo Treno Extra Magic fare (Tues-Wed)
Florence/Naples: 18.90 Euros on Trenitalia Frecciadays fare (Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Florence/Naples: 16.90 Euros on Italo Treno Extra Magic fare (Tues-Wed)
Afraid to book too early because your travel plans are not yet set in stone, or you're concerned about unexpected contingencies arising? No problem: buy the PARTIAL CANCELLATION OPTION simultaneous with ticket purchase. It costs only 2 Euros per ticket per leg of travel (e.g. Milan to Reggio di Calabria on one ticket with two different fast trains = 4 Euros),
Here are the simple rules:
TRENITALIA: you get a 90% refund as long as you cancel the ticket no later than 23:59 (Italy time) two days beforehand. The partial refund is usually given as a credit to your payment card BUT as a travel voucher (valid for 12 months of future Trenitalia travel) in the case of the Frecciadays and Speciale Frecce fares. See the full rules:
https://www.trenitalia.com/it/offerte_e_servizi/opzione-tirimborso.html
BEWARE: the English-language webpage is outdated and gives incomplete information!!!
ITALO TRENO: you get an 80% refund as long as you cancel the ticket no later than 72 hours beforehand.
The lowest of these discounted fares can yield a savings of up to 80%.
Also bear in mind that if you wait to purchase the ticket on the day of travel (or even the day beforehand), you may very well end up paying a PREMIUM over the "Base" fare (Trenitalia) or the "Flex" fare (Italo) which can be as high as 20%. The PREMIUM can vary according to route, day and time of travel, and can be higher during peak travel periods of the year (such as during the summer).
BE CAREFUL if you buy one of these discounted fares for travel IMMEDIATELY AFTER ARRIVAL BY PLANE IN ITALY: if you MISS your reserved train for whatever reason (e.g. late plane arrival, traffic jam getting to train station, etc.) you almost always stand to FORFEIT the ticket. Forfeiture can also occur if you have a "full-fare" ticket and are outside of the grace period. There are ways to reduce (but not eliminate) this forfeiture risk, which I have discussed here:
Methods to reduce forfeiture risk when purchasing train tickets in advance for travel after arrival by plane in Italy
One of the most commonly asked transportation questions is whether it's a bad idea to purchase tickets for the high-speed train from Roma Termini (or Roma Tiburtina) to Florence SMN (or some other city) for travel immediately after arrival by plane at Rome FCO airport. People ask this question...
www.sloweurope.com