Advice on train travel throughout Italy?

It's cheaper to buy individual tickets. The cheapest options are the slower regional trains, but those may require multiple train changes and long travel times for longer trips. There are fewer of them than there were a few years ago. On the faster trains you can get discounts for purchasing tickets in advance. There are restrictions on changes and refunds with the discounted fares.There are also sometimes other offers like special fares for return on the same day. There's a 2 for the price of 1 promotions on Saturdays now. You can find schedules and prices here: http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD There's a huge amount of information on train travel here: http://www.seat61.com/ . Read, in particular, the section on "Common railpass mistakes: Italy..." about 20% of the way down the page under the railpass tab.

You're better off just buying the tickets you actually need, and skip the "all inclusive" passes..........which are often not as "all inclusive" as they advertise. You also need to reserve seats on longer trips.........because trains can really PACK OUT, with standing room only........and you don't want to be the poor idiot standing from Rome to Venice. Trains are the best way to get around Italy. Stay off the roads as much as you can.

hi i'm italian and i travel by train, I recommend you frecciarossa, frecciargento or frecciabianca, they are very convenient to travel... this is the official web site of Trenitalia, there are timetables and prices of the trains, link:http://www.trenitalia.com/ i use this web site for travel by train... Italy is very beautiful and the food..... ;-) slurp!!!!! you eat pizza, lasagne, spaghetti, gnocchi, spaghetti con le vongole, risotto alla milanese, vitello tonnato... and other foods... :-D

In Italy, there are two basic choices. The Regionale trains come in various shapes and sizes. They are cheap and the fare is exactly the same however you buy your ticket. The Freccia trains are fast, comfortable and generally expensive. If you can book your seat in super economy 3 months in advance, they are a lot cheaper. It's not worth getting a one-country pass unless you are likely to spend most of your time on Italian trains. As far as I know, you can't use it on the Freccia trains. See the Trenitalia website http://www.trenitalia.com/ (click on the Union Jack for English). If you buy a ticket from the site, they email you a pdf to print your own ticket.