When to Book Train Tickets for Italy

How do the train tickets work in Italy and when is the best time to buy a train ticket?

Before we jump right in, I want to first mention that there are two train carriers in Italy: TrenItalia and Italo. In the opinion of Only A Bag (and that's literally the two of us, Nathaniel who is writing this article, and Darcy who writes the other articles, so a sample size of two), TrenItalia is a better carrier. And, we're joined by an EU study from 2024 (linked here: https://www.transportenvironment.org/uploads/files/Embargo-lifted-09122024-European-Ranking-of-Rail-operators-REPORT-2.pdf). TrenItalia is the best train company in Europe, with Italo coming in Number 8. So, while this article works for both TrenItalia and Italo, it's really no contest.

What's the difference between TrenItalia and Italo?

TrenItalia is the national train company that offers services on a fleet on high-speed trains, regional trains, intercity trains, as well as regional, intercity and intracity buses.

Italo is a private rail company that offers high-speed trains and they have a partnership with ItaBus to help people continue their journey where Italo doesn't offer services (such as smaller cities or towns witout high-speed rail, like Siena).

How Does the Pricing For Train Tickets Work in Italy?

Italy's high-speed (Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca, and Frecciaargento) train and Intercity train have variable pricing whereas the Regionale train has set pricing that doesn't change, no matter how close to the departure date you are.

For the high-speed and Intercity trains, there is a Base price for each of the classes (Executive, Business, Premium, Standard) that serves as, well, the baseline. From here, the tickets can get cheaper, but they don't get more expensive. Thinking of it another way, the Base price is what you'd pay at the station before boarding, if you didn't buy a ticket beforehand.

This means the tickets only get cheaper than the Base price.

Getting a Cheaper Ticket for TrenItalia

One of my favorite things about TrenItalia is the amount of sales, discounts, and deals they have at any given moment.

I won't give you a list of all of their discounts and programs because there are a TON, so I'll link them here (https://www.trenitalia.com/it/offerte.html), but in case you don't want to go to TrenItalia's page, I'll give a few examples.

Are you under 30 years old? You can use the FrecciaYOUNG discount, which makes a ticket either 19, 29, or 39 euros, depending on the distance. (This is a flat rate that goes by the kilometers traveled, keep this in mind as you book because this means a ticket from Venice to Verona is the same as a ticket from Venice to Florence, because they're in the same distance bracket.)

Are you traveling with your family? Kids under 15 travel for free and up to 2 adults get 50% off their tickets.

If you're traveling on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday, then you're traveling on a "FrecciaDAY", and you can get the ticket for 60% off.

If you're traveling with a friend or partner, you are applicable for the 2x1 deal, which is essentially a "Buy One, Get One Free".

This is all to say, if you're paying full-price for a Frecciarossa ticket (or any high-speed ticket), then you're doing something wrong.

If you want to sign up for the FrecciaYOUNG (under 30) or FrecciaSENIOR (over 60) deals, then you need a CartaFreccia. Not Italian? No worries! This card is for everyone, Italians and foreigners alike. (Sign up link here, not an affilaite link, I don't make any money from this, I just really like discounts: https://www.lefrecce.it/Channels.Website.WEB/?referrer=preview.trenitalia.com#/user-new-registration?programSelected=2)

Lastly, at various points throughout the year (which seems to be all the time) there will be discounts and sales. This discount isn't applicable always applicable to other deals, like FrecciaYOUNG, but they usually are applicable for deals like 2x2 and FrecciaDAYS.

Italo will also have discounts and sales throughout the year on their high-speed trains, but in our past experince, these sales are often much worse.

Insider Tip:

While it makes sense you'd want to see the website in English when you're booking train tickets in/for Italy, I highly recommend looking at the TrenItalia website in Italian and using your in-browser translator.

Here's why:

This is the TrenItalia website in English. The screenshot was taken on April 4, 2025.

This is the TrenItalia website in Italian. This screenshot was taken about 5 seconds before the one above.

You can see that the in-browser translated some of the options to English, but the biggest difference is the main offering. On the Enlighs page, it's for the TrenItalia Pass. On the Italian page it's for an extra 20% discount on Super Economy and FrecciaDAYS. This discount doesn't appear anywhere on the English-lamgauge page, despite being valid there as well.

So, look at the page in Italian in order to not miss out on any extra discounts!

How Far in Advance Should You Book Your Train Tickets for Italy?

Ideally, as soon as you know your dates to and from a city.

As previously mentioned, the tickets don't get more expensive, but the cheaper options do tend to get bought up or become unavailable.

For instance, the FrecciaYOUNG ticket has to be purchased at least 14 days before the journey. So even if there are empty seats, the tickets will be pulled from the website and replaced with the Base-priced tickets.

This is why, as soon as you know your dates, you should buy the tickets you need. And again, as previously mentioned, look for deals that you can apply. It's rare that you pay full-price for a ticket on a Frecciarossa train, and it's also how Darcy and I are able to travel in Business Class so often (the price literally becomes a fraction of the normal cost), so we get to enjoy our free prosecco in our reclining seats, like the Italian government intended.

When You Don't Need to Book Train Tickets in Advance

Italy's regional train, called the Regionale, is the only train that has static ticket prices. This means, they won't change, no matter how close to the departure date you are.

However, this also means that there are no seat reservations on the Regionale train. If there's no empty seats, then you're standing until someone gets up.

The best way to think of the Regionale train is as a "local" train. While it does connect larger cities, it does so by passing through every single small town on the way there. So not only is it slower, it's also stopping a lot more frequently.

Truthfully, it's unlikely that's you'll be on a Regionale train unless you're on a super budget (the Regionale train from Rome to Venice, for example, costing a fraction than that of the Frecciarossa but takes 3-4 times longer), or you're going to a place like Perugia, Siena, or another smaller city that's only serviced by Regionale and Intercity trains.

Insider Tip:

In some cities, like Rome, Florence, Milan, and Naples, there are different train station that operate Regionale trains between the two stations (like Roma Ostiense and Roma Trastevere), but because they're within the same city, they charge the standard intracity transportation price (1.50) rather than a Regionale price. So, if you happen to find that your hotel or BnB is clsoer to one of the Regionale train stations in Rome, rather than a Metro station, you won't have to pay a premium for using the national rail service.

Where To Book Train Tickets

So, I'd like to make money on this like all the other websites through affiliate links, but the truth here is that it's better to purchase a TrenItalia ticket through their website (https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html).

This way, if you have an issue, you can go to the help desk located in the station and you won't get the classic runaround of "we didn't sell you this ticket, you'll have to speak to whoever sold you the ticket."

If you'd prefer to support Only A Bag and buy a ticket through one of our affiliate links, we really like Trainline. They have their own discounts and coupons, as well as limited-time deals that can also make a trip much cheaper.

Likewise, you can also use Omio, a tried-and-true brand in the transportation space that's been around forever.

While these are both great websites (and are genuinely incredibly helpful when it comes to booking a train+bus combo), booking straight from the source is usually the best way, in this case.

Lastly, you can buy a train ticket at the train station. I only really recommend this with Regionale trains, or trains like the Leonardo Express, which is the airport train from FCO to the city center (our article on that can be found here). Otherwise, you'll be paying a premium.

However, if you're traveling on a whim and bouncing from place to place, this is definitely an option. There are ticket kiosks at every station as well as a handful of ticket windows.