Trenitalia.com questions
 

Is there a way to look up round-trip fares or is it segment to segment
only?

BTW, what are "one-way" and "round-trip" in Italian?

Do fares vary by time of day or day of week, high or low season?

Is there any advantage in booking in advance (looks like they let you
print tickets or reservations and take it to the train station) or just
buy at the train station? Do they take American Express for ticket
purchases?


Do you need to validate the ticket before boarding?

Are there any bus or train tours from Venice to surrounding cities like
Verona, Padua, Dolomites? I'm not talking about tour package companies,
but more like the SITA trip from Florence to Siena. Run by the
transport agency and much cheaper.

What is the best way to get to the train station at Mestre? Vaporetto
to Piazzle Roma and then bus? Which number bus?

Trenitalia lists 3 stations in Verona? How far apart are they?

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

On Thu, 10 May 2007 06:30:12 -0700, poldy <[email protected]> wrote:

>Is there a way to look up round-trip fares or is it segment to segment
>only?

Round trip fares are just twice the one-way fare.

>BTW, what are "one-way" and "round-trip" in Italian?

One way is "solo andata" and round trip is "andata e ritorno".

>Do fares vary by time of day or day of week, high or low season?

No, although there is a page of special low prices and promotions.

>Is there any advantage in booking in advance (looks like they let you
>print tickets or reservations and take it to the train station) or just
>buy at the train station? Do they take American Express for ticket
>purchases?

There is little advantage in booking far in advance. You can usually
get reserved tickets up to the last minute, except on very busy routes
and on Friday and Sunday evenings. On trains that don't require or
don't allow reservations, there is no advantage at all to getting
tickets ahead of time if you will be leaving at a time the station is
open. For trains that require reserved seats, there is also
"ticketless travel", where you print out a reservation page and show
it to the conductor.

They don't take American Express or credit cards (as far as I know) at
the ticket window, but if there is an automatic ticket machine (in
most main stations), you can buy the ticket with a credit card. I
don't think that includes American Express, though.

>Do you need to validate the ticket before boarding?

Unless the ticket includes a reserved seat as an integral part of the
ticket, you need to validate it before boarding.


--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

In article <[email protected]>,
B Vaughan<[email protected]> wrote:

> >Do you need to validate the ticket before boarding?
>
> Unless the ticket includes a reserved seat as an integral part of the
> ticket, you need to validate it before boarding.
>

Thanks.

Some kind of a punch or stamp machine on the platforms?

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

poldy wrote:
>Some kind of a punch or stamp machine
>on the platforms?

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5...0/IMG_2433.jpg
Not me BTW :). Regards, Walter



..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

Make credence recognised that on Thu, 10 May 2007 10:58:50 -0700,
poldy <[email protected]> has scripted:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> B Vaughan<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> >Do you need to validate the ticket before boarding?
>>
>> Unless the ticket includes a reserved seat as an integral part of the
>> ticket, you need to validate it before boarding.
>>
>
>Thanks.
>
>Some kind of a punch or stamp machine on the platforms?

It's not usually on the platform, but in the area you pass through to
get to it. It's a yellow box, and frequently they don't work.
Fortunately, there are plenty enough around.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

On Thu, 10 May 2007, poldy wrote:

> Is there a way to look up round-trip fares or is it segment to segment
> only?
>
> BTW, what are "one-way" and "round-trip" in Italian?

Not sure what you mean by round trip ... going from A to B via C and
returning from B to A via D (*another* route) ?

"one way" (single) is "andata" or "solo andata" ; "return" is "andata e
ritorno" (on the same route), and costs twice the single. With the
current fare system I am not aware of any "round trip" or "circular"
ticket.

In the past, with the progressive fare system (the more km you travelled
the less the cost per km) it could have been convenient to make a
circular ticket ACBDA as described above ... nowadays the fare system
is a mess ...

... there are standard fare trains (mainly inter-regional)

... there are regional fare trains with each region having its own
fare (local, regional and inter-regional trains used inside a region)

... there are non-compulsory reservation trains with a surcharge fare
now handled as global price (IC)

... there are compulsory reservation IC (ICplus) with another global
price (one euro more)

... there are the fast Eurostar (ES), compulsory reservation and higher
global price trains, and maybe some special variants (I suppose they
have suppressed the low-cost TrenoOK, but there should be the higher
cost Tbiz, and the ES/AV costs a little more

This essentially means that when you ask for a ticket from A to B
(unless travelling only with interregional or lower), you'd have to
specify the train(s) you'd intend to take, and you will receive a bunch
of tickets for the various stretches, with separate fares !

> Do fares vary by time of day or day of week, high or low season?

Not normally, although there maybe "offers" or other arrangements. For
instance local tickets in Ligury over the weekend have a different fare,
local tickets on FNM LeNord near Milano on holidays have a lower fare.

Trenitalia sometimes makes deal fares with lower prices, to be booked in
advance or "until supply exhausted". Note however that they may be
subject to restrictions in refund and reservation changes ... while with
the standard fare you can change reservation for free until departure.

> Is there any advantage in booking in advance (looks like they let you

No money advantage unless you want to use one of the special limited
offers. Only advantage maybe in securing a seat during peak hours
(otherwise as Barbara said, it is not a problem), and avoiding queues at
the last moment.

Nowadays I usually book the day before, from a station near where I work
(Lambrate, guess what :-) ), even if I depart from another station. In
the past for business I used to book at a travel agent which delivered
the ticket to our office.

Anyhow you can book usually at any travel agent without surcharges (it
used to be like that, although I've seen some limitations ... in Ligury
small travel agents cannot issue reservations but only local tickets, in
Cervia the ticket office at the station has been franchised to a travel
agent, and they apply a surcharge for CHANGES of reservation).

> Do they take American Express for ticket purchases?

No idea at main stations, probably not. Surely not at minor stations.
Most likely yes at major travel agents (in main stations there are often
also a couple of them).

> Do you need to validate the ticket before boarding?

For tickets with no reservation attached yes, stamping at the yellow
machines, or, if faulty, applying to the conductor asap.

Tickets with reservation for a specific train do not require stamping,
as they expire if unused and not reclaimed soon.

> Are there any bus or train tours from Venice to surrounding cities like
> Verona, Padua, Dolomites?

No idea.

> What is the best way to get to the train station at Mestre? Vaporetto
> to Piazzle Roma and then bus? Which number bus?

To get to Mestre from where ? From Venice ? The best way is by train
from Venezia Santa Lucia station !!!

> Trenitalia lists 3 stations in Verona? How far apart are they?

Do not know, but maybe google maps or google earth can help you.
Anyhow fast trains call at Porta Nuova ("newgate"), which is just
outside the walls of the old city. I suppose that Porta Vescovo
("bishopsgate") is similarly located, because of the name. What is the
third ?


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Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

On Fri, 11 May 2007 09:47:18 +0200, Giovanni Drogo
<[email protected]> wrote:

> ... there are standard fare trains (mainly inter-regional)
[list deleted]

I forgot that now there seem to be standard fares and flexi fares
costing 20% more that I am offered when I buy a Eurostar ticket on
line. The flexi fare offers more possibilities of changing the ticket
or getting your money back if you don't use it. I always buy the
standard ticket, as I rarely have to change a ticket and I prefer to
pay a higher surcharge on those rare occasions rather than pay 20%
more for every ticket.

The Flexi fare is only offered on trains that have mandatory
reservations. The tickets on other trains are already flexi, in the
sense that you can use them on any train on that route for something
like two months after date of sale, unless you've already validated
them.

There are also discounts for various categories of travellers, but
these all involve paying an annual fee to get a card and unless you
use the trains a lot during the course of the year, it won't pay off.
My husband is now eligible for the senior card, and we figured that he
would have to make a fairly long trip at least monthly to break even.


>This essentially means that when you ask for a ticket from A to B
>(unless travelling only with interregional or lower), you'd have to
>specify the train(s) you'd intend to take, and you will receive a bunch
>of tickets for the various stretches, with separate fares !
>
>> Do fares vary by time of day or day of week, high or low season?
>
>Not normally, although there maybe "offers" or other arrangements. For
>instance local tickets in Ligury over the weekend have a different fare,
>local tickets on FNM LeNord near Milano on holidays have a lower fare.
>
>Trenitalia sometimes makes deal fares with lower prices, to be booked in
>advance or "until supply exhausted". Note however that they may be
>subject to restrictions in refund and reservation changes ... while with
>the standard fare you can change reservation for free until departure.
>
>> Is there any advantage in booking in advance (looks like they let you
>
>No money advantage unless you want to use one of the special limited
>offers. Only advantage maybe in securing a seat during peak hours
>(otherwise as Barbara said, it is not a problem), and avoiding queues at
>the last moment.
>
>Nowadays I usually book the day before, from a station near where I work
>(Lambrate, guess what :-) ), even if I depart from another station. In
>the past for business I used to book at a travel agent which delivered
>the ticket to our office.
>
>Anyhow you can book usually at any travel agent without surcharges (it
>used to be like that, although I've seen some limitations ... in Ligury
>small travel agents cannot issue reservations but only local tickets, in
>Cervia the ticket office at the station has been franchised to a travel
>agent, and they apply a surcharge for CHANGES of reservation).
>
>> Do they take American Express for ticket purchases?
>
>No idea at main stations, probably not. Surely not at minor stations.
>Most likely yes at major travel agents (in main stations there are often
>also a couple of them).
>
>> Do you need to validate the ticket before boarding?
>
>For tickets with no reservation attached yes, stamping at the yellow
>machines, or, if faulty, applying to the conductor asap.
>
>Tickets with reservation for a specific train do not require stamping,
>as they expire if unused and not reclaimed soon.
>
>> Are there any bus or train tours from Venice to surrounding cities like
>> Verona, Padua, Dolomites?
>
>No idea.
>
>> What is the best way to get to the train station at Mestre? Vaporetto
>> to Piazzle Roma and then bus? Which number bus?
>
>To get to Mestre from where ? From Venice ? The best way is by train
>from Venezia Santa Lucia station !!!
>
>> Trenitalia lists 3 stations in Verona? How far apart are they?
>
>Do not know, but maybe google maps or google earth can help you.
>Anyhow fast trains call at Porta Nuova ("newgate"), which is just
>outside the walls of the old city. I suppose that Porta Vescovo
>("bishopsgate") is similarly located, because of the name. What is the
>third ?
>

--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

On Fri, 11 May 2007, B Vaughan wrote:

> I forgot that now there seem to be standard fares and flexi fares

I.e. more mess ...

... since the former (sacked) CEO of Trenitalia is now CEO of ATM (the
trasport agency in Milan), I wonder what we should expect :-(

> There are also discounts for various categories of travellers, but
> these all involve paying an annual fee to get a card and unless you

I heard the fee is waived on the TravelCard "Relax" for people older
than 75 or 80.

I have a "Relax" but I'm not yet (and for a good while won't be)
eligible for the senior fee, I just it as a sort of "frequent flyer"
card, but I do not travel so frequently to collect enough points,
specially because they expire after a while.

Also this issue of points is quite messy. On one hand they seem to add
points to my travel card when I buy tickets for me (OK) and for another
person travelling with me (strange but good).

On the other hand tickets bought with some fare deals are not eligible.
I travelled with a deal from Milan to Rome (travel 1st class paying
less than 2nd class standard, no change, no refund), and the price was
added and then subtracted to my card "account".

> My husband is now eligible for the senior card, and we figured that he
> would have to make a fairly long trip at least monthly to break even.

My mother has since many many years a "permanent silver card" (no longer
issued). She is now beyond 80, and she bought it for 20000 lire as soon
as she was eligible for it ... they issued it as "permanent", so they
have to honour it ! The conductors use to make comments on how luckly
she is, or to show it to a junior conductor they are training :-)

In fact the discount is not that interesting, since it applies only to
the standard fare component, not the IC and ES surcharges.

She also has a partial disability discounted regional card (60 eur/year
for unlimited travel within the region ... practically she uses it
almost for local travel within the city), which in principle should be
valid also on ICs and ICplus within the region (but not EC and ES). But
we did not dare using it outside Lombardy (although in principle we
could have bought an Alassio-Tortona ticket and continued for free to
Milan).

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Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

In article
<[email protected] gr.vans.vg>,
Giovanni Drogo <[email protected]> wrote:

> > Are there any bus or train tours from Venice to surrounding cities like
> > Verona, Padua, Dolomites?
>
> No idea.

Well Dolomites leaves from Santa Lucia but takes almost 4 hours to get
to Cortina. So that's kind of out for a day trip.

>
> > What is the best way to get to the train station at Mestre? Vaporetto
> > to Piazzle Roma and then bus? Which number bus?
>
> To get to Mestre from where ? From Venice ? The best way is by train
> from Venezia Santa Lucia station !!!

I just put in Venice to Verona and they only listed Mestre. Yes I would
have to go from near the Ponte Rialto to the train station.

>
> > Trenitalia lists 3 stations in Verona? How far apart are they?
>
> Do not know, but maybe google maps or google earth can help you.
> Anyhow fast trains call at Porta Nuova ("newgate"), which is just
> outside the walls of the old city. I suppose that Porta Vescovo
> ("bishopsgate") is similarly located, because of the name. What is the
> third ?
>

The third one they list is Villafranca di Verona. So which of the 3
stations are the closest to the main attractions, which would be the
Arena and the Basilica (San Zeno Maggiore)?

Some tour companies play up the wines grown around Verona. I don't
suppose they have something related to the Shakespeare play?

Anyways, for a day trip, maybe Padua (which I assume is Padova by
another name?) and then onto Verona and then back to Venice sounds more
like a manageable day.

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

"poldy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I just put in Venice to Verona and they only listed Mestre. Yes I would
> have to go from near the Ponte Rialto to the train station.

Just did a search myself for 0900 Monday. The red MESTRE just indicates that
the train goes through that station. Timing is from Venezia SL.

>
>>
>> > Trenitalia lists 3 stations in Verona? How far apart are they?
>>
> The third one they list is Villafranca di Verona. So which of the 3
> stations are the closest to the main attractions, which would be the
> Arena and the Basilica (San Zeno Maggiore)?

Verona PN is the central station, closest to most tourist sites and with
frquent buses to the city centre. It is the only station where fast trains
will stop.

Alan Harrison

Re: Trenitalia.com questions
 

poldy ha scritto:

> Well Dolomites leaves from Santa Lucia but takes almost 4 hours to get
> to Cortina. So that's kind of out for a day trip.

There's no more train to Cortina, because railway closed on the sixties
of the last century.
The dead branch of the old railway (going to Dobbiaco, in the past), now
stops at Calalzo.
You need a Bus to go to Cortina from there, so all together (slow old
railway, many changes) the 4 hours travel.
I think is better, maybe, to rent a car, but beware week ends, mainly on
return way (Sunday afternoon) and in summer and winter seasons: queues
everywhere.

> I just put in Venice to Verona and they only listed Mestre. Yes I would
> have to go from near the Ponte Rialto to the train station.

From Venezia Santa Lucia (or Venezia SL on the timetables) you can go
to Ponte di Rialto and also to Piazza San Marco without vaporetto (good
and not too long walking journey, without big luggages, obviously...).

> The third one they list is Villafranca di Verona.

Villafranca is a village at 15 Km from Verona.
The name is Villafranca 'DI VERONA' to distinguish from others
'Villafranca'.
I know it very well: I do there my service in the army :-(.

> Anyways, for a day trip, maybe Padua (which I assume is Padova by
> another name?) and then onto Verona and then back to Venice sounds more
> like a manageable day.

True.
Padua (Padova in Italian) is a short journey from Venice/Venezia: around
30 minutes, by train.
On the same railway line, Verona is around 1 hour from Padova.
Starting from Venezia SL you will find Venezia Mestre (Mestre is the
mainland half-town of Venezia) (10 minutes), Padova (30 minutes),
Vicenza (1 hour) and Verona (1 1/2 hours).

Ciao, Piero.