Italy Perfect’s tips to make train travel in Italy a fun and relaxing experience.

Reserving train tickets

Consider purchasing your train tickets in advance from RailEurope. It will save you from waiting in long lines and will assure you that you get the train you want. If you don’t purchase tickets in advance you may find that peak travel days and times which includes weekends, holidays and throughout the summer, for the popular routes are sold out when you arrive at the station. While there may be trains leaving to your desired destination every 30 minutes, you might have to wait a few hours before there is availability. Or your party may find themselves spread out across random seats in multiple cars, particularly difficult for families. Or you may have to take the slower train which makes numerous stops, increasing your travel time by several hours.

Seat selection

When you reserve your tickets, you can’t put in seating preferences because the automated system defaults to putting your party together. If you do select window/aisle preferences things can end up badly. For example if you request two window seats and the only available are in separate carriages, that is where you will end up. Better to be seated together and then to negotiate your desired seat.

You cannot reserve forward facing seats only. It doesn’t make sense, actually, because trains pull into the main stations going in one direction and then leave the station by reversing direction. So you may be facing forward when you arrive but backwards when leaving.

Rail protection insurance

We recommend NOT purchasing the rail protection insurance offered by some of the rail booking sites; it’s pretty useless, only covers the tickets and only if you cancel before you travel for a partial refund. A general purpose travel insurance policy such as those offered by Travelex gives better coverage and covers a broader spectrum of issues.

Changing reservations

Officially, you may change your reservations up to three days before travel and if you wish to go on a different train, you may have to repurchase tickets. You might be able travel on another train to the same destination on the same day. However, this is not guaranteed and the conductor may deny you passage. If you miss your train ask at the train station what your options are.

Should you buy a Eurailpass?

It depends on the amount of train travel you plan to do. A rule of thumb is that for four or fewer train trips, point-to-point is usually less expensive than a Eurailpass. Keep in mind that the Eurailpass does not include the seat reservation fee, so factor that expense and advance effort to reserve seats. When you book point-to-point tickets you are simultaneously reserving seats. Use the RailEurope site to check the costs and with some careful planning you can calculate which option works best for you. They will provide telephone assistance but usually the hold times are long.

Is it cheaper to rent a car?

For four or more people, renting a car might be a less expensive option and provides more schedule flexibility and spontaneity. Factor in the extra time and hassle factor required to pick up and drop off the car which includes potentially slow, inefficient lines at the car rental counter, navigating and getting lost, the cost of parking, gas, tolls. Car rentals, gas and parking in Italy can be pricey and many historic cities have limited traffic zones to discourage private vehicles in city centers. But for visits to many of the ancient hills towns a car is often the best option since some are not accessible by train. You can obtain a car rental quote from AutoEurope.

First class or second class?

First class has nicer, roomier seats, more luggage storage space and fewer students on cell phones. We like second class just fine for the relatively short trips between Venice-Florence-Rome. In either class luggage storage will be at the ends of each car in a communal area, like on an airport shuttle. You are responsible for getting your luggage on and off the train. As the train approaches the station people will crowd the exits. We tend to be among those pushy people in order to keep a close eye on our luggage as the train pulls into the station. People get off quickly to snag a luggage cart on the platform.

Food onboard

First or second class, don’t expect anything in the way of food service in either class; a snacks and drinks trolley will pass through with a very limited selection of food for purchase. Best to buy something before you board the train. There's a nice buffet for take out in the Rome station.

At the train station

Arrive at the train station 20 minutes before your train so you have time to find the track. Look for large electronic boards with destinations. The tracks are usually not posted until 5 or 10 minutes before train time. Pazienza (patience). The word for track is BINARIO, which you may see abbreviated BIN.

Get on the right train. Match the train # on your ticket to the train # on the big board. There may be several trains to the same ultimate destination, fast and slow.

The train destination may be the major city beyond your station, so if you are traveling from Rome to Florence, the schedule board may show Milano because that is the ultimate destination of the train. Match departure times and train numbers to find your train. This is one of the most counterintuitive things to deal with. You’re at Rome’s Termini station and are taking the train to Florence. You see the track posted for the train to Florence, hurry over to the track, get on the train, settle in and discover you are on the “milk run” train which takes nearly 4 hours not the express 1 hour, 35 minute train which was leaving at almost the same time but had a posted final destination of Milan. The only way to know this is to match the train numbers posted on the board to the train numbers on your ticket.

Validate your tickets

At the start of each track there is a yellow parking meter sized validation machine. Slip your ticket into the slot and it will be time stamped. Take it with you. You will be very sad if you leave it in the machine. If you fail to validate your tickets, you are subject to a €200 fine. A couple of methods to avoid a legal fine may work or not, better to validate.

If you forget to validate the ticket before you board the train you should write the date and time on the back of your ticket in pen, self-validating it to show that you do not intend to reuse the ticket, before the conductor comes around. Be sure you write the date as Day/ Month/Year otherwise the conductor will be confused. This will typically pass the conductor’s inspection with less reproach then no validation at all.

Another approach is to be sorry, flustered, stupid, and not speak Italian and the conductor may give up in frustration. If available, pretty girls and women should be put in charge of the interchange, smile and charm. Sorry, while not politically correct, it is true, this is Italy, and beauty is appreciated in many ways.

Boarding the train

Match your seat reservations to both car/carriage and seat. The word for car/carriage is CARROZZA. There are first and second class cars. First class have a big 1 on the doors, second have a 2.

If you have a second class ticket, don’t try to occupy a first class seat. The embarrassment of your banishment is not worth it.

Changing seats

Consider negotiating a seat change an opportunity in international relations. You may certainly try to explain in English but pantomime works well in Italy. Remember, also, that your fellow travelers may be foreigners themselves, making communication more interesting. Courtesy and smiles are your best tools; speaking loudly doesn’t improve understanding. We have heard that picking up the air sick bag from the airplane and using that as a prop when you are negotiating seat changes is very helpful. You don’t have to do or say anything about it, just its evidence may help convince someone that they would prefer to not sit next to or across from you in deference to your companion.

Call your vacation rental greeter

Call the greeter before you board the train to reconfirm your check in appointment. If you wait to call from your mobile phone until you're on the train the entire train car will get to hear your loud English conversation since it is hard to be subtle when shouting over the train noise. The one consolation is that you’ll find that most of your fellow Italian passengers are carrying on lengthy, dramatic phone conversations as well.

Landing in Rome or Milan + Same Day Train to Florence

Our guests often need to figure out whether and how to rent a car for their Italian vacation. Auto rentals, gas and parking can be pricey so it worth giving some consideration to this question before you assume a car is essential. We strongly recommend you organize your car rental before you leave for Italy, you'll have the benefit of being able to price compare more easily, check to see what's covered by your auto insurance and get any other questions answered ahead of time rather than trying to figure all of this out once you are in Italy.

City: If you are staying in Rome or Florence a car will be more of a liability then a benefit. All the tourist sites are within walking distance or reachable by public transportation. In Venice it goes without saying that you won't need a car! (With that in mind, remember that everything you bring to Venice you'll personally schlep to your accommodations from the time you debark the water bus or water taxi since there is no ground transportation.) Driving in Rome is not for the timid; streets are not well marked, signs are confusing (a fun game is to have your kids count how many directional arrow signs they can spot for the Rome Zoo...it seems all roads lead to the zoo!). And Roman drivers are competitive and relentless! In our opinion Florentine drivers are more patient and courteous.

When you rent from us in the cities, we can provide guidance on parking garages nearest your accommodations; daily price is in the range of €35/day. To have a car for day trips to the countryside from Rome and Florence, try day rentals from convenient car rental offices located in the city centers. Venice has car rentals at the airport and at the large garage in Piazzale Roma very close to the central Venice train station that is right in the city. In Florence there are offices for all the major auto rental companies within a few blocks of the Santa Maria Novella station. In Rome rental offices on Via del Galoppatoio, which is a large public parking garage under the Borghese Gardens, is the easiest location to pick up or drop off a car. The other option is near the Rome Termini train station. The Rome airport is a handy spot for car drop off if you're arriving into Rome with a rental car and want to avoid driving in the city center. In that case we can recommend a reliable private driver who will meet you at the car rental counter to take you into the center after you've dropped off your car. Another clever idea if you're exploring Tuscany or Umbria before heading to Rome is to stop at the beautiful small city of Orvieto north of Rome, sightsee, have lunch, and drop off your rental car there and catch the train to Rome.

Country: If you are staying in the Tuscan countryside a car is essential. If you hope to rely on local busses or the train to get around then a stay in a country property is probably not for you and you'll do better to consider city properties where public transportation is readily available. While the cost to rent a car can add to the expense of a country stay, it is the only practical way to get from your accommodations to the grocery store, a pharmacy, sight seeing or to a restaurant. There simply isn't a convenient way to access these resources without a car. All of our country properties are in rural locations, but all have a town within a few minutes drive. The green Locale tab on each Tuscan property webpage on www.italyperfect.com provides driving distances. In some cases you can drive to a nearby town, park your car inexpensively and take the public bus into Florence or Siena. This is handy if you're worried about driving into Florence or you have only one car and a large group with some wanting to explore the country while others prefer to spend the day in Florence. Be mindful of the bus schedule which is limited at night so that you don't find yourselves stranded in Florence late at night without a bus in sight. Or you can drive to Florence and park in the center quite easily, if expensively, or you can park on the outskirts and walk into the center.

General Tips

• Pay attention to the hours the car rental office is open. You're probably used to 24x7 airport hours but in Italy Sundays, holidays and hours that fall outside of the standard business day are not staffed. If you are need flexibility beyond the standard hours the airport locations will have the longest hours but even then make sure you have instructions on what to do if you need to drop off a car very early or late at night, or on a Sunday or a holiday, when they'll be closed. If you use our recommended AutoEurope, I suggest telephoning them to get help sorting out locations and hours. Use the code EXCELLENT when they ask.
• Never, ever leave valuables in view in the car and never leave valuables in the trunk overnight! If you must leave valuables in the trunk for the day while you're sightseeing park only in a private garage or lot with a parking attendant on duty all day, don't park on the street or in an unattended self-pay lot.
• Before you drive your rental car off the lot make sure that the gas tank if full. We've pulled away more then once to find the tank low on fuel. If the car is hatch-back style with a hinged cover make sure the cover is there as this is the only way to hide valuables in a hatch-back. We rented a car once to discover the hatchback cover missing so insist on switching cars if this essential security cover is missing, otherwise whatever you put in the back will be in full view.
• A private driver will probably be more expensive than renting a car for the day for a countryside excursion but the expense might be outweighed with the relaxation of not having to navigate, deal with parking and a friendly driver who might show you some off-the-beaten path sights and trattorie.
• If you're a group of four or more people, renting a car to get from Florence to Venice, for example, might be more affordable then the cost of train tickets and you'll have the opportunity to make some interesting side trips. However factor in the added time to pick up, get fuel, get lost for a portion of the time, drop off the car and the increased time for these logistics might not be worth it.
• The trip between Rome and Florence or vice versa is fastest by the high speed train. If you're flying into Rome, arriving in the morning, and heading straight for Florence the train is faster and easier then a car. It's about 40 minutes to get from the Rome airport to the Rome Termini train station and only 1 hour, 40 minutes by high speed train from Rome to Florence where you can enjoy a nap after your overnight flight. The drive to Florence from the Rome airport takes 3.5 hours without adding the time you'll spend in line at the car rental counter, getting lost, stuck in traffic and the hassle of finding parking once you arrive in Florence.
• A GPS system is very helpful but not infallible. Country properties are in rural areas, often without a specific address along the lines of "Red Rooster Farm on Old Country Road". So GPS can only get you to the nearest little village. We recommend you take along a very detailed map, which won't be available at the car rental counter or the gas station. You can order maps before your trip at Maps.Com. The detailed maps will give you the level of detail you'll need for finding your property, whether it is only a tiny country road or to help you navigate one-way streets and roundabouts in the city.
• We recommend AutoEurope for car rentals. They are a North American broker that negotiates competitive rates with all the major car rental companies. Your price is firm, no strange charges after the fact. If you find a better price directly from one of the majors, call AutoEurope to ask for a price match. Use the code EXCELLENT when they ask.

One of the best things about staying in a vacation rental in Italy is the chance to experience daily Italian life. Part of that experience is shopping for food and supplies.

Your vacation rental kitchen comes with the pots, pans and utensils that you need to prepare a meal, maybe even salt and pepper, but usually not much else (although some will leave a welcome basket with local products). For supplies, there will be a roll of toilet paper in each bathroom, some cleaning supplies, and a few garbage bags.

So, you will rather quickly have to make a trip to the local stores. You may want to pick up some essentials before you arrive, so when you get "home" you can kick off your shoes, pour the wine, and relax. If you are driving to your check in and see a COOP or Esselunga sign within an hour's drive of your rental, pull in, experience Italy's large grocery store chains, and pick up your basics. If your rental is near a good sized town, wait until you arrive and then head out to your local stores.

Remember that food stores may close for several hours in the afternoon, but then stay open until 7pm or later. And they may be closed on Sunday.

Small Food Stores

There are plenty of grocery stores in Italy, typically much smaller than you are used to. But, to get a true cultural experience, try to shop at the single purpose shops where you are often dealing directly with the proprietor who is usually a neighborhood resident as well as an expert on his or her items. If you are there when the store isn't jammed, you have a chance for a personal interaction and some special advice on your purchases.

Here are the types of small stores that you will encounter.

• Alimentari - Small grocery store with foods of all kinds

• Drogheria - Grocery store with mostly dry goods (canned goods, spices)
• Enoteca - Wine
• Farmacia - Pharmacy
• Formaggeria - Cheeses
• Frutta e Verdura  - Fruits and vegetables
• Gelateria - Ice cream (gelato)
• Latteria - Dairy (milk, butter, cheese)
• Macelleria - Fresh meat, salami, and sausage
• Mesticheria - Hardware
• Panificio - Bread
• Pasticceria - Pastries, cakes
• Pescheria - Fish
• Pizzeria - Pizza
• Rosticceria - Take out and eat-in roasted foods, usually meats and vegetables
• Salumeria - Cold cuts, cheese, salami, some canned goods (also called a Pizzicheria in some regions)
• Supermercato - Supermarket (larger grocery store)

Food Shopping List

This shopping list is handy if your brain is jet lagged. Click for a printable version. Before you head out to the stores, check to see if any of these items have been provided in your vacation rental.

Basics         
[ ] Toilet paper        
[ ] Paper towels         
[ ] Dish soap        
[ ] Laundry soap *        
[ ] Bottled water         
[ ] Salt & pepper *         
[ ] Spices (basil, oregano) *        
[ ] Wine        
[ ] Beer

For Breakfast
[ ] Coffee
[ ] Tea
[ ] Milk and/or cream
[ ] Sugar
[ ] Bread
[ ] Butter
[ ] Jam and/or honey
[ ] Fruits
[ ] Breakfast cereal

For Lunch/Dinner
[ ] Vegetables
[ ] Pasta
[ ] Pasta sauce
[ ] Parmesan cheese
[ ] Meat
[ ] Fish
[ ] Olive oil
[ ] Vinegar
[ ] Flour

* Some travelers bring a few essentials with them to avoid having to buy them in a larger quantity than they need. For example, salt, pepper, spices, laundry powder (why buy a whole box when you can toss a ziploc with enough for a few weeks into your bag?). You can also bring a cloth napkin for each person (or buy them there) to cut down on use of paper towels and to make your dining elegant!

Quick Meals

Here are some of our favorite quick-fix items from Italian supermarkets.

* Antipasti from the deli counter - olives, zucchini in oil, eggplant in oil, little mozzarella bites, arancini (rice balls), regional specialties.
* Insalata capricciosa - sliced fresh mozzarella with sliced fresh tomatoes, drizzle of oil, sprinkle of salt.
* Frozen arancini, rice balls with mozzarella center.
* Packaged salads are excellent, drizzle with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar.
* Prosciutto (cured ham) with fresh melon. FYI, what we call prosciutto is called prosciutto crudo (raw because it is cured not cooked) and cooked ham is called prosciutto cotto. You may also see spek - smoked, cured ham.
* Bresaola (finely sliced dried beef) with sprinkle of lemon.
* Frozen, pre-prepared soups. "Findus" brand is good. Zuppa di Farro, Minestrone, they are all great.
* Plenty of choices of pasta and bottled sauce or fresh pesto from deli counter.
* Pre-sliced, ready to fry veal, beef, port and chicken fillets.
* Frozen, pre-prepared pasta and pizza is usually good.
* Fresh bread. There is often a whole-grain selection, called integrale.

Shopping Tips

Random tips to help you on your food shopping expeditions.

Supermarkets

* Bring a cloth shopping bag. Most locals bring their own shopping bags. If you don't have shopping bags there is a small fee per bag.
* Produce at the supermarket is self service. Remember to put on one of the little plastic gloves provided next to the plastic bags before handling produce and weigh and price your produce (note the item number on the bin, weigh the produce on the scale by pressing the matching item number, affix the ticket that the scale prints out to the plastic bag).
* When buying anything over the counter, whether in the grocery store or in the open air market, be aware of the quantity you need. You can certainly gesture or tell them how many people you want to feed or show the size of the container you wish to fill. Measurements are by kilo (1 kilo = 2.2 lbs) or fraction thereof. A half kilo (mezzo-kilo) is about a pound. For small amounts you order by etto, or tenth of a kilo. One etto is close to a quarter of a pound, about the minimum weight you can order for anything.
* Bag your groceries. The cashier does not do it and there are no baggers.

Open Air Markets

* Find out where the nearest open air market is located. In smaller towns they are held once a week. There you will find the freshest produce, meat and fish. Also, it is a great experience.
* In an open air market, fruit and vegetable shops and stalls are not self-service; point to the produce you want and the vendor will show it to you for you to accept or not. You don't get to choose the items yourself.

Products

* Bottled water is popular in Italy. Frizzante, con gas or gassata is bubbly (sparkling) water. Naturale, senza gas or liscia is flat water. We recommend getting plastic bottles instead of glass because they are lighter to carry. Remember that the tap water in Italy is good quality so you don't have to buy bottled water.
* We love the Sicilian red oranges and red orange juice but most of the packaged orange juice in the stores is a "juice beverage" with a small percent of real juice. To avoid disappointment, read the contents. The word for juice is succo and for orange arancia.
* Butter is unsalted. It is hard to find salted butter but we have occasionally found salted French President brand butter in large supermarkets.
* We love perusing the pasta aisle(s) for unusual pasta shapes, always the most bountiful section of the supermarket. Some stores even have a dried pasta section for dogs.
* Paper towel 2-packs look deceptively like toilet paper 4-packs. Double check to make sure you have carta igienica for toilet paper.
* The laundry soap aisle is confusing. Look carefully to make sure you buy the right kind of soap for the washing machine and not bleach. Also look for a picture of clothes or dishes on the package; you don’t want to mix them up. If you do, you could ruin the appliance and have to pay for the damages. If in doubt, smile and ask a shopper nearby.

Written by Pat Byrne for SlowEurope and republished with permission.