So, you’re heading out to beautiful Italy, and don’t fancy hiring a car? Having wandered around in Naples, Rome, and Milan during rush hour, I can’t say I blame you. With public transport in Italy being pretty reliable, it’s a cheap and effective way to explore this amazing country. So, with that in mind, here’s how to master public transport in Italy.
Trains
First up, let’s talk about trains. You can get high-speed travel from most cities in Italy using Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa trains. I’ve previously enjoyed the popular route between Florence and Rome, which winds through the Tuscan countryside, and it’s super comfortable. However, this is a super popular service and I’d recommend booking in advance through Rail Europe.
Of course, there are also slower regional trains that you can get around on from suburbs or smaller towns. For example, when I stayed in Lecco on Lake Como, we took the slower train connections into Milan and Bergamo, but even still, they were under an hour.
If you’re in Naples and want to head to Herculaneum or Pompeii, I’d recommend getting the train as it’s the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way. Be prepared for the train to be really busy though, as this is a major tourist route. There also tend to be musicians on this train which is a cool extra!
Train travel in Italy is probably the best way to get around if you’re short on time and want to stick to the major cities. It’s pretty easy to have a multi-stop adventure just using the trains, but if you want to get off the beaten path or go a little more rural, you’ll normally need bus connections.
Public Buses
If you need to get from the airport to the city and there isn’t a train station, or if you’re looking to go somewhere a little more rural or out of the city, you may need the public bus network.
The bus networks around the cities and suburbs are pretty decent. We stayed outside of Rome when we visited but managed to get a direct bus in and out with ease. You can find all the timetables and even book some tickets through Omio, especially in the cities.
If you’re heading out to somewhere a little further out, like San Gimignano, you’ll need to get a bus. Despite this being a popular tourist spot, there is no train station here and the nearest major city is Florence. From there, you need to get the train to Poggibonsi and then jump on a bus from there.
As with a lot of places, bus timetables are pretty loose, and I wouldn’t worry too much if they’re late, especially if you’re not waiting at a main terminal. Of course, give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination if you’re relying on Italy’s public bus network!
FlixBus
Okay, so one of my personal favourite ways to travel around Italy is by Flixbus. I’m a huge fan of their route map which shows me all the smaller towns and cities I can explore without having to hire a car.
With an easy-to-use app and cheap prices, it’s a no-brainer a lot of the time. If I find a cheap flight into Italy and I’m not super fussed about the city, I’ll immediately head to the FlixBus route map to find out where I can go from that specific airport or city.
You can find FlixBus all over Italy, including across Sicily which is ideal because the bus routes around this beautiful island aren’t the best.
Boats and Ferries
Speaking of islands, Italy has so many amazing islands to explore like Capri, Sicily, Ischia, Procida, and more. With the exception of Sicily and its bizarre train-boat connection, all of these islands require a ferry.
Even getting across Italy’s picturesque lakes, like Como and Garda, require reliable boat transfers. For this, the most reliable place to go is going to be the port. They’ll have the up-to-date times and prices for your route. The reason I say this, is that the route times change a lot with the seasons, so if you look at online guides, there’s a good chance they’ll be out of date.
The exception to this rule is Omio because you can book your tickets directly through the app, even on ferries, so the sailings tend to be up-to-date there.
Validating Tickets
One of the most important things about mastering public transport in Italy is the ticket validation process. You need to do this on all trains and buses, and some ferries.
You have to put your tickets through a small validation machine that is by the platform in most train stations or actually onboard the public buses. This is because most transport tickets are like blank cheques – you can buy a book of them from a tobacco shop and then just validate them when you need them.
If you get caught with an invalidated ticket, you’ll get charged a huge fine. There are plenty of transport officials that check this, especially around the major cities so do not get caught out.
Where to buy your tickets
For train and ferry tickets, you can either buy these online through sites like Omio or Rail Europe, or directly from the ticket office in the stations.
If you need bus tickets, this is slightly different. You can buy bus tickets from a Cartoleria, which is a newspaper shop or a Tabaccheria which is a small corner shop that sells cigarettes as well as sweets, souvenirs, lottery tickets, and things like that.
It’s rare that you can buy a bus ticket from the driver themselves or onboard the bus at all. The exception to this is in Sicily, but even then, they’re starting to implement advance ticket buying rules.
If you know you’re going to be going on the bus a lot, I’d recommend buying a book of tickets at the start of your trip to stop you having to find a Tabaccheria every time you want to go somewhere. It also stops you from getting caught out if you’re getting a late-night or early-morning bus.
So, there you have it, the guide for how to master public transport in Italy. Have you been on public transport in Italy? How did you find it? Let me know in the comments below.
