Train from Bari to Rome?

[bundtkate]

Hey, all! I booked a last minute (by my standards, anyway) cruise round trip from Bari, Italy from 10/17-10/26. We've got a bit of a complicated land itinerary, but the bit I'm struggling with is getting from Bari to Rome  on the day we disembark. I was planning to take the train as I will take 4 hours on a train over even just 1 hour on a plane any day, but it looks like all of the express trains from Bari to Rome are sold out and the others get us to Rome a bit too late for my liking. I am not super familiar with the Italian train system so I'm not sure if I might be missing an option here. Is there another place to search for train tickets besides directly with Tren Italia? Is it likely seats on those express trains might open up later on? Should I reluctantly accept my fate and book a Ryanair? We've only got one full day (10/27) in Rome so I definitely want to make sure we get into Rome before dinnertime, but beyond that I can be pretty flexible and am very open to options I'm missing.

[cruisemom42]

Trenitalia tickets only go on sale from 120-90 days prior to your travel date. I suspect the trains you're looking at aren't sold out; they just aren't available yet.

[euro cruiser]

Be sure to also check Italotreno, they also offer high speed service between Bari Centrale and Rome Termini.  Neither has tickets available for sale yet, check again in about a month.

[bundtkate]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

Trenitalia tickets only go on sale from 120-90 days prior to your travel date

I had actually read that, but on the website I am able to book non-express trains. There is one, for example, that takes a bit over 6 hours and arrives at 2200ish. The express trains all specifically say seats are sold out, but the English is weirdly phrased so perhaps it's just a translation error. I'll keep checking back. We're 123 days out, apparently, so I'll take whatever shred of hope I can muster. I hate planes and absolutely adore trains so would be extremely stoked if they're just not on sale yet.
 

 

1 hour ago, euro cruiser said:

Be sure to also check Italotreno, they also offer high speed service between Bari Centrale and Rome Termini.

Absolutely will do, thank you for the recommendation! Checked just now and can't select any dates after 9/18 so perhaps that's a good indicator that @cruisemom42 is right and I just have to wait. All of the train travel I've booked in the past has been in Germany where 120 days out would probably be considered short notice so I'm used to being a bit ahead of myself. 😅

[euro cruiser]

Italians are, in general, highly amused/completed befuddled by westerners' need to tie things down far in advance.  You can book regionale trains because they are not capacity controlled and there are no seat assignments, so they can sell those tickets endlessly.

 

And, for what it's worth, cruisemom42 is pretty much always right.

Edited June 26, 2023 by euro cruiser

[bundtkate]

14 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

Italians are, in general, highly amused/completed befuddled by westerners' need to tie things down far in advance.

Honest, it's not my preference to plan that far ahead in general, but this is the first trip to Europe I've really planned by myself so I think I'm going a bit overboard with staying ahead of the curve. I've traveled to Europe a few times, but each time it's been with my German dad (who would be horribly offended if I tried to plan anything myself) or on a more structured vacation like our upcoming river cruise where most things are taken care of for me. Maybe next time after I have a feel for things I can be a bit more Italian and leave a few things until later. 🙈

[cwistyred]

Just did this in April. We disembarked in Bari, stayed there and Matera.  The day before we left Bari, we walked over to Bari Centrale and bought first class tickets on the high speed train to Rome.  We could have gone second class but we had a lot of luggage and thought there might be more space there. Seems that was true. Very pleasant trip and quick.

Do not stress over this. Just go to the station and ask for help. I purchased our tickets from the machine.

 

[MikiBis]

This was very useful.  I arrive in Bari on October 20th and want to take a repositioning cruise from Barcelona on October 24th.  Getting from Bari to Barcelona is a challenge, since we'll each have a large suitcase.  I'm not sure what airlines/trains will accomodate them.  I prefer a train to Rome, then stay a couple of days in Rome, then fly out ofRome to Barcelona.    Thoughts?

[marazul]

36 minutes ago, MikiBis said:

This was very useful.  I arrive in Bari on October 20th and want to take a repositioning cruise from Barcelona on October 24th.  Getting from Bari to Barcelona is a challenge, since we'll each have a large suitcase.  I'm not sure what airlines/trains will accomodate them.  I prefer a train to Rome, then stay a couple of days in Rome, then fly out ofRome to Barcelona.    Thoughts?

That plan works fine.  All trains will accommodate your bags. Search for train advice on this forum. Book on the Trenitalia official website. Bring a cable lock to secure your bags in case you don't get seats near them.

 

Check recommendations for Rome hotels in the 'pinned' thread on top. No need to stay near the train station. There are much better choices and more pleasant areas in central Rome. 

[euro cruiser]

You might also consider a ferry from Civitavecchia to Barcelona rather than a flight.  Grimaldi lines has an overnight ferry, you can reserve a private room and get a good night's sleep during the crossing.

 

Ferries to Sardinia, Spain, Greece, Sicily and Tunisa. (grimaldi-lines.com)

Edited March 2 by euro cruiser