We have to travel from Rome to Bari on Friday 1 August and there are only a couple of trains which get us there on time. I'm reluctant to spend the $$ on Raileurope, any thoughts?
Ordinarily I'd just wait and book a few days ahead when we get to Rome, but I'm concerned that every Roman in town will be speeding to the coast that day....
Also, Is it possible to book Eurostar train tickets somewhere at FCO?
You can buy tickets for any train in the Trenitalia network from the ticket windows of the Fiumicino Airport Train Station. They will also sell you the ticket for the airporter train from the airport to Roma Termini Station. There is also a travel agency across the hall in the same station which sells Trenitalia tickets at no extra charge.
If you don't book in advance, there is always the risk of not finding space on the train of your choice, particularly on peak travel days during the summer months. You might have to pay more for first class seats, or you may even have to wait for a later train.
I see that on the afternoon of Friday, August 1, 2008, there are 4 Eurostar trains from Roma Termini to Bari Centrale. If all four trains were completely sold out (first and second classes), would you be amenable to spending the night in Rome and departing by train the next morning? Have you considered the possibility of taking a connecting flight from FCO to Bari? Sometimes, the cost of the connection to a domestic Italian airport is not much more (or indeed sometimes less, in the case of Alitalia) than purchasing a ticket to FCO. I'd check out the possibilities of flying this route, since you'll be arriving at FCO same day.
