After all my research and questions I am embarrassed to admit I made a mistake when buying and activating the rail passes for 7 days 3 trips.

I stupidly assumed July13-20 was a week so 7 days but now I see that it is 8 days, which I can deal with. Going to Venice from Rome on July 13, Venice to Florence on the 16th and Florence to Rome on the 20th so plan b would be to use the pass to go to Pisa from Florence and pony up to go to Rome. Passes cost 169 euro for me and 157 for my husband (senior) totaling 326 and Pisa would have been an additional 55 euro base or 28 me and you fare but now would have to pay Rome fare instead due to my mistake.

Could have lived with that but two more things: It clearly states on the website that passes can be activated on-line up to 11 months in advance and reservations may be made with the pass on-line. It was always my intention to buy tix ahead of time and the pass was economical and ensured the same treatment as booking a base fare(the most flexible) and was equal to the non-refundable you and me rate for our 3 trips.

There is no way I can see on the website or app to make reservations with the pass. Call center was of no help. Each person I talked to said "activate on day of arrival"

I bought my pass and didn't activate upon purchase. I then bought my husband's pass and activated it for July 13 during the purchase but didn't make any reservations.

I received an e-mail after my pass purchase:

Dear xxx
this is to confirm you that you have successfully completed the purchase of your Trenitalia Pass!
COMFORT - Trenitalia Pass Adult - 3 journey in 7 days


This email and the attached pdf document are not valid to travel!
Remember that before starting your travel experience, you must activate your Pass indicating the first travel date, that cannot be later than 20/03/2023
To proceed with activation, you can refer to Trenitalia sales channels, using the following code:
Pass Code: 1613705368

Price: 169.00

Passenger details xxxx
Passenger Type: ADULT
Name and Surname:
Date of birth: 23/08/1965
Citizenship: United States
Document details: PASSAPORTO #xxx

Recovery Code: 1023564772

The must activate is not a link so I went on the website and looked up my pass using the find ticket link and put in the pass number which automatically activated it as of that day.



"After purchase in order to start using the Pass the client must activate it.
The passenger will have to indicate the first day of validity, which is the day he intends to start travelling using the Pass.
The maximum Pass validity is of 11 months from the date of purchase. Within this time frame it is mandatory to activate it. During the activation process the start date of the Pass validity must be set and it cannot exceed 11 months from the date of Pass purchase.
Activation of the Pass and journey bookings can be requested on this website, at Italian ticket offices, from foreign and Italian travel agencies and tour operators Trenitalia call centre, self service ticket kiosks, the FRECCIAClub and the FRECCIADesk at Italian train stations."

I filled out a form to explain my situation and received an automated reply in Italian. I can't figure out how to request a refund for my husband's, though, because the number is too long for the PNR.

I guess we could still use his but the whole purpose was to be able to book in advance.

I'm at a loss.

My instinct is to just book non-refundable fares on-line now since our plans/hotels are set but I hesitate to pay anything before or if we ever hear or receive refunds from Trenitalia.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much (please don't think I'm an idiot) I'm a planner and very methodical and am furious with myself already)

Turtlegirl