Nothing can ruin your vacation quicker than landing in the middle of an Italian train strike. I know, I’ve been there. This complete guide to train strikes in Italy will help you avoid strikes completely when possible and prepare you for dealing with them should you find yourself in trouble.

The basics of Italian Strikes or Sciopero

Strikes are common in Italy and considered just a part of Italian life. Strikes aren’t limited to the trains either. Public transportation, taxis, airports, post and communication, even public sanitation will strike.

The majority of the strikes are planned well in advance and communicated to the public. Often, these planned strikes are limited to a specific region and may be just a few hours. Many strikes are cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled.

The responsibility of making alternative plans is solely yours, you will not find sympathy nor financial reimbursement.

Planning Ahead for Strikes in Italy

The most accurate and comprehensive site is in Italian and can be overwhelming for English speakers. If you know what you are looking for and how to find it a world of stress and angst can be avoided. The website is found here. You are first looking for the area or department in which you are hoping won’t be on strike. For trains, this is Appalti settore ferroviario. Transporto aereo for flights, Trasporto Pubblico Locale for public transportation.

Once you have found your department, you will search for your dates of travel in the first column. The section column is the sector or department. Keep in mind this schedule is listed European style with the date first and then the month. Don’t worry about the third column named Azienda but pay close attention to the Localita. Localita informs you of where the strike will be. Many are limited to a particular region or city. If the word Nazionale with an Italian flag is there, brace yourself as this means it affects the entire country.

What to do if you are caught in a strike

Even with the best planning, this can happen. Since you are 100{6a79f8b483379a07c99b49f3ac110091f25498c816895d3835c84435c153d1be} responsible for handling this, here are some suggestions.

During national strikes there will be a few major trains running. Check at the station or online to see if you can snatch one of these tickets, but keep in mind they go fast.

Look for alternative transportation such as a bus or private driver. Renting a car is usually the easiest and most economical solution and one that I have utilized. Autoeurope is the consolidator I use for all of my bookings.

Hire a travel planner that knows her stuff and lays out the ground work for you. Oh wait, that’s me! And yes, my clients travel prepared with the confidence of knowing I’ve got their back and their Plan B.

Simply change your plans and stay put. One of the joys of travel, specifically foreign travel and pointedly Italian travel, is rolling with the punches and looking for opportunities from potential mishaps.

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It is only fair that I include my personal top ten embarrassing travel moments after poking fun of others.  Ready or not here they are, and a third of them have to do with poo.  I apologize ahead of time.

10.  On a night train from Brindisi to Venice (when I was a teva wearing college backpacker) a very intoxicated older man slipped into our sleeping car and proceeded to try and feel me up.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt due to his state the first time and politely moved his hand.  The second time he grabbed my butt I kicked him in the face.

9.  I found a passport on the ground in Rome and spent the next several days feeling smug wondering if poor Sheila ever made it out of the country.  When I went to check in at my next accommodation, I realized I had left mine in the lobby of our previous B&B.  Not so smug anymore was I.

8.  Being related to my parents who bum-rushed the train from Rome to Florence, pushing and shoving everyone out of their way (with their luggage) in a hurry to find seats together.  They figured out too late that their seats were actually assigned.

The guilty party.

7.  I didn’t realize there is etiquette on a train when it comes to using the loo.  I found myself taking a poop in the middle of a station as the train made a painfully long stop.

6.  At a restaurant I had to use the one and only bathroom on the premises (and yes, it was a #2 again).  To my horror I absolutely could not figure out how to flush the damn thing.  I gave up and went to leave….bumping into a very handsome gentleman heading in to use the facilities after me.  Check please!

5.  Too late I realized there was not a square of toilet paper in the bathroom and I was without my trusty multi-purpose guidebook pages.  I had no choice but to use my favorite pair of polka dot underwear.

4.  After enjoying a splurge at a restaurant in Rome I went to the bathroom to…..just kidding!  I looked over the bill and saw that the tip was included so I did what I had been told to do and rounded up the total.  The waiter seeing that I had not given a second tip started throwing a tantrum and flapping the receipt all over the restaurant.  Horrified I threw him some money and ran out.  To this day I have no idea what happened.

3.  I rented my car…..for the wrong month.  Worse yet, it was for my tour group.

2.  I blame Rick Steves for this one.  On my backpacking college trip I took his Italian Phrase Book which had a fun section with things to say that were a little off the cuff; fun slang and curse words to break the ice with the locals.  One word we really latched on to was stronzo, the definition said it meant a dried hard piece of poo (I again apologize.  I’m a mother of 3 and a nurse, poo is a way of life for me).   We yelled it out at random times, more so when intoxicated.  One night, while watching the World Cup with some local friends we had recently made, we used our new word.  The crowd became silent and all eyes were on us.  Evidently dried hard piece of poo is putting it nicely.  We never uttered that word again.

1.  My friend and I decided to try and take an earlier train out of Rome but the line for tickets had taken forever.  We had no choice but to run for it (backpacks and all).  Just as we were about to climb the stairs to our platform, my friend slipped and fell backwards.  The weight of her pack prevented her from getting up and she literally looked like an upended tortoise.  I got her back on her feet and we went screaming up the stairs, taking them two at a time.  Red faced and breathless we were greeted with disapproving stares.  To my confusion, there was no train on the platform and everyone seemed to be just milling about.   I noticed the reader board.  One word.  Ritardo.  Late.  Aahh Italy.

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Copyright 2012   Andi Brown,  Once in a Lifetime Travel

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