Train Travel from Rome to Florence

Ann, your question is humerous. Thousands make this trek daily. It is one of the most traveled train journeys in Italy. Trains are frequent.

Not sure if you are heading for Florence as soon as you land or you are staying a night first. As mentioned above, there are frequent trains from the airport to the Roma Termini train station. Once there, you can buy your tickets to Florence. I suggest the Eurostar train which is the fastest. 1hr 43min with no train changes and no other stops on some runs. Zip zip and you're there. You can buy the ticket at the ticket machine which has English prompts and you can use your credit card. Or, walk up to the ticket window and say "Firenze - Eurostar". Pay about 36Euro and you have a ticket. Roma Termini and Florence Santa Maria Novella are as crowded as Grand Central. Lots of people and lots of trains.

The better question is, "Has anyone not done it?" You have three trains an hour from the airport to Rome and, without checking the schedule, I think a train to Florence about every 30 minutes. Depending on the number of train stops it is an hour and half to two hour run. You don't need advance reservations. Buy all you tickets at the airport ticket booth or use the ticket machine in Rome. The stop in Florence is Florence SM which I think stands for Santa Marie. When you get off the train from airport you will walk into the train terminal pass the train schedule boards -- big sheets of trains schedule behind glass -- white for arrival and yellow for departure -- I think -- Do this out of habit so I don't pay a lot of attention to details. Schedules are arranged by time. Check your planned departure time and it will indicate the PROBABLE track location. In the main station watch the overhead boards for the correct track location. It will not be posted until 30 mins or less

Traveling by train is easy, cheap, and very, fun - it is delightful to sit there and watch the Italian countryside roll by. Rick's books give a pretty thorough discussion about how to use the system. But to answer some you your specifics:
1) You'll be able to catch the Leonardo express from FCO to Termini, Rome's central station. Tickets are 11E, there are 2 trains per hour and they are very easy to find.
2) Once you get to Termini, buy your tickets to Florence from the ATM-like kiosks (you can also wait in line to but them from a real person at a ticket window). They (the kiosks) are multi-lingual, just select the UK flag for English, and take debit or credit cards. No need to buy tickets in advance, and many people report problems buying advance tickets on line. There are many trains to Florence, trenitalia's English language site is: http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html to get an idea about departure times.

(Train info continued) If the schedule for April is not up yet, simply pick the same day of the week you want to travel in January to get an idea of the times (i.e., I want to travel on a Tuesday morning, so check Tuesday morning, January 22 - the schedule will be similar).

There are several different types of trains: Eurostars, Inter-city, regionals, etc. Trenitalia's site tells you how long trips are; longer trips mean that the train stops en route; Eurostar does not make any stops between Rome and Florence. In general, you pay more the faster you go.

You can choose between a first class and second class seat; first is a bit more expensive but is a bit more comfortable - whether it's worth it is very subjective (and others are welcome to chime in with your opinion).

But regardless of whether you sit in first or second class, end up on a fast Eurostar or slower regional train, don't worry; train travel in Italy is fun, easy, and surprisingly cheap. Have a great trip.

Ann, you posted this in two places and so you have replies in two places. In the future, post in only once so people see what others have written and you don't get duplicate replies.

If you want to reference it from somewhere else, pose the issue in the second place and ask that replies be put in the first as in "In transportation, I asked ... If you can help, please reply there."

And remember that the Italian place names don't always match their "English-ized" version. Florence in Italian is Firenze. (My Italian instructor tells a humorous story about a tourist in Rome who can't figure out why there aren't any trains to Florence.)

I think the difference between the Florence/Firenze names is probably the most extreme example. Venice and Venezia are a little more obvious.

Also, the first class trains have a 1 painted on the outside, and the second class ones have a painted 2. 1st class gets you a reserved seat, but you shouldn't need one.

We just got back from Italy. Take the train from Santa Maria Novella station in Florence to Rome Termini. Buying a ticket from the automated machines is easy. I don't see any problem being a single female - it all seemed pretty upscale and safe. Get a ticket for a Eurostar train ... and I strongly feel that 1st class was worth it! Sit back and enjoy the scenery and watch the Tuscan hill towns go by.

Ann - I second Frank from Colorado's suggestion that you buy both your Leonardo Express and Rome Termini to Florence Santa Maria Novella tickets at the airport. There's a helpful travel agency booth just to your left as you get off the escalator and enter the platform area for the Leonardo Express. They speak english. Also, be sure to validate your ticket before boarding each train. Watch for people inserting their tickets into the yellow box and do the same. You'll be pleasently surprised by how easy it is to use the trains in Italy.