booking train tickets ahead of time

All tickets but the REGIONALE ones should be booked ahead if you want to save money.
None should be booked ahead if you don't want to be tied to a departure day & time months/weeks/days in advance.

If you need to arrive as soon as possible, take either a trenitalia.com or an italotreno.it high speed train to Venice. If you prefer to spend hours on a train, take one of the few slow INTERCITY trains left on that route.

Out of curiosity, do you realize that all trains going from Rome to Venice call at Florence?

On the above sites you can look up the schedules up to the 11th of December and buy tickets up to 120 days in advance. Italotreno runs only high speed trains and is often cheaper than Trenitalia.

Rome - leaving on a Sunday morning travelling to Venice? Should we do the fast train?

I don't think you have any other choice but the fast trains, at least that is practical. 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The other 2 you'd also benefit (financially) by buying ahead as they include Freccia and/or InterCity trains with reserved seats. I suppose you could do Levanto to Florence with all Regionali, but take longer and require extra connections.

In May, I took the train from Venice to Camogli (a bit north of Levanto on the riviera) using only regional trains. Doing this added an extra connection and maybe an hour of travel time - but it also saved me about 30 Euros, because I didn't book the ticket ahead of time. (I hadn't nailed down exactly which night I'd be in Venice til last minute). It wasn't a big deal for me. It might have been nice to save some time had I been able to book a month earlier, or I could have spent the extra on a last-minute ticket on fast trains, but it just didn't matter to me or wasn't worth the extra cost.

Thanks for the feedback. We have to end up in Florence last as we are meeting up with friends there. I will look into these options.
So we could do regional trains from Venice to Levanto. I think this is the longest leg of the trip. So not too sure if we want to add an extra hour but if we are saving $60 EU it might be worth it, especially as we are paying with our low Canadian dollar :( If doing Regional trains then you don't have to book ahead? You just go to the train station in Venice and purchase the ticket? Are you buying multiple tickets or is it one ticket from Venice to Levanto (I understand you would be changing trains but not too sure if they issue one ticket or if you have to buy at each place that you switch). Thanks again!

Don't do regional train from Venice to Levanto, as it would take at least 3 or 4 train changes. There is the Freccia train to Milano Centrale, then change to an InterCity (IC) train to Levanto. Just one change and both trains require seat reservations (included when you buy a ticket). Or you could take a Freccia to Florence and change to a variety of trains to Levanto.

"So we could do regional trains from Venice to Levanto. I think this is the longest leg of the trip. So not too sure if we want to add an extra hour but if we are saving $60 EU it might be worth it, especially as we are paying with our low Canadian dollar :( If doing Regional trains then you don't have to book ahead? You just go to the train station in Venice and purchase the ticket?"

Hi Mary. Look on trenitalia.com. Use station names Venezia San Lucia, Levanto, and Firenze SMN, and enter the 'hour' or it will default. On ANY train and route - regional, fast, or combination, you can always just wait and buy your ticket at any station in Italy when convenient, or right before you board. If so, the most you will pay is the 'base' fare shown on trenitalia.com. Check your dates and see what routes and discount fares are offered, if any, then decide whether the discount offered for your particular day is worth it to you to lock in your exact date and time.

Also note that from Venice to Levanto, there are routes via Milan, or via Florence.

"Are you buying multiple tickets or is it one ticket from Venice to Levanto (I understand you would be changing trains but not too sure if they issue one ticket or if you have to buy at each place that you switch)."

You can do either, but in general you are given one ticket which will list all the segments. Enjoy your trip.

Ok. Thanks. I think we will pre-book them all as we have all our accommodation booked so we know when we are leaving each place. Is there any advantage to sitting on one side vs the other on trains? Or reserving in a certain area on a train? And one more question (yes I know I am full of them) can we put our luggage right above us on the train? Thanks!

As I said, I took regional trains from Venice to Camogli because I didn't book in advance. I didn't know what night I'd be in Venice. By the time I did, the faster trains were all really expensive.

If you will know soon (already?) what nights you'll be in Venice and then in Levanto with a high degree of certainty, book the fast trains as soon as possible. They may not cost much more than the regional trains if booked now. But if like me your dates are uncertain, you can wait and take the regional trains if you want to.

can we put our luggage right above us on the train?

Yes, provided it is not a huge 27 incher. Stick to carry on size (22 inch) and you'll be fine.

We will not be able to do carry on size. We are doing a cruise after so we need extra clothes for that. So we will have a medium size suitcase and one large back pack. Will they have to go on a luggage cart? Should we try to sit by this or should we plan on locking them somehow?

Trains often have seats backed up to each other with an A-shaped space between them that can hold suitcases. Or suitcase storage areas in the middle of the car. Only put carry-on size bags or smaller above the seats -- to protect the heads of the people sitting below them, and to protect your own back and shoulders.

Luggage racks (overhead) will take a 24" bag easily, the question is whether it's too heavy to lift. There are luggage racks in the middle of some cars on the fast trains, as well as at the ends. Not a good idea to place a sarcophagus-size suitcase in the aisle so no one else can roll luggage past it.

Tickets: you may get a ticket for each leg of your journey, online or at the stations, but they will match up.

Thanks again for the information.

So when I look at the price of the train from Rome Termini to Venzia S. Lucia it is showing $50EU as the standard fare. So is this the regular price? In other words if I purchased it on the day of would I pay the same price? It does show a free upgrade to premium but I am not too sure what this gives you.

Ok. So I just figured out you can get less expensive fares by doing a connecting train. It is about $15 EU less but takes 4.5 hours. Is it a hassle to have a connecting train via Bologna? What if the train is late and the connection doesn't line up? There is 24 minutes in between. Are you guaranteed a spot on the next train. Any other advice would be helpful.

Mary, each train has a certain number of cheap seats and as those sell out the remaining seats are more expensive. Typically, the closer you get to departure, the higher the fares because the cheap ones have sold out.

Which site are you using? When I check the Trenitalia website for Sunday, Sep 17, I see fares of 49.90 Euros. Click on the "choose" box under the fare, and it expands out to show all the fares available for that train. 49.90 is the "Super Economy" fare. After that sells out, the next higher one is "Economy" (64.90). The highest one is "Base" which is 86 Euros. If you wait til the last minute, most of the trains may have only the Base 86 Euro fares left.

The cheaper train with connections I see connects both in Bologna and in Venice Mestre - so two train changes. I travel light with carry-on bags, and I don't really mind changing trains, so I'd personally do it to save 15 Euros (looks like it takes only about an extra half hour even with the changes). And you have to be OK with hauling your bags off each train, going down the stairs to the next track and back up the next stairs. You'd be connecting to an InterCity train from Bologna. If you miss that? I don't think you are guaranteed seats on the next train (if by chance the next InterCity train is sold out), but you would get seats on a later train - you'll have to see a Trenitalia agent at the Bologna station for that, though, I think. From Mestre to Venezia S. Lucia is a regional train; your ticket would be good on a subsequent regional train (no seat reservations on regional trains - just get on). There are a lot of regional trains from Mestre to S. Lucia.

Again, thanks for the information. It is a bit nerve wracking trying to figure this all out and I so appreciate you explaining things to me. I decided to book the direct train from Rome to Venice as it will be our first time taking the train.

When I look at the Venice to Levanto - it goes through Milan. It gives us 20 minutes to switch trains and get on an intercity train to Levanto from Milan. Is this enough time to switch? I would think it would be or the trenitalia's site wouldn't book it through.

Thanks again! I don't know what I would do without all of the advice.

Also when I booked my Rome to Venice train it did not ask me about booking my seats. It just said premium econo. When do you book your actual seats?

You have already booked your seats, on official sites the seat reservation is always included in the ticket.

Check the pdf ticket you received, somewhere before or after the pnr code you'll see car and seat numbers.

Are you travelling with Trenitalia or Italotreno?

Milan's Stazione Centrale is huge and has multiple levels, but it is very easy to change trains in. All the tracks are on one level. You simply get off your arriving train and head to the front. You find a departures monitor (not an arrivals monitor - be careful) and look for your next train by departure time and train number. The track number will be posted, and you just go to that track. That's it.

Be careful if trying to look for trains by cities. The last city the train is going to is always prominently posted; intermediate cities are not as prominent. That's why it's always best to go by departure time and train number.