In about a month, we'll need to take the train from Venice to Florence, a few days later from Florence to Rome. While in Florence, we'll also do a train trip to Cinque Terre.
Is it cheaper to buy train tickets in advance, and by how much? My only problem is that right now, we haven't decided on the exact time to take the train from one city to another, although we know it'll be June 11 from Venice to Florence, and June 14 from Florence to Rome.
Yes, those tickets will almost certainly be cheaper to buy now than later. Cheaper fares tend to sell out closer to departure. But once you book, you probably can't make any changes, so make up your mind about the time first!
Don't prebook any regional trains (Florence to Cinque Terre could be regional trains) - they aren't cheaper in advance and can't sell out.
Use the Trenitalia website or Traineline.eu sites - don't use Rail Europe.
http://trenitalia.com/tcom-en
www.trainline.eu
Use Italian spellings for city names on the Trenitalia site (Venezia Santa Lucia station, Firenze S.M.N station)
Thanks for the quick reply, Andrew! If I bought tickets right now and decided to just change the time (not the day) later, I am assuming that one would have to pay the higher price at that time?
BTW, I had no choice to buy tickets from Bern to Paris on Rail Europe, and they had a huge data breach, so my credit card was compromised.
Read the terms and conditions carefully regarding changes. As I recall, Trenitalia doesn't allow any changes on the cheapest fares, but I'm not 100% certain.
Print the tickets out now and take a copy with you or display them on your device (phone, tablet, or laptop) or both. Print out the QR code that can be scanned, not just a receipt.
I see that the 11:35 Frecciarossoa has the cheapest tickets, 45.80 EUR for 2. I think that is an ideal time to travel. Your hotel probably wants you to be gone by 11. You want to wake up at a decent hour, have breakfast, get packed, then a last stroll in Venice. Maybe pick some items for a picnic lunch on the train. You get to Florence at 1:40 pm and it will be 2 or 2:30 before you get to your new hotel, and you stand a good chance of getting into your room.
Late morning and early afternoon trains are often the cheapest because business people like to travel early morning and late afternoon, and they don't care about the cost. It goes on the expense account. Getting home to the family is important for these road warriors.
I'm unclear on whether you are planning to buy your tickets from RailEurope. Don't do that, because it's likely to cost you more. Buy either from Trenitalia or one of the sellers who sell at the same price, like trainline.eu. one advantage of trainline.eu in this instance is that I think it sells tickets gor the Italo trains as well as the Trenitalia trains.
I have no plans to buy any more tickets from RailEurope. And wouldn't recommend them because of the inconvenience caused by having to get a replacement credit card, since their website wasn't secure.
The rules for discounted tickets work like this: If you purchased Super Economy tickets, no changes are allowed. To change the time, you would have to purchase new tickets. If you purchased Economy tickets, you can change the time (or date) but will pay the Base rate for the new tickets. Sounds like you may have purchased Economy tickets.
If you KNOW you'll be able to make that exact train, buy in advance!
That said, we bought tickets for that route three days in advance and business class was the same price as coach at 19 euro. That was April though; you're going high season. I would buy as far in advance as able.
Scott
You have another option....
Italo trains also service Florence> Rome and Venice> Florence at competitive rates.
As with Trenitalia, the cheapest tickets in advance will also have restrictions on the ability to change them at all or without penalty. They do, however, have a flex ticket that allows changes at no cost up to 3 minutes before departure of the train originally purchased.
Click "Flex" on this page:
https://www.italotreno.it/en/the-train/fares
These tickets will not be as cheap as the very lowest-price ticket tiers but will be less expensive than for higher-class carriages plus allow you the ability to make a change if desired. Just a thought...
We've only traveled smart/economy/2nd class carriages as they're plenty comfortable enough although some folks have been able to get a big enough price break in advance on 1st class/business class to justify the price difference.
Thanks, Kathy! Very helpful.
