Buying Train Tickets italiarail versus raileurope

If you buy them on Trenitalia.com, you can get the "mini" fate of 19 euro per person (2d class) for that train on that day. Total 95 euro or around $138. Or if one of your children is under 12, you can get a family ticket for 139,50 euro, which is more than the mini fare but offers some flexibility.

Keep in mind that Rail Europe is a travel agency that sells limited European rail tickets to North Am with a decent mark up. You will always have greater selection, access to discount prices, cheap prices, etc. if you use the national railroad system for the country you are traveling in.

Sarah, there is some more information that you need to reveal to us before the question can be properly answered. Are any of the other 4 family members children? If yes, what are the ages? Second, look closely at the information provided by both Italiarail and RailEurope. See if you can identify the train that they want to put you on. There are three different types of trains making the Florence/Rome run. The tyical high-speed takes 1hr35min and costs 45Euro. It's a non-stop. There is a mini-fare of 22E if you buy in advance online. The second type of train is the Intercity (IC) train. This train takes 3hrs04min with the fare being 30Euros. The mini-fare is 27Euros. Finally, there is the Regionale Veloce. The train journey time is 4hrs10min. The fare is 17.05Euros. No mini-fare on the Regionale. Next, is the pricing you list for one-way for round trip? Next, how are you arriving at 11:13? Are you arriving by train or by plane at the Florence airport? It's possible that RE is roundtrip and Italiarail is one-way. Further, it's possible that RE selling you tickets on the non-stop high-speed and Italiarail is offering a ticket on a slower train. Both Italiarail and RailEurope are ticket brokers and they have to buy their tickets from Trenitalia, the official train system for most trains in Italy (a few small train systems are private). To anwer other questions. If you wait to buy train tickets in Italy, you will most likely pay list price as the mini-fares will most likely be gone. No you won't make to the Vatican for a 1PM tour if you arrive at 11:13. Even if you left Florence at 11:10 on the fastest train, you will arrive at Rome Termini at 12:45pm. Then, you either take a taxi or go downstairs to the metro to get to the Vatican. You might be close but I'm betting that you can't do it if you have to go to a hotel first to drop off your luggage.

The next piece of information here is that Trenitalia changes their schedules twice yearly. The next is scheduled for June 12. In the past, the entire takes a couple of days. I can see the Trenitalia schedule for August 2 but from experience, I can see that only the high-speeds are being shown. I don't see all of the IC and Regionale Veloce runs. Also, the mini-fares are great but they will vary between train runs - even for the same type of train. They also vary on date. I see Lola showing a 19E mini-fare above. I'm seeing 22E for next week and for August 2, I'm seeing 35Euro. It's wise to wait for the full schedule . Next, Itialiarail and RailEurope will not offer you the mini-fares. They will offer you the full ticket price plus their markup. If you can possibly wait until until about June 16 to buy your tickets, I believe that that will be a safe date to go online with www.trenitalia.com and purchase your tickets with mini-fares. Final hint. If you are arriving at 11:13 on a plane at Florence airport (or any airport), its one of the worst times to purchase a train ticket for a train departing 1-2 hours later with a firm departure time. Planes are often late. This is out of your control. In Italy, if you miss the train and don't get your ticket changed within one hour, its toast. Please plan carefully.

Thanks for the information, I was not aware of the mini fare. What is the best way to get the mini fare? Should I just wait until mid June and order from the www.trenitalia.com site then? What other options do I have.
We are a family of 5 2 adults with a 16, 14 and 10 year old. We plan to leave Florance and arrive in Rome by Train a little after 11, and then try to get a 1 PM Vatican tour.

Tickets for August 2 on the fast ES "Frecciarossa" are available on Trenitalia now. That is the best way to get the mini fare if you want to ride the ES train.