city to city by train

There are 55 trains a day that go from Rome to Florence. Most are non-stop high-speeds. It's one of the most traveled train routes there is. At Rome Termini, almost 480,000 people go through there each day. People in Italy travel extensively by train. And, almost all have their luggage. Will you be in Rome before your travel to Florence or are you arriving at Rome-FCO and heading directly to Florence? If you are there a day or two early, buy your tickets early. If you are coming from the airport, you can buy tickets for the entire Rome-FCO journey at the airport. One caution. The tickets for the high-speeds will have the date, train number, departure time and seat number on it. Since the Leonardo Express takes about 30 minutes to get from the airport and you will need about 10 minutes to get from the Leonardo platform at Rome Termini, you'll need to give your self some breathing time to make your assigned train. If you are buying early, just write down the time you want to depart and hand it to the agent. The agent will do the rest. Or, you can use one of the many ticket machines. They speak English and they will accept your U.S. credit card. I would tell you to buy online but Trenitalia does not accept U.S. creidt cards (a few get through but mostly they don't). Use the same routine for Florence to Venice.

Don't bother booking the tickets in advance unless you are travelling on/near a major holiday. If you buy point to point tickets from an agent online you'll be charged a hefty premium for these tickets. Trenitalia's website is notorious for giving problems with non European credit cards. It is best to book these tickets in person once you are in Italy. Take the Eurostar train on these routes as it is faster, also first class is usually only a little more than second class and worth the additional cost. You will need to validate your ticket before you board. Luggage is no problem, but you'll need to get it on/off the train and store it on the overhead racks or the baggage racks by the doors, I recommend the former as you can keep your bags in sight during the train journey. Unfortunately, Italian trains aren't the most punctual, so keep this in mind when planning which trains to take. Only once has a train in Italy that I have been on arrived on time.

As Tina mentioned, make sure you validate your tickets before boarding the train. The validation machines are yellow boxes, usually on a pole, about 3.5 feet high or so. They are usually quite numerous at stations, especially at the end of the platforms. Insert your ticket and the machine will time-stamp it.

I booked the trains ahead of time through Eurarail and bought first class passes for all train service. Traveling was easy and efficient. Traveled with husband and 4 grandchildren. Went by train from Milan to Pisa, Pisa to Florence, Pisa to Rome, Rome to Venice, Venice to Milan. Fantastic trip. Bus from Rome to Pompeii.Only travel with a carry-on and a backpack. Storage available with a carry-on as well as a backpack.

My advice is: buy your tickets as soon as you arrive in Italy. Except for regional (marked with "R" on Trenitalia website), any other train will allow and most will require a reservation (meaning a pre-assigned date, time and seat). Many trains have 15% discount if tickets are bought in advance (online or at stations) more than 48h before departure. Ticket machines have English menu and provide a more efficient shopping experience than ticket counters. Don't try to practice your Italian or interact with the local at a ticket booth! All machines accept major Credit Cards.

I booked all our train tickets on Travelocity for our upcoming trip as I did for our previous trip. It is easy, no credit card issues, fares are good if you are just a month or two out. I like having it all booked ~don't want to waste precious time in Italy!

Trevelocity just goes to the RailEurope site so you won't see all the available trains and they have some fees that can be hefty. Just get your tickets when you get to Italy.

I'd suggest you get a retractable cable lock for securing luggage when you can't keep it in sight. Had one for my last trip and found it much easier to relax on the train. I went for the longest cable I could find in a retractable lock, since it is sometimes a stretch to get to the surface to which I could secure your bag.

as for the lock, it wouldn't hurt but traveling with 2 or more people its not hard to have someone keep an eye on the luggage. So I've never felt a lock was needed. For extra safety you could clip a strap of your luggage around a post or something, but we never bothered. It isn't like the long-haul trains have that many stops where you need to worry about your luggage walking off.

Simply buy your tickets at the train station's automated kiosks. They are multilingual and very intuitive. No need to book ahead. Just get to the station early enough so that you are not rushed.

I buy my tickets the day I arrive in a town.The machines are very easy to use and dont take but a few minutes.