Flying into Rome, should we head straight to Florence?

I would, because I would rather have my Rome time together at the end. I would not book the ticket in case the flight is delayed. I am so out of it after an overnight flight, I don't mind another couple hours of zoning out.
Correct, you will go to train station--I might look into storing bags and grabbing lunch before the train to Florence, even if you just grab some sandwiches--no need to be jetlagged and hungry!

Greetings fellow Georgian! What time of year is your trip and how long will you have?

Heading straight to Florence is certainly do-able. We landed slightly earlier than that and picked up our rental car and hit the road to drive to Greve, which is just south of Florence. The high speed train will get you there faster than it took us to drive.

Have you been to Italy before and do you fly internationally often? Folks have different ways of handling jet lag, but we feel pushing through is the best way. If you head to Florence, check into your hotel and get out and wander the city. Find a place and have dinner around 7:00-8:00 (that's still early for them). Stay up as long as you can, say to 11:00, then wake up early the next day. That gets us acclimated the quickest.

Yes, that is my preference: don't split up your days in Rome if you are ending there anyway.

There are a very few direct trains per day from the airport to Florence; most do connect in Rome. Just check the Trenitalia website. If you have a smart phone, install the Trenit app now so you can check train stuff on the fly in Italy.

Thank you for your replies! Hubby will be happy to hear he was right about this one :)

Doug, we will be in Italy 9/19 through 9/30. It will be our second trip to Europe each, our first together and the first trip to Italy for either of us. We are so excited, but I confess I have been a smidge overwhelmed in the planning process!

So, from what I am hearing I need to be sure to have first class train tickets. Will they still be available day of? I think I need an Italy 101 course :)

Yes, I would. By the time you arrive in Florence you can likely check in to your hotel so will work out quite well in fact.

Pain getting to a city too early and having to rely on a hotel holding your bags before check-in time while you tour the city waiting for a room to be ready.

I've never bothered with first class train tickets in Italy. (In Poland? Yes.) Sometimes regional trains (no seat reservations or assigned seats) get crowded and people have to stand or kids can make a lot of noise or something, and in first class you'd probably have a guaranteed quiet ride with more room. If you're taking any train with assigned/reserved seats, no one will be standing - everyone will have to have a seat. You'll have plenty of room for bags on pretty much any train in Italy in my experience.

The problem is, which train will you buy from Rome to Florence? Conventional wisdom is to get the ticket when you are through with the airport and are ready to start the journey. Yes, you'll pay full fare, but unfortunately that is a consequence of getting a long distance train right after arrival from overseas.

If you buy a discount ticket on a train that you miss because your plane was a bit late, or there was a queue at immigration, or your bags took too long to get to you, or any of a further number of reasons, - that ticket has no value except as a bookmark.

If you pad the time so that you can be sure to use that discount ticket then you are in real danger of hanging about wastefully. Heck, your plane may even be early - who knows?

So, instead of throwing away the ticket and buying a last minute full priced one to replace it, or hanging about for the time to pass, why not just get the ticket when you know which one is next to go?

That's what I'd do, anyway....

When I fly to Rome and head to Florence (which is my final destination) I always goes straight after the flight.
I never pre-purchase the ticket. If the plane is late, the pre-purchased discounted ticket is worthless. I also don't want to pre-purchase the ticket for later. If the plane is on time, that would force me to wait for the train I book, even though I'm ready to go. I just pay full price at the FCO station when I arrive. The full price from the FCO airport to Florence on a standard (2nd) class ticket is 55 euro. At most you could save 22 euro pp by buying ahead. There are 2 to 4 trains every hour to Florence and the last high speed is at about 8pm. So plenty of opportunities to get there on the day of arrival.

Glad you've decided to go straight to Florence. I've done that multiple times and it works well.

If your flight arrives on time (or early), you have only carry-on luggage and everything else goes smoothly, there's an outside chance you could make the 11:08 high-speed train that requires no change at Roma Termini. Should you make it to the train platform in time and the line at the FS ticket window is long, there are 2 or 3 other places in the same area that sell train tickets. There are also ticket kiosks in that area and others just before the underpass to the train station, but those just before the underpass often have long lines.

All other trains to Florence around your arrival time require a change. You'll either take the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini and change to a high-speed train, or you'll take a regional train to Roma Tiburtina and change to a high-speed train. While Termini is a very busy station, I think the change there is a little easier as the change at Tiburtina usually requires a longish walk between the regional and high-speed tracks. If you have a preference on where to change, you should tell the ticket seller. Otherwise, they'll give you whichever routing he or she thinks is best (or next).

There's no need to buy first class tickets. The Leonardo Express ticket is technically first class, but second class for the high-speed train works just fine.

Good to know about first vs. second class tickets. The amex lady almost made it seem like if I had to sit in second class seats on the train I might be sharing it with criminals and livestock :)

Speaking of criminals - she was pretty adamant about the prevalence of pick-pockets. I had heard the same about London, and when I was there earlier this year I did not feel the least bit concerned about someone picking my pocket. Is it as bad in Italy as she made it out to be?

Pickpocketing is a real danger anywhere in Europe. Don't be so cavalier about it!!!

Rick Steves himself was pickpocketed in Paris just recently, after years of preaching about the dangers of it. He was careless. Last year, in Riga, Latvia, after many trips to Europe, I was very nearly pickpocketed at the train station in an area that wasn't very crowded, in quite a brazen attempt. I was careless too just luckier than Rick.

But I wouldn't avoid the second class trains to avoid pickpockets - that's silly!!!

Just use common sense: watch your valuables. Consider using a money belt (I've never used one, but some people swear by them). These thieves are professionals and very skilled. They are most likely to strike when you have your guard down. Don't get lost in conversation on the train and ignore your surroundings.

Personally, I never travel with my passport while staying at a hotel - I leave it at the hotel and carry a copy with me. I also leave spare cash and credit cards and a photocopy of my passport in my bag in case I lose my wallet and real passport. I keep my passport in my front pocket or sometimes in a bag when I am moving from hotel to hotel.

In case you thought London doesn't have a problem with pickpockets, check this out:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/revealed-the-worst-tube-stations-for-pickpocketing-a3342606.html

Pick pockets don't board high speed trains on any class. Those tickets are expensive and pick pockets prefer crowded means of transport. High speed trains are never crowded. Pick pockets like crowded city buses and crowded subways or other crowded situations (like in line for an event).. That is where you should be careful. I wouldn't wven bother with buses in Rome, take a taxi. In Florence you can walk everywhere since the city center is small. Also watch out for gypsies who surround you with the excuse of begging for money or offering to carry your bags. They are planning to get close to you and pick pocket you. Firmly keep any beggars far from your personal space. Also refuse any help and keep those people at arms' length.

The amex lady almost made it seem like if I had to sit in second class seats on the train I might be sharing it with criminals and livestock :)

The amex lady was lying - or is that just fake news?

Just wondering - was she selling tickets so that she might make a bigger commission?

And has she ever traveled abroad, herself? Probably not....

Why do you want to take a train to the center of Rome (I presume Termini) when you can take a train directly from FCO Airport to Florence? Roberto da Firenze explains that he goes straight from FCO to Florence, if I'm reading him correctly.

Also I think Second Class Reserve tickets are great for you and will serve you well. You'll find a lot of couples like yourselves in those cars. When I've taken 2nd Class Reserve, I've always nabbed a single seat on one end of the car, giving me a small space to put my carryon on the floor next to me.

Only those single seats are coveted by other solo travelers who are on the train but don't have assigned seats. I've always had to deal with another passenger in my reserved seat. After showing them my ticket they get up but don't go too far. They are standing as the train begins to move. I don't know if they even have tickets. I do know they have No place to sit. I've seen them take over seats of couples who leave and go to the lounge/food car.

Once I lost my single seat when I went to the washroom. Well you left your seat, the gal said. Rather than argue with her, I went to the lounge car. Some trains don't have lounge cars. So I'm sure to do my Kegels now.

I still travel my share of coach, but don't like all the standing I usually have to do. I got concerned about coach when I got stalked by a male gypsy passenger at Ancona. Oddly the long train was empty, I had my choice of car and seat, and so did he, next to me. Fortunately I had a rare First Class ticket on that Regionale and got rescued by a Conductress.

I'm not saying that First Class Reserved is a breeze. I've found other passengers in my reserved seat and have had to show my ticket to get them out. But I don't see them standing in the car, watching for someone to leave their seat. And once I got assigned an inside seat with a family. They didn't want me in, I didn't want in, and the Conductor agreed, directing me to another seat. That's why I like First Class, very flexible, there are enough empty seats to help out in a pinch, more room for luggage, more room for passengers too.

There are only two Freccia trains a day that originate from the FCO airport and require no change (at 11:08 or 15:08). All other options require a Regional from FCO to Tiburtina where you board the high speed Freccia to Firenze SMN (Florence).

Taking the Leonardo Express to Termini and getting the Freccia at Termini is not any faster than getting it at Tiburtina. All trains to Florence stop in both, and the Regionale, which bypasses Termini through a short cut, will get you to Tiburtina on time to catch the same Freccia train that you would board at Termini, but for less money than the Leonardo Express. Also if you are afraid of pickpockets, gypsies, and panhandlers, there is plenty of those at Termini, but not so at Tiburtina which is a newer and quieter station.

Oh Ok thanks for clearing that up Roberto!

I was in second class on many of Italy's trains a few years back. Nobody did anything criminal and I never saw livestock.

I will say, just be smart about pickpockets. The warnings are serious, especially when I met some Canadians who had gotten picked on the Circumvesuviana Train from Naples to Sorrento despite several warnings in guidebooks about that train. The same applies for train stations in Rome, Florence and Milan.

Just be smart and aware. I keep my wallet and anything valuable in the front pockets. I also wrap rubber bands around the wallet (can tug against you skin when someone tries to pull it up) and stuff paper or tissue on top.

Also, people at the Florence station kept trying to help me validate my ticket; I knew that I needed to validate it already. I would validate any tickets on my own.

Sandra, as always: relax.

Those guys that scared you so much sitting at your place and then roaming around were yearly (thanks R.) pass holders, poor souls who must commute using both Freccia-something and Regional trains.

They are allowed to get on "reserved seats only" trains and look for free spots. You did not see them moving from one free seat to another in first class only because Trenitalia doesn't sell that type of passes for first class cars.

To tell the truth Trenitalia would like even commuters to book a seat on-line any given day. Luckily regional governments subsidize those passes aimed to commuters and Italo would love to step in and save the poor workers from Trenitalia's dreams of working like airlines.

*Roberto, scusa, ma l'abbonamento annuale annuale ai mezzi come si chiama in Inglese? Subscription non è l'abbonamento a teatro?

L'abbonamento ai mezzi si chiama "Monthly Pass" (mensile). Non ho mai sentito di abbonamenti annuali in America ma probabilmente se esiste da qualche parte si chiamerebbe "Yearly Pass". Subscription è l'abbonamento a un periodico, o un giornale. L'abbonamento allo stadio (e teatro), si chiama Season Ticket.

I'll give a contrary opinion. I find overnight flights so horrendous (as I do not sleep) that I make transportation the least tiring as possible. This is after having my last overnight, hopefully, a few years ago in which I was feeling ill by the time I arrived at my end point hotel. I now stretch my travel out and relax. So, I would not go to Florence on the day of arrival and in fact have not. Our last such trip, we checked into our hotel in Rome, enjoyed the rest of the day in Rome in a relaxed manner...after a 2 hour nap, and took the train to Florence the following morning. No running around, no stress, etc. Because I feel vacations should not be stressful, I make everything as easy and non-tiring as possible. I count full days in a location so my vacation is never taken up with my relaxing 'commutes'. I did this even when I worked for a living, so now that I'm not on a schedule, it is only logical, IMO. This keeps my strength up, which I thinks keeps the colds, digestive disorders away...I hope. So, I would say, break it up. Then when you return to Rome at the end, it feels like returning home...I like that about bookending trips with the same city.

Wray, we all have different travel styles. I can't sleep on a plane, either, but after several trips to Europe over the years, I've found that what works best for me is to stay up all day (no naps!) on the day of arrival to adjust to the local time zone as soon as possible. Go to bed close to local time.

I've also found it helps to rest up BEFORE my trip. Try to get a good night's sleep in the days before a trip. I've found I can tolerate a few sleepless nights after I've rested up the prior nights. I've had a few trips to Europe where I was exhausted and operating on little sleep for one reason or another before I even got on the plane, and that made adjusting to local time a lot harder once I arrived at my destination.

It's true that my fist day off the plane in Europe is a pretty groggy day. But I always hit the ground running anyway. I've taken connecting trains or connecting flights numerous times on arrival day, but I prefer a day when I'm waking, in the sun, moving around, staying awake until local bed time. The second day is always much better.