Getting from Point A to Point B (Rome to Florence)

Dates ???? Please !! Which site is giving you that information?

14 july - 16 july. Prices via raileurope.

And with 1 adult and 2 youths.

Erin, I'd suggest NOT using Rail Europe to check prices or timetables, for reasons which you've already discovered. Your best bet is the Trenitalia website. The schedules for July won't be loaded yet, but using an outgoing Saturday and return on Monday on a date in May, the prices for "Mini" fares are as low as 39 PP each way (depending on which departure you choose). The "Mini" fares can be booked online, but they typically sell-out quickly. If that happens, you'll have to pay "Base" fare which in this case appears to be €45 PP each way. You can also purchase the tickets in Rome, either from a staffed ticket window or from one of the automated Kiosks. If you can get "Mini" fares, the total cost for on that route could be as low as €234 TOTAL. I don't think you'll be able to get it much less than that, unless you travel on the slower Regionale trains. If using any Regionale trains, BE SURE to validate your ticket in the yellow machines, or you could face hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! You might find it very helpful to have a look at This Excellent Website. Happy travels!

Prices are cheaper if you use the Trenitalia website. Go to www.lefrecce.it There is a Union Jack flag and the word "english" at the top banner - click on this for English The cheapest fares I could find for 3 adults, not knowing the ages of your kids was 117 euro from Rome to Florence and 57 euro from Florence back to Rome on the dates you wanted If you use this site, the discounted fares, which have restrictions on refundability and exchangeability, will also show, such as "mini" fares. You will be shown second class tickets which are fine. If you want first class, you have to that specifically when the prices are displayed. Rail Europe may be showing you the first class fare. So it looks like you could pay as little as 174 euro in total which is a lot less than $500. The stations you want are Roma Termini and Firenze Santa Maria Novella (SMN) - there are multiple stations in both cities so pick these to get the high speed train.
You will get seat reserfvations as part of the ticket purchase process. You will get electronic tickets you can print at the end of the online transaction and an email. There is a new high speed train service starting on April 28. It is a competitor to Trenitalia. You can buy tickets now but since there is some risk associated with any new enterprise, you should take that into account. Non refundable tickets are selling for 20 euro per seat each way at the moment. You will get seat reservations as part of the process and the ticket is electronic also and can be printed at the end of the process and you will get an email with the info as well the opportunity. I just bought tickets on this site myself. There are only two trains a day so far. The website is www.italotreno.it - you can English language as well on this site so buying tickets is pretty easy. Beware that this company uses Roma Tibertina station.

I just want to add that Trenitalia schedules for July are available now on the le frecce website as are schedules and tickets on the new train system. And, I want to reiterate that in Rome the new Italo trains are using Tibertina station, not Termini.

Thanks Ken! Erin, to go into more detail, current standard Trenitalia Family Offer tickets through their site for the 08:15 AM FRECCIAROSSA train, #9514 from Roma Termini to Firenze S. M. Novella are running €94.50 for your group (€36 per adult and €22.50 for your child). That's about $125 in today's money. Coming back, the prices for July 16 are the same for this option. In addition, if you search, you can find the Trenitalia MINI fares for even less! Yes, sometimes it's less expensive to buy a MINI adult fare for your child rather than purchasing the Family Discounted option or a child's BASE fare. Currently at the Italo site, you can get ALL six of your tickets for €20 each - or €120 ($158). Those tickets ARE available NOW and on a limited basis. The €20 will be the first to sell out! And as mentioned, these trains leave from Roma Tiburtina, so add in €2-3 each way for the bus/metro trip to this station (depending on the age of your child)! The Trenitalia Family Offer the MINI fares, the LOW-COST fares at Italo are all limited availability tickets that require you to "LOCK DOWN" your dates in advance. But as you can see, far better savings than Rail Europe.

Thank you all!! I was able to book the MINI fares- 234 euros for all of us 1st class :) Less than half what Eurail was charging.