Need to reserve on a train from Rome to Florence?

As Ron said, any travel agency with "ferrovie" or "biglietti treni" sells tickets with no commissions added on. When you get into Rome, go to the train station or to a travel agent and buy tickets, especially if you want a particular time. Ask the agent whether a reserved seat is preferred for a particular time frame. There are lots of trains, from the fast freccia ones to the slow regionale [INVALID] these get crowded for the parts where there are lots of commuters, going in the city in the early morning and out in the early evening. But for a fast train from Rome to Florence, you'll want either a freccia rossa or the eurocity and for those it is best if you get seats in second class. Is it just you or just two of you? We've never had problems finding seats even last minute to get onto those trains buying a few hours before.

Get your tickets when you arrive in Rome. Don't wait until day of.

Don't worry about it. There are lots of trains and plenty of room. Buy your ticket at the station when you're ready to go.

Any recommendations on which style train to use there are so many!? Is second class going to be fine - or should I look to go first class? Thanks

Second class is just fine, I find train travel in Italy very enjoyable. Get something to eat before getting on and lay back. The only true negative I have is it can be tough to find a place for your bags so pack light. At the very least you can put them under your feet and not worry about leaving them in the racks up front of the car.

We are in Italy now and the trains are VERY crowded. Although you cannot buy from the US on Trenitalia's website, go to Trenitalia or a travel agent as soon as you can, at least a few days before you travel, and buy your tickets. We have had to adjust our plans a couple of times due to full trains, even with advance planning. We always got the day we wanted, but not always the service level or time. 1st class has been sold out a lot as we have encountered fellow travelers with the same experience. Reserve seats if you are able. We had to STAND UP today for two hours on a two over-crowded Regionales. Ask for the Promo Atunno fares on the Freccias and some InterCity ad EuroStar trains. Great savings! Lots of Germans, Aussies here now, many Italians traveling, too. Ciao from Siena!

Usually, unless it's a holiday you'll have no problems getting a seat on a train to Florence - Venice might be tougher. You can book up to five seats at one time at the kiosks, which are quite easy. See this link ***** http://tinyurl.com/buy-train-tickets ***** If it makes you more comoftable, upon arriving in Rome, you can purchase tickets at a local travel agency with the FS logo at no additional charges. This link, about riding trains in Italy, may also help you ***** http://tinyurl.com/riding-trains *****

I'll be using a 6-day Italy Flexi Railpass soon. The first Italian train station I'm in (Ventimiglia), I will purchase my reservations for all my train travels. By that time I will have a firm itinerary and can make all the reservations. Once, in Venice, I decided to do what you propose, Mary, and couldn't get on the early train I wanted. I had to wait for a later train. I suggest that you have the details of your ticket or reservation written down. Show that to the ticket agent. It saves a lot in explanations and misunderstandings. Check tix/reservations before leaving the window to make sure they are correct.

There 53 trains a day between Florence and Rome each day, Doubt if you will have much trouble finding a seat.

mary, you shouldn't have any trouble at all buying your ticket in Rome (which will include a reservation if required). If you're concerned about getting a seat, buy your ticket at Termini the day prior to departure (once you've decided which day you'll be travelling). I'd suggest using a EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita train, even though the cost will be higher. I normally just buy second class tickets, as I don't feel first class provides that much of an improvement to justify the extra cost. Cheers!

We flew in to Rome. And went from there to Florence. Then back to Rome. We were concerned about making reservations, then missing them because our flight was delayed or getting caught up in customs/immigration. We bought our train tickets at the Rome Airport. At the same time we got our tickets from the airport into Rome. Our mid week train to Florence had plenty or room. Our return train on saturday. We purchased at the station just prior to leaving was pretty full. Have fun.

Try to avoid the commuter rush hour - the train station and the trains will be significantly more crowded and lines much longer. We didn't have trouble getting from Rome to Florence but we had to wait nearly 5 hours to get a train from Florence to Venice. I'd follow the advice of previous posters - if you can, buy your outbound ticket a couple days beforehand, when you arrive. Have fun!