Rome-Florence-Venice May 2009

You will want to take EuroStar trains which are the fastest trains between Rome-Florence and Florence to Venice. You will have to pay a supplement for the mandatory seat reservation on these trains. Passes are rarely cheaper than point-to-point tickets. RailEurope is significantly more expensive than Trenitalia.

Ashley, your trips will be on high-speed Eurostars. Italy charges railpass holders 15E-20E extra to ride these trains. You can add another 288Euro in supplemental fees to your calculations for four people. A Eurail pass will be more expensive for the journeys you describe above. If you purchase P2P tickets, the seat reservations will be included.

Let's do some math. Fares are per person 2nd class. Airport to Rome Termini on the Leonardo Express - 11Euro. Rome Termini to Florence - 39.90Euro. Florence to Venice - 35.20Euro. That's 86.10Euro per person. That's 345Euro for your group.

Next, there are 53 trains a day that run from Rome Termini to Florence. As much as you may think you need tickets in advance, you don't. Americans just don't grasp the enormity of the Italian train system. You won't miss the train and the trains will not be full. At Rome Termini, you would think you were in an airport. The electronic ticket machines are very easy to use. They will prompt you in English and will accept your American credit card.

Ashley, your first trip to Europe, how wonderful! We took our first trip with our teenagers, also to Italy, in 1999, and all of us have been back several times since. Our children even did the backpacking thing in college. But, I remember having similar concerns as yours before our first trip. As the previous post said, the rail system is so expansive and easy to use, it is difficult to grasp until you have used it. That said, buying the Eurail pass is an unnecessary expense. A suggestion for your question about the Florence to Venice segment: when you arrive in Florence from Rome go to the self service machine to purchase your tickets to Venice. Then you will have them in hand and won't worry about them while in Florence. If you miss a train, there will be another one. We have learned that some of the unexpected and difficult situations on our trips have made for the best memories and adventures. Make a plan for each day but allow flexibility for new discoveries and have fun!

Hi Ashley,

Point to point is definitely cheaper.

I too like to have everything bought in advance. The prroblem with that, for point to point tickets, is that Rail Europe's prices are marked-up, and Trenitalia (the Italian rail website) is impossible to purchase tickets from. It's a quandary.

So what I did for our trip last year was research the train schedules on Trenitalia's website, tenitalia.it. I created our "train travel cheat sheet" with all of the details (cities, times, train numbers, ticket prices) for the trains we wanted.

On our first afternoon in Italy, I went to the train station, handed my list to the agent, and purcased all our tickets for the rest of the trip. It cut out any language barrier, and when he handed me the tickets, I could easily check that the prices were the same as the ones quoted on the website. (You could also use an automated kiosk just as easily.)

If you absolutely must purchase in advance, in USD, Rail Europe is reliable, and I think all its prices include fees and reservations. But they're a middle man, with middle-man markups. Buying direct from Trenitalia is usually cheapest.

Have a great trip!

Gold stars for Emma. That's the way to do it. Often times, English is not the agent's second language either. Have it all planned out and written down.

You do not need a Eurail pass. It will be much cheaper to get your tickets in Italy - either at the train station or a travel agent.

Ashley,

As the others have indicated, using a Rail Pass for the few trips you'll be taking will not be cost effective. There are a couple of ways you could handle this.

The method suggested by Emma is one good method to obtain the tickets. You could also buy your tickets when you first arrive at Roma Termini, as there are both "staffed" ticket windows as well as automated machines. You'll be at the station anyway, so it's a perfect opportunity.

You might want to check either the bahn.de or the trenitalia.it websites, in order to research exactly which trains will work best for you. That way you'll have a list to present to the agent. The EuroStar Italia trains are the quickest, but of course that means compulsory seat reservations. Those will be included in the cost of the tickets. The reservations will specify your Car (Carozza) number, your seat (Posti) number and whether the seat is corridor or window. Be very sure to validate your tickets in the yellow machines before you board the train!

Some of the cities have more than one station. In Rome you'll be going to Roma Termini, in Florence to Firenze S.M.N. and in Venice to Venezia Santa Lucia.

I definitely wouldn't buy the tickets through Rail Europe, as they will probably cost more than if you buy them in Italy. The rail network in Europe is very well organized and you shouldn't have any trouble with it.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door (if you haven't already?). It's an essential pre-read for travelling smart in Europe.

Happy travels!

One more little thing in addition to Ken's great info. After validating your ticket in the yellow box, make sure you are waiting on the correct platform for your specific train. My wife and I were waiting on one platform and just a few minutes before scheduled departure time we realized we were on the wrong one, but were able to make it to the correct one in time.

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