rome-venice-florence-milan by train

Trenitalia has a Familia offer which gives a 20% discount on point-to-point tickets. It is not a pass. See here.

You can buy all your tickets when you get to Rome. IMO, 1st class is a waste of money, especially on high-speed trains like EuroStar Italia trains.

Steve and Tim are both right. I would only add, to print the schedule for each day you will be traveling, and get and idea of which train you will want. Take the page with you to the ticket counter, for a non-Italian speaking traveler, it makes ticket buying a breeze. Also, I second no 1st class. Really a waste of time. Enjoy! Jeff

You could also try to book your train tickets through raileuorpe.com. I just purchased one-way first class tickets at a reasonable price. I found the cost to be the same as buying through trenitalia and I already have my tickets.

I am surprised that Charlotte purchase a ticket through RailEurope at the same price. Generally RailEurope tickets are marked up substantially and have additional fees. Must have been a sale. Second class would be much better for you than first class because second class is two across seating and sometimes you can get four seats facing each other. First class seating is three across so someone would have to sit by themselves. The comfort difference is not significant between first and second.

I may be wrong, but if you can adjust your itinerary, it seems to me better to go to Florence, then Venice, then Milan. I think you go through Florence from Rome to Venice, but not from Venice to Milan. Just saves a bit of back-tracking.

As as revision to the last three paragraphs above, any travel party between 6 and 10 persons can request two separate "Familia" plans, as long as there are at least one adult and one child in each group. That's a better solution.

Here is additional information from the Trenitalia website which has NOT been translated into English (it is available only on the Italian-language webpages):

"FAMILIA ESTATE" Promotional Fare

DIFFERENT from (and more generous than) the normal "Familia" promotional fare, it is:

1. Available ONLY from July 1 through August 31
2. Available on ANY of the following train categories: AV-Fast, AV, ES-Fast, ES, ES-City (i.e. NOT IC, ICN, EXP, EC, ECN or "regionale")
3. CAPACITY CONTROLLED
4. THREE to FIVE passengers travelling together (i.e. NOT two and NOT six)
5. At least one adult and one child under 12
6. Children under 12 travel FREE FREE FREE
7. Adults and teens (i.e. anybody over 12) get a 20% discount
8. NO ADVANCE PURCHASE REQUIRED (but capacity controlled)
9. NO RESERVATION CHANGES ALLOWED AFTER SCHEDULED TRAIN DEPARTURE 10 The "regular" "Familia" promotional fare CONTINUES to be available as a less generous ALTERNATIVE to the "Familia Estate" fare. The "Familia" fare ALSO covers IC, ICN and EXP trains).
10. Don't confuse these two family promotional fares

NOTE: If NEITHER "familia" fare is available for your departure days and times (because both fares are capacity controlled), children under 12 nevertheless ALWAYS get a 50% discount, and toddlers under 4 nevertheless ALWAYS travel free. Remember this rule about children and toddlers!!!

When travelling as a family group of three to five, ALWAYS ask about these two family fares. If there are more than five in your travelling party, no problem: request the "familia" fare for five persons, and the "excess" family members get their own "regular fare" tickets. Here's an example:

There are 7 family members, of which 2 parents, 1 toddler under 4, 2 kids under 12 and 2 teens:

The 2 parents, 2 teens and 1 toddler may qualify for the "Familia Estate" fare. The remaining 2 kids under 12 nevertheless get a 50% discount, even without the promotion!!!

Get the idea??

If you choose to buy your tickets from a train station upon arrival in Italy----do they accept credit cards for payment? or Euros only? Is it any problem getting tickets in October with reservations in this manner? Our first stop will be Venice, so is it easier to get train tickets thru a travel agent (we're staying close to St. Marks) or go over to the station directly?

Do you go to a window or an automated system?
Thank you
Fredrica

Fredrica,

Station ticket machines accept US credit cards and they have an English option. No need to stand in line at a ticket window. Unless you're traveling on a major holiday, you should no trouble getting tickets for the trains of your choice, especially if you buy them a day or two in advance.

Thank you----in buying your tickets from the automated whatever, is there the option to get the reserved seat as well as the ticket itself?