Train Info

You can check Trenitalia.com (click on the British flag icon at the top of the page for English). You will also see different types of trains and fares.

It is also worth noting that tickets for reserved seating services (high speed and intercity trains) can be purchased from the trenitalia website upto 120 days in advance of travel and that there are very large savings by doing this. The downside is that the cheapest tickets do not allow you to make changes or cancellations.

The easiest way to get a good feel for train travel in Italy is to go to www.seat61.com It will answer any questions you have and some questions you wouldn't have thought of!

brenda,

I normally use either the Trenitalia website mentioned earlier or the http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml website. The bahn site doesn't show some of the routes in Italy but the Trenitalia site covers those. The bahn site is good for researching rail trips all over Europe.

Where can I go on that site to get the proper names of stations for each city? And how long of travel is each destination? Keeps telling me I don't gave correct station name. :(

Brenda,

You need to write the city names in Italian if using the trenitalia website: www.trenitalia.com

Venice = Venezia S. Lucia

Florence= Firenze S. M. Novella

Rome= Roma Termini.

Venezia to Firenze--> it takes 2Hr,5 mins. on the freccia (high speed) train.

happy planning!

Another vote for consulting www seat61.com. His info helped me book trains from Rome to Paris last year using Capitaine. The plan & reservations worked well. I found a "bimbi gratis" fare for my son that put us in first class for less than the cost of 2 second-class tickets.... With flexible reservations.

I think it's the Deutschebahn site that can also help with learning what trains go where and for how long. http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/. Trains traveling between same destinations can vary in length, based on the type of train--high speed, direct, local, etc.

Also, I think Rick had a map in his Italy guidebook with estimated time / cost for travel between cities? Can't remember.

Thank you so much! The other website was actually easier for this Texas girl.

brenda,

By "the other website", are you referring to the bahn.de website? For the routes you'll be travelling, that will work fine.

As a previous reply mentioned, travel time from Venezia Santa Lucia to Firenze SM Novella is 2H:05M via Freccia high speed train, which travels at up to 300 kmH at times. One point to note is that those trains have compulsory reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time, so can ONLY be used on the ONE train listed on the ticket. If you board another train (even by mistake), you'll face hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! You'll have an assigned car (Carrozza) and assigned seats (Posti) on those trains.

If you'll be travelling on any Regionale trains at any time during your trip (including the Leonardo Express to the Rome airport), you MUST validate the tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or again risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! There are no reserved seats on those trains, so you can sit wherever you can find a seat.

Other than Venice to Florence, which other train routes will you be travelling?

For journeys between larger Italian cities, you might also take a look at the Italo website:

http://www.italotreno.it/EN/Pages/default.aspx

That website is easy to understand/use, and rates can be competitive.

You will need to know the Italian names for train stations when you travel, best to make a list of them before you go.

Also, the trains sometimes only stop for a minute or two, and stops are not always announced.

Here's a video, with part of Rick's travel skills show about rail travel basics: http://tinyurl.com/ac82c92

I want to emphasize Zoe's point. Once in Italy, you need to know the name - in Italian - of the exact train station you are going to. In Europe, train stations all over a city will have the city name, followed by the specific station. Thus, there's Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Firenze Campo di Marte, and Firenze Rifreddi. Depending on which train you take, it may stop at only one, or at more than one. You need to know which station is yours, so you don't get off too early, or miss the city entirely.

Firenze Santa Maria Novella (abbreviated Firenze SMN) is the closest to the center; if you have a choice, use that one.

Furthermore, the train listings on a board (as shown in Rick's video) will have the end station listed prominently, and the intermediate stations not at all or in smaller letters. Thus, if you're taking a train from Venice to Florence, you can't look on the board for Florence or even Firenze; your train is mostly likely going to Roma or Napoli, and Firenze is an intermediate stop.

To add to Harold's advice: I know the Italian rail system pretty well, but I sometimes take a tablet or camera photo of the yellow departures poster which shows the station and the time of arrival for all intermediate stops, so I can get ready to disembark at the right time.

Another tip for getting on the right train - check the train NUMBER. It is on the ticket and is always noted on the Big Board in the train station. If your destination is not listed there, the number will let you know which track to go to where you can check the destination.

Easiest website for information you want is
www.rome2rio.com
and download the free App,
Rome2rio

gives travel times for train, bus, car, and taxi options, and if you touch the little transport icons, there is more info on names of stations, and names of bus and train lines. Costs are included too.

The App is easy to use, and the information is detailed and comprehensive.

Rome2ricom is a great website, I use it a lot, but it doesn't always show seasonal changes and the prices don't show discount fares. It's great for checking travel times and transportation alternatives (including taxis and fuel/tolls for cars).

And flight options also show on Rome2rio, don't know how I forgot that. An Amazing App.