Train Rome to Florence

It's only an hour+ ride. I'd save the money and spend it on gelato! My motto: buy tickets when you are ready to confirm to a schedule.

Agree with Robert. A short train ride and no need to buy more expensive tickets.

I agree with the others. The trip from Roma Termini to Firenze S.M.N. on the high speed trains is only about 1H:40M so there's really no point in spending extra money for the high priced tickets. The regular seats are quite comfortable and all the coaches have A/C. You can use either Trenitalia or Italo Treno as both offer high speed trains on that route.

Agree, we did the train ride last year and regular coach is fine.

We've done both, not a huge difference. The only reason I'd choose first class over standard is when booking early sometimes the deal offered is better for the first class. I found this to be the case on Italo trains, they have some really good discounted tickets and sometimes the standard class deal is sold out but the first class is still available and only a few euro more than the standard deal. Just remember, discounted tickets are typically not refundable, but at least on Italo can be a major savings. So if you know for sure the time you want to travel and it's NOT the day of arrival from international flight, look for those discounts and deals. If it's for the day of arrival just bite the bullet and pay full price for fully refundable tickets because you can't be sure of arrival time, time to get through passport control, etc.

We did this last mid-October. We booked regular coach for the way there and business on the way back, but only because (as the previous poster commented) it was actually cheaper than regular coach. The only real difference was that we got a complimentary non-alcoholic beverage and a light snack (like chips or crackers). It's not a long ride and it was equally comfortable in both cabins. We did pre-book our tickets (I think in July or August). It might have saved us a couple bucks, but then you are locked into your train time.

Curious if Trenitalia or Italo is better for booking or they both similar?

Basically the same
Choose the one that has the time you need, price that works

I have found that Italo tends to be slightly less, or at least offers better discount deals. As far as trains, comfort, timing, reliability, they're equal so definitely go with the better schedule. If you want to see discounts go ahead and set up an online account (app works great too) (especially on Italo) you'll get emails about limited time discounts. But remember discounted tickets are typically non refundable.

Been there; done that. Absolutely no need to purchase premium-tier tickets on Trenitalia or Italo 'fast' trains. Standard, 2nd-class coach is plenty comfortable enough for a journey of this length.

Excellent information. Italio has an over 60 discount so we are set. Thanks!