Train Schedule - from Florence to Rome

You can do either.

When you buy at the station you will pay full price (Base) or you can buy tickets at a discounted price up to 120 days in advance via the trenitalia website: http://www.trenitalia.com

Keep in mind that these tickets are nonrefundable & unchangeable so your travel dates have to be firm.

There are 3 different prices:

• Base = full price (this is the price you'd pay at the station) & some
  changes may be allowed.

• Economy = less expensive ticket (with some restrictions on change).

• Super economy= least expensive ticket (nonrefundable & unchangeable)

I usually travel 2nd class but you may want to pay extra for a first class ticket.

You would take a high speed train( freccia) from Florence to Rome and you can purchase in advance if you choose to as explained above.

http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm#.VOKptPnF-Bg

The above link will give you comprehensive information on Italian train travel.

The Frecciarossa trains have 3 basic levels of service, Standard (basically 2nd class), Business, and Exectutive (1st class). The Standard seats are 22" wide on 42" pitch. Considering that most economy airline seats are 17" wide on a 34" pitch, even standard seats are pretty comfortable. Business are 25" wide on 42" pitch and Executive are 27" wide on 59" pitch. Within Standard there are levels include Premium, where you get a free drink, snacks and leather seats, and within Business there are also Sallotino (salon style?), Silenzio (no cell phone use), and Regular.
I'd choose the best price at the highest level at a time you want to go. Looking at a random midweek May date, some trains are sold out in Supereconomy in the Standard, but still available in Business at the same price as Economy seats in Standard. Obvious choice. Also better prices on trains leaving at 11:00 am and later.
The Frecciargento trains (the ones coming from Venice and Bolzano) just have 1st and 2nd class.

At www.italiarai.com, check prices using Euros as the currency compared with USD. May be a bit lower after you make the conversion.

There is also company Italo which runs fast train in Italy.
Prices for Italian trains depend aalso on the time of the train as much as how much in advance. If you download trenit you can see both the trenitalia and the italo trains. You can also reserve your ticket with your phone and pay it as well.

It seems that the Trenitalia schedules for mid-June to December have not been loaded yet, the super-economy fares will go fast when they are. I am checking daily.

Thank you everyone for your input. It really helps to come here and get first hand
information.

Diane,

The trip from Florence to Rome will be a 90 minute trip via the Freccia high speed trains. Use the Trenitalia website to research departure times. I normally try to arrive in a new city after about 13:00 or so, as the room in the hotel is more likely to have serviced by then.

If you decide to pre-purchase tickets, note that these have compulsory reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time. If you can commit to a specific departure time, pre-purchasing Super Economy or Economy tickets can save some money. As mentioned above, the Super Economy are non-refundable and non-changeable so choose carefully.

If you'd prefer a more spontaneous approach, you can easily buy tickets at the station, either at a staffed ticket window or from a Kiosk. I normally like to buy tickets at least the day prior to travel, as that way there are no delays on departure day due to queues at the ticket office or whatever. When buying shortly before travel, you'll most likely be paying Base fare which is the highest price tier, as the discounted tickets will probably all be sold out by then.