Train Station Venice

Yeah, about that. Very likely your credit card won't work on the Trenitalia website.

First, the rates won't change much if at all when Trenitalia updates their schedule in mid-June. If they do, it's minor. Second, for the past 2 years, Trentalia has not been accepting U.S. credit cards although that may be changing. Thus you'll most likely be buying yor tickets when you get there. Don't worry. You won't be missing any trains. There are plenty of them.

GO TEXAS RANGERS!!! WOO-HOO!!! (sorry) Frances, here are two more resources for purchasing Italian train tickets: http://www.bootsnall.com/eurail/passes/italy.shtml http://www.raileurope.com/index.html (on the first link, ignore the headline about 'Italian Railpasses'...) You'll have to go through both of them to see which is the better deal for your routes and dates. Also, watch them for added fees such as S&H or Processing Fees. You should be able to get e-tickets from both of them. And it IS true that Trenitalia has been pratically impossible to purchase from when using a USA-issued credit card, but in theory that's changing...so people say...Lastly, in my limited playing around with the 3 websites, the tickets prices are extremely close to one another. Others have found that to be basically true, BUT you do have to watch the fine print concerning any extra fees and charges. It doesn't matter which station you leave from in Venice - the tickets should cost the same...not double.

The train station that will leave from the island of Venice is Santa Lucia. It will take you back through the Mestre (mainland Venice) station, where you will possibly switch trains, or just pick people up. The Florence station is Santa Maria Novella. trenitalia.com will guide you on train schedules and prices and such.

...and yes they run Sundays.

Yes, trains run on Sunday. I am sure the weekend schedule varies slightly but it is not significant.

You can check the schedule at Trenitalia's website even if your travel date is more than 2 months away. Just pick a date that's the same day of the week as you'll be traveling and enter a time an hour or 2 before you want to leave. You must enter Venezia as your departure & Firenze as your destination. (Those wacky Italians have a different word for everything.) I'm making the same trip on a Monday in mid-June & have about 6 choices for departures & length of travel.

If you select the English button on the Trenitalia website, you can enter Venice and Florence. You don't need the Italian names. And yes, there are lots of train runs on Sundays. And, yes, most train runs do originate at Venice-Santa Lucia the main station on the islands. The Venice Santa Lucia train station is on the Grand Canal.

Ok so it seems that the ticket from Santa Lucia to Florence is going to be almost double of what the ticket from Mestre to Florence is. Do you have any suggestions on how to get to Mestre from the island of Venice w/o going broke...

Frances, you didn't mention price. Next, the fares are the same either from Santa Lucia or Mestre. What you are looking at is the 9:20am Inter-City train run from Venice-Mestre to Florence-Rifredi. The IC train is a different class of train. It's slower and makes more stops than the high-speed. The fare is 24E instead of 43E for the high-speeds. Note that neither Mestre nor Rifredi are the main train stations in each city. Mestre is 11 minutes from Santa Lucia. Literally every train into and out of Santa Lucia will stop there. You just need to buy a ticket from Santa Lucia to Mestre so that you can change trains there. Or, you will need to show the ticket agent the exact 9:20am IC train run you want so that he can sell you the tickets you want. Second, Rifredi is one stop away from Florence-Santa Maria Novella. Again, you will need a separate ticket from Rifredi to SMN. Thus, you will be on 3 different trains and your overall journey should run about 3.5hrs. versus 2.0hrs on one train when traveling on the high-speed. Your choice.

OMG we are super confused! We wanted to buy the tickets while we were still in the US that way we know when we have to be where, however if we decide to wait until we get there would the rates change???

I purchased tickets from Venice to Florence about a month ago for early May travel. My Amex card didn't work on the Trenitalia web site but my Capital One Visa card did. I was able to get a minifare ticket and got 1st class for the price of a 2nd class ticket if I waited until I was there to purchase it.

Frances I hope you don't stay confused for too long, Its so much better to have fun... The most important question you need to ask yourself about the train trip you mention is if money or time and comfort are more important to you. There are no freebies in this world. If you want a nice, fast, very convenient train with no changes of train you want the Eurostar from Venice Santa Lucia right on the Grand Canal with vaporetto stops immediately outside which will take you right into Florence Santa Maria Novella station which is right in the centre of Florence. That will cost money. On the other hand if time and convenience are less important than money you can take the slower train with the changes and less comfort. Bus from P.Roma or train from V.S.L. to V.Mestre, Intercity train to Florence Rifredi, local train to F.S.M.N. Its really not a difficult choice once you have decided what is more important to you. Fast, direct, very comfy, more expensive?
Slower, decent seating, changes of train, less expensive? Good luck .....