Train tickets

If you know day and time, just buy them now when the cheap tickets (EUR 29) are still available on www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en (credit card and home printing; remember to use the Italian originals for the place names: Roma and Firenze).

www.trenitalia.com They are available now.

Probably now if available or as soon as available. The discounted tickets will go quickly so sooner is better with one exception. If you are flying into Rome from the US, then it is best to wait till you are on the ground. Buying tickets in advance on your arrival can be risky if the flight is delayed.

Roma Termini -> Firenze Santa Maria Novella

ss,

As the others mentioned, you should be able to buy advance tickets now (they're normally offered for sale 120 days from travel date). You can purchase these either from www.captaintrain.com or Trenitalia. The Captain Train website is more user friendly, and sells tickets at the same prices as Trenitalia.

A few important points to keep in mind.....

• if you buy the cheapest Super Economy tickets, these are non-refundable and non-changeable, so be absolutely sure of your time and date before you hit the "Buy" button.
• the high speed trains on that route require compulsory seat reservations, which will be provided with your tickets. These reservations are specific to train, date and departure time so the tickets can ONLY be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If you board the wrong train by mistake, you'll be subject to hefty fines, which will be collected on the spot.

There is also italotreno! Italo is a private, competing company that runs only high speed trains on major routes.

Now they use Roma Termini, so there is no reason to keep on suggesting only state owned Trenitalia.
www.italotreno.it

I just looked at trenitalia, rail europe, and italiarail for a ticket from Rome to Pisa. I know there is a 6:57am train, but there are no options to buy that departure time. Does this mean they are sold out or can I still buy at the station? Thanks!

As you're going to Pisa, using Trenitalia would be the best option as Italo doesn't go there.

I just checked the Trenitalia website, and there are numerous solutions offered for sale on 31 May, with tickets as low as €9. I didn't try to purchase, but it appears that online purchase is possible.

Would you choose Base, Economy, or Super Economy? It is me and my husband and probably two suitcases and a carry-on size bag.

It doesn't matter how much luggage you have as long as you can manage it yourself - which you'll need to do regardless of class/price. We always travel on the cheapest 2nd-class ticket unless there's a big enough break on a 1st class to make it worthwhile. 2nd class carriages on Italian trains are just fine. If you can get a super-economy 2nd-class ticket for a great price, jump on it. Just be aware that you have to make that specific train or your ticket is worthless whereas a base-price ticket can be changed.

You can make some changes to an economy fare as well as to a base fare, but no changes to a super economy ticket (unless your train is late and you miss your connection, in which case you have to go to the ticket window to get a new ticket at no additional no cost).

Luggage has nothing to do with the price you pay for your ticket, but some travelers prefer to buy first-class tickets since first-class is usually less crowded, hypothetically leaving more room per person for luggage in the overhead/end of carriage storage areas.

...Would you choose Base, Economy, or Super Economy? ....

That is pricing and has nothing with first or second class. Base is the standard fare available all the time. Econ and S Econ are discount fare and are available until sold out. Econ allows one change to a base fare - paying the difference. S Econ allows NO changes.

Frank thank you for clarifying the ticket naming.

Thank you all for your help. We look forward to our trip!

Do you need to buy our tickets now or can we wait til the day of and purchase them at the train station? The thought being if we want to leave early we can or if we wanted a little more time in Rome before going to Florence we could. Thoughts?

ss,

Yes, you can easily buy tickets at the station on the day of travel. However, in that case you will almost certainly be paying Base fare, which is the highest price tier.

I'd suggest buying tickets at a Kiosk, as the queues at the ticket windows at Roma Termini are normally LONG.