Train Times and Cost

For most any train journeys in Italy, you can get the fares on www.trenitalia.com. For the fares on the Regionale train runs by themselves and not in combination with high-speed runs, you have to a date within 7 day from now. For example, if you needed a fare for a run from Florence to Pisa, you would a weekday or weekend day similar to when you will be traveling that is within 7 day from now. August 13 would be a good example. Note two things on Trenitalia. First, you enter the Italian station names. Florence is Firenze and the station you want is Firenze SMN. Second, the month and day are reversed on the Italian website. It's not 8/13; it's 13/8. For runs that may be on the high-speed trains, you could use the base fares for the budgeting. However, there are Economy and Super Economy fare possibilities that could lower the travel expenses. For these lower fares, you will need to know your exact date and time of travel as you will be locked into a specific future ticket that is non-refundable and for the Super Economy tickets, they are non-exchangable. For some better help, please let us know where you intend to travel and we can assist with the discovery of the fares.

Larry's advice is quite thorough. I would add that for budgeting purposes, don't use the mini-fare amount (if one is available), since by the time you book the tickets that fare may be gone; use the base fare instead. Also, if you use a date that is different from your actual travel date (as Larry wisely suggested), the mini-fare is irrelevant. I've done budget estimates for small groups and it's best to overestimate the cost and, once you arrive, put any savings into the gelato fund.

John, we're still looking for a travel agenda. We can help immensely with identifying the fares.

Sorry! LOL We will be flying into Venice on March 29, taking the train to Florence on March 31 (Easter!). On April 2 we take the train to Rome. I am thinking about reversing the order, Rome, Florence, Venice since we will be in Florence on Monday and many of the museums we want to see are closed on Monday. Needless to say, the trip is in the planning stage since we have some time to play with the schedule.

How large is the group? I'm wondering if there are enough discounted fares available for everyone on the same train. Does anyone know how many there are?

Right now the size of the group will be three teachers and 6 students. But that could expand to 4 teachers and 8 students. I'm trying to keep the number at 2 students per teacher to make getting across the street in Rome easier! LOL

John, You can easily and accurately predict the cost of tickets on Regionale trains, as those tend to stay the same. When you're searching routes on the Trenitalia website, use the same day of the week and the same time that you'll be travelling, but don't search beyond seven days from the current date. You can easily buy those tickets when in Italy, either at the Kiosks or the staffed ticket office (the staffed locations usually have a LONG queue!). One final point - with non-specific Regionale tickets, DON'T forget to validate in the yellow machine prior to boarding the train, or hefty fines may result ( collected on the spot). The same is true of Buses in Rome. I agree with Larry on the matter of tickets for the Freccia or premium trains. You can save money by pre-purchase on the website, however some members here have reported that the site is a bit "quirky" and not user friendly. If you want an excellent description of the procedure for buying tickets, have a look at the Ron In Rome website. Keep in mind however, that buying that way will "lock" you into travelling on a specific train and departure time. If you miss that train for any reason, you'll likely have to buy new tickets at full price. In the same situation and with a group, I agree that the best method would be to budget for "Base" fares. Happy travels!

The standard 2nd class fare on high-speed trains is €45.00 for Venice-Florence and €43.00 for Florence-Rome. Booked well in advance (up to 120 days allowed) on trenitalia.com, you can get a super economy fare as low as €9.00. There is an allotted number of tickets for each discount fare level. After the €9.00 tickets are gone, the fare goes up to €19.00, then €29.00, etc. The €9.00 tickets sell out very fast so you'll need to book ASAP to have any chance of getting them.