Transportation

Are you taking a tour or traveling independently? If you are traveling independently what kind of mode of transportation are you using? Trains aren't that expensive. If you travel by train the full fare on a high speed Freccia train from Venice to Florence is about 45 euro pp. one way. From Florence to Rome it's also about 45 euro p.p. one way. From Rome to Naples it's another 43 euro. Then from Naples to the nearby Amalfi coast, it's very cheap with the Circumvesuviana Commuter train to Sorrento and the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi (less than 10 euro). For the Hi-speed Freccia trains, if you buy tickets online ahead of time, you might be able to save money on a discounted ticket (Economy or SuperEconomy tickets). They come with restrictions. The Supereconomy cannot be refunded nor changed. The Economy may be changed but not refunded. Discounted tickets sell out fast, so see what is available now. Also from Rome to Naples there some Interciy and Regional trains, which are slower (over 2 hrs instead of 70 min.) but up to half price. From Naples to Greece, the cheapest and faster way is to fly. Volotea has seasonal non stop flights from NAP to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Volotea is a low cost airline and is generally not that expensive. Check prices on line. Mistral air flies to other Greek islands from Naples. Any other destination in Greece from Naples, will require a lay over somewhere, or going back to Rome via train. From Rome you can fly to Greece with a variety of flights. I don't recommend taking the train to Brindisi then the Ferry. It takes too long (practically 2 days, when everything is said and done) and time is money, especially since you don't seem to have a lot of days.

Lisa, you have not identified where you intend to travel in Italy that costs so much. If you want to travel on the best and fastest trains, it is more expensive. But, you can get discounted fares on these high-speed trains if you plan ahead, can be certain of your travel dates and are willing to accept non-refundable tickets. Right now, you can get fares as low as 19Euro for runs between Venice/Florence, Florence/Rome and Rome/Naples. But, you can't wait until you get there to get these special fares. The Circumvesuviana train between Naples and Sorrento costs 4Euro. Once on the Amalfi Coast, you are on a bus or on the ferry. No trains. Or, you can take Regionale or intercity trains that are slower and make more stops. But, they cost half of what the fast trains cost. For traveling to Greece, I see fares on www.easyjet.com as low as 48Euro in early September. For these low fares, you need to book ASAP as these fares disappear as the travel date nears. Also, read the check-in and luggage rules for EasyJet. It's a great and reliable budget airline but you need to know the rules. All of this can be worked out. You need to ask more questions and provide more information. When you see these low fares, you need to jump on them as they go away quickly.

omg this is such great help! Thank you two you both for the information. Our calender looks like this from August 16-Sept 5.
Venice,Verona,Milan, Florence,Tuscany/Pisa,Rome,Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii/Sorentto, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, then back to England. That is our trip thus far ... Any suggestions.

what is the best way to book our travel inside Italy from city to city? What websites work?

I'm sure Roberto will drop back in to help further, especially if you give more specific information about your itinerary. In the meantime you might want to begin getting acquainted with the Trenitalia site, where train tickets can be purchased - Trenitalia.com

Lisa, here are a few choices to keep your costs down. Venice to Verona, you can do on a Regionale train. You can't buy these tickets online unless you are within 7 days of the travel date. Fare is 7,50Euro. The run takes 2hrs24min. You can take the high-speed and the trip takes 1hr10min. But the ordinary fare is 23Euro. You can buy non-refundable tickets online in advance for 19E. Not much of a savings. All your choice here. All of this is visible on www.trenitalia.com. You can English but you do have to enter the names of the train stations in Italian. Venice is Venezia Santa Lucia. Verona is Verona. Same choice from Verona to Milano Centrale. The Regionale train ride costs 11,55Euros and the trip takes 2.0hrs. The fast train takes 1hr23min but the fare is 21.50Euro. If you buy non-refundable discounted tickets in advance, the fare can be as low as 9Euro. But, you have to know your exact travel date and time and you have to buy in advance now. These low fares will be gone by the time you travel. Same from Milano Centrale to Firenze Santa Maria Novella (Italian train station names). But this one is a little different. You will need to be on two different Regionale trains. One from Milano Centrale to Bologna and one from Bologna Centrale to Firenze SMN. Journey time is almost 3hrs. Fare is 15,85Euros. From Bologna to Firenze, the fare is 7,85Euro. One train change along the way. Journey time is 1hr40min. Overall Milan to Florence on Regionale trains would cost 23,70Euros. Journey time would be almost 5.0hrs. Alternatively, you could take the very fast train from Milan to Florence and the journey time will be 1hr40min. No train changes. But, the fare is 50Euro. You can buy non-refundable tickets for as low as 19Euro.

Lisa, as I have showed you above, you do have choices. You can travel on the Regionale trains for very low cost but, your journey times take at least twice as long. Some are even longer with train changes. For your journeys to Pisa, CT and Tuscany, you will mostly be on Regonale trains anyway. You can do this all the way down to Sorrento. Just let us know how you intend to travel.