Transportation from Venice to Florence to Rome

I did the opposite of your itinerary a couple of years ago with my friends....going from Rome to Florence to Venice on the train. None of us spoke Italian but didn't have any issues with taking the train. I bought the tickets a couple of months ahead of time, so we didn't deal with anyone at the train station as far as purchasing tickets. I personally didn't want the hassle of trying to drive in the cities, trying to find a parking spot, etc., so for us, the best choice was taking the train.

Take the train - Italy like much of western Europe (and unlike the United States) has a fantastic, reliable train system. Plus, you DO NOT want a car in Venice, Florence, or Rome! You might want a car in say Tuscany to explore small towns but it doesn't sound like you really have time for that.

Pisa is a common and easy day trip by train from Florence. Other good day trips include the lovely town of Siena and Lucca, perhaps combined with nearby Pisa (there's a direct bus to Lucca from near the Field of Miracles which is the area where the Tower of Pisa resides.)

Try the website www.trainline.eu for trains between Venice, Florence, and Rome. There are two train systems in Italy - Trenitalia (most of the trains in Italy) and a smaller private company called Italo. Trainline should show trains from both. Look into phone apps for Trenitalia ("Trenit") and Trainline to be able to buy tickets on your phone and check schedules and real-time delays, etc.

Note that if you take regional trains to say Pisa that are not reserved you MUST validate your (paper) tickets before boarding the train! Otherwise, you risk a huge fine for being caught without a valid ticket. There is no leniency for wayward tourists.

And don't worry about not knowing the language - I don't speak Italian either (nor do I speak any other language besides English) and that has never stopped me from exploring Europe. Many younger people will speak some if not fluent English, and most people in the tourist industry will speak some. If not...you can figure out how to communicate. Nothing to worry about.

Tips?
Travel light--no more than you can lift.
Buy reserved tickets on the fast trains up to 120 days early at a discount--Trenitalia.com.
If you want to see the countryside, rent a car for a day. Tuscan roads are well paved and easy to drive on--but a little crooked.
Pisa? Skip it. Go see Siena, San Gimignano and/or Volterra.

Purchase your tickets in advance. It's much cheaper that way. Use a creditcard that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. There's info on this site about which credit cards to use. Themaninseat61.com is a good source for all things train.

Learn the city names in Italian: Roma, Firenze, and Venizia. You will need the Italian names both to buy tickets on line and to recognize the cities so you can exit the train at the right place. Roma Termini is the station you will depart from. Your station in Firenze will be Santa Maria Novella.

Look on boards for your departure track. Binari means track. Uscita means exit.

Although tickets for anytime on day must be validated, you won't need to validate your online printed tickets because they will be for a specific time. Just have them and your passport handy for the attendant after you board and find your seats.

Carryon size luggage will usually fit in overhead racks. Whatever you do with your luggage put it where you can see it. Don't pack more than you can easily lift.

Retrieve your luggage just before your stop and head for the exit.
Pisa is an easy day trip from Florence by train. Consider seeing Lucca that same day as it is lovely and on the way. No need to buy Pisa tickets in advance. But do validate them before boarding.

I agree with the comment to skip Pisa. I found Siena to be much more interesting. The Duomo is amazing. Do not worry about not speaking Italian. In the 19 days I spent in Italy, I only found two people, both elderly, that didn’t speak a word of English. Everyone we met in Italy were very friendly and made every effort to help communicate with us. I predict you will fall in love with Venice.

I would have very much regretted skipping Pisa. The Tower of Pisa is an icon I just HAD to see, and even though I found Pisa lacking in charm compared to say Siena (which I loved), I found myself compelled to visit Pisa a second time years later to see more of the town than just the tacky-tourist area around the Field of Miracles. I still wouldn't call Pisa an amazing town, but I am glad I spent more time there to see more than just the Tower.

Venice Ask your hotel for directions (including exact walking directions) from the airport. There are several ways, the best depends on where your hotel is. Stay on the island, not in Mestre. Some neighborhoods are more touristy, some are less expensive, all are good, you can everywhere on foot or by vaporetto (water bus). For the train you want to go from Venezia Santa Lucia to Firenze SMN (Santa Maria Novella).

Florence You can walk everywhere in the historic center from the train station. Florence is the best of your 3 cities for day trips. For the train you want to go from Firenze SMN to Roma (probably Termini, but usually the drop-down menus give you the option of "tutti le stazioni" all stations). It's probably best to take a taxi from the train to the hotel - it's easy to get lost in Rome. Most people choose Siena as a day trip, take the bus (about 1 hour), stops across the street from the train station. Pisa is a 1/2 day trip by train. Some recommend combining it with a 1/2 day in Lucca. I went to Pisa on my first trip to Italy and though it was about the least interesting place I saw, I was very glad I went. The campus is pleasant and the church and especially the baptistry are worth seeing.

Rome There's no central location, different neighborhoods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Buses, trams and the metro will get you everywhere you can't walk to, so best to choose a hotel near the metro and/or with several bus lines.

You can get by in English in Italy and in Paris. It's well worth the effort to learn simple polite phrases before you go. In stores, kiosks, cafes, everywhere, people expect you to say "good morning/afternoon/evening, sir/madam" first. Please, thank you, excuse me . . .

If you drive you will pay a lot for tolls and fuel (the most expensive in Europe, already generally expensive) and each driver needs an IDP. Beware the dreaded ZTLs and stay out of bus lanes (signed but not in English). Expect to pay a lot for parking and don't leave anything in the car. Be aware of TUTOR.

For your very short trip you will likely find that trains will suit you better.

One other consideration is the pollution of the environment. On that route the CO2 output per actual passenger is 9.22 times higher using the plane versus the train, plus all the other pollutants.

https://www.seat61.com/CO2flights.htm from Seat61

http://www.ecopassenger.org/bin/query.exe/en?ld=uic-eco&L=vs_uic&OK#focus from EcoPassenger

If you've only got 3 or 4 days in each area there's absolutely no reason to rent a car to see "more" of Italy. There'll be MORE than you could possibly see in each city in that little bit of time.

We never drive and absolutely LOVE the trains! Be sure you book the high-speed Freccia trains and not the slower regionale. As mentioned, if you can commit to a day and time, buy non-ref tickets 120 days in advance to save some serious Euros.

I cannot underscore enough the need to pack light. We travel for up to two months with a 21" rollaboard plus a daypack. 3 bottoms, 4-5 tops, a cardigan, a light jacket, 2 pairs of shoes. Minimal toiletries, simplify electronics. This list includes what I wear on the plane. Make sure you can easily lift your items as you climb a few stairs. It's the people with 26" pullmans weighing 50 lbs. that have problems on the trains.

I just did that trip in the summer using only trains. I purchased the tickets in advance at good prices. All 3 cities are very walkable and offer a lot to see. Rome is the most spread apart but doable plus they have good bus system. If going to the Vatican museum, get your tickets in advance and avoid the long line (1+ hour). Have fun

Between those three cities, I've always taken the train.
- Car rental while it gives you the convenance of being able to go someplace at your own leisure, also brings a host of extra issues...finding the rental place, parking (this is Europe not US), tolls, restricted areas, maps/GPS route finding, having to back-track after getting lost. Taking the train, while convenient also allows you to enjoy your trip without having to worry about additional issues.
- You can purchase tickets ahead of time however, I've allowed myself enough flexibility in my schedule that I'll purchase tickets either the day before or, the day of travel. You don't have to go to a ticket window to purchase tickets, there's plenty of vending machine kiosks at the stations, maybe a wait of 1-2 persons in front of you. All three of those cities are very popular, lots of schedule options.
- Just know the name of the stations you're going to, and recognize which trains are scheduled to have fewer stops, high speed or milk-run.
- While at the train station and after purchasing your tickets, you'll see plenty of people staring at the schedule boards...they're waiting to see which platform their train will be boarding from. Not sure if it's a security issue but, train platform numbers won't be listed until 15-minutes before departure. I believe RS has a video segment about this.
- Don't get ridiculous about luggage, if you're strong enough to heft a giant 28" roller up and down the stairs, knock yourself out. Smaller is always better, you'll be even more thankful of smaller luggage when you get to Venice....think lots of little bridges, up-down, up-down, up-down...
- If you've never been to Pisa and need to see the Leaning Bell Tower...do it and check it off your list, it's the ONLY thing there. Siena and Lucca are much better value's when it comes to time and experiences.
- Car rental...if necessary, only in Tuscany. No need for Venice for obvious reasons and in Rome, would you rent a car when visiting NYC or, London? Even driving around the Tuscany, you need to be familiar with and recognize the ZTL-areas. It may not be worth it.

My fiance and I did the reverse of your trip in October/November. Neither of us speak Italian. In fact, the only person we encountered who didn't speak English on our whole trip was an older woman traveling with her son on our Rome to Florence train ride. They were sitting in our aisle seats which I had prebooked a couple of months before our trip. I explained to her son that we had the aisle seats and they had the window ones and it was all worked out. But it's fairly easy to navigate when you don't know Italian.

Also I brought a large checked bag and a backpack (my fiance had a rolling carry-on sized bag and a backpack). We were able to get my bag up on the overhead storage on both trains without any real problem (we're 26/27 respectively so lifting things is not too much of a concern for us). And between the two of us we were able to get off and on the trains in a timely manner. I was worried about traveling with such a big bag, but everything was fine. I do regret packing as much as I did (could have left a little more room in my large bag), but I still would have likely brought the checked bag, just less stuff.

Personally I really liked the train. My fiance played video games the whole way, but I enjoyed listening to music and looking at the scenery. Both rides were beautiful with the rolling Italian hills. I wish we had more time to explore the less populated areas, but Rome, Florence and Venice were all fantastic.