Hi,
My boyfriend and I are traveling to Florence for our first trip to Italy. We wanted to take a day and travel from Florence to Rome and back to Florence since that is where our hotel is. I have been looking at the train websites. Feeling very lost and not even sure if this is possible. ANY and ALL help is greatly appreciated.
thank you!
It is totally possible and very easy, but everyone on this forum will ask you why you would shortchange Rome and give it a few hours….
Look at trenitalia or italo for train times. Note that you will type in Firenze and Roma Termini.
If you are just going for the day, I would take the high speed train. Try and buy tickets in advance and you can save money. Also check both train sites since I was able to save a lot of money on a last minute ticket to Florence on Italo.
There is something like 53 trains a day between Florence and Rome so you will not have any problem doing that. But the bigger question is why? I suppose if you just want to do a quick walk around, then you could.
To Ashley:
You have the choice of two companies (the first State owned, the second private, both are similar in quality and price):
1. http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
2. http://www.italotreno.it/en
The trip is 90 min long (each way)
Florence central station is called: FIRENZE SANTA MARIA NOVELLA (often abbreviated in FI SMN)
Rome central station is called: ROMA TERMINI
You need to enter the Italian spelling of the above stations in the website.
You don't need to purchase ahead of time online. You can just wait and purchase on the spot. Pre-purchasing online ahead of time gives you a chance of buying discounted tickets (called Economy and SuperEconomy), however be aware those are restricted. They are non refundable nor changeable therefore you need to be reasonably certain of your travel plans otherwise if you miss the train you book you are out of your money.
To all others.
Let's try to stick to the topic and answer the question instead of trying to tell people where to go and for how long and what they should do with their life. People may have their reasons why they only have time for a day trip to Rome. Some people may actually prefer to spend more days in Florence or Venice or maybe Poggibonsi than in Rome just because. Maybe they only have 3 nights in total in Florence and would like to have a quick glimpse of Rome without having to switch hotels, which is time consuming. Why are we trying to impose our preferences on others? Especially when the question was very specific and didn't ask for an opinion on how many days to allocate to each place.
Roberto,
I totally agree with your reply!
Something I'd totally do! Go check it out! You'll have a great day and then you can rest on the train back to Florence.
Book your ticket online early using one of the train companies, it's way cheaper than waiting until the last minute.
Have fun!!
We did exactly that last October. Took the high speed very early and returned around 8 PM train. Yes I would have liked longer but it wasn't possible due to our group itinerary. Some of us choose to do a day trip down to Rome having never been there. IMO 10 hours in Rome is better than never having seen Rome.
We were able to do a guided Vatican tour, visit the Spanish Steps then head to the Coliseum area to wander and enjoy the city for a few hours. Enjoy.
