Hello,
we are 3 pax, needing to travel from Venice to Florence on January 18. We will have 4-5 suitcases (after skiing).
Without the suitcases, I'd take whatever is cheapest as it's only a 2 hour ride. But given the suitcases, is there a recommendation as to which line (Italo vs Trenitalia or anything else) and specific class we should buy?
Thank you
The Man in Seat 61 website is the best place to get information on trains in Europe.
I would prefer a newer train where you don't have to lift bags up the little staircase to
get them into the car. Other than that I would shoot for a schedule that gives you enough
time to be at the station early since most trains have luggage storage at the end of each
car and it can fill up fast. Ski bags may be able to fit in the overhead shelf in the seating
area.
It looks like there are nonstop trains and clearly avoiding a connection with lots of bags
is the best way to go.
Since you are coming from Venice, I'd be just as/more concerned about getting to the
water taxi or whatever means you are using to get to VCE with lots of bags.
There has to be a better way to answer train questions than to always refer people to "man in seat 61." I am not discounting this as a valuable resource, but it is not the only resource and sometimes it is not always updated. I appreciate the poster above did give more information than just the website which is much appreciated and rare.
The key question here is if you can handle your own luggage and just how big are the suitcases. If you can't climb train steps carrying the bags in one trip, then you become an obstacle to the other passengers. Onboard, carryon sized bags can usually go in a rack over the seat. Seats that are back to back with others often have a spot to put a bag down on the ground between them. There are also luggage racks at the end of the cars.
I also want to mention that for a 3 hour 15 minute ride you can take the coach (Flixbus) for as little as 2.99 from Venice to Florence. The one advantage of the coach is that all the luggage gets loaded underneath the bus and you aren't trying to get on and off carrying or managing luggage.
A skiing trip should be manageable with 1 large suitcase + 1 backpack per person, assuming you rent skis/boards. Easier than having to deal with 2 suitcases per person.
But if those suitcases are light enough for you to lift them with one hand, then it is manageable on the train. Unpleasant, but manageable. "premium" classes have more space for luggage, but regular/second class should be fine on what will not be a peak travel day. By the way, the classes are not named 1st-2nd and there are actually 3-4 classes on Italian high-speed trains, depending on route and operator.
We like Italo on that route, but I cannot remember if their trains have level access from the platform (I.e., no steps). The Trenitalia Frecce trains have steps.
One nice thing about the Venice Santa Lucia station is that it is a “end station”. That means that trains do not pass through the station, stopping for a very limited time to let passengers off and on. Their route ends at this station, so they pull in and stop for a longer time. Often they will be cleaned after the arriving passengers disembark, so you cannot board right away. But if you get there 10-15 minutes early, you should have a chance to get on close to the front of the line when they do start boarding. That will give you a shot at the luggage racks.
I agree with the previous poster Carol now retired that there is not a need in this case to involve a third party website no matter how good Mark's website is.
It is really very very simple. Your train, no matter whether you use Italo trains or Trenitalia trains, will be fast trains with a couple of intermediate stops, but the key thing is you are joining in Venice at the origination station, Venezia Santa Lucia, and you will be going to Florence, Firenze SMN. While Florence is not the termination station for your train it is a dead end station which means that there is a fairly long stop between arrival and departure, giving you loads of time to leave the training. At both stations, because they are both dead end stations, all the platforms (tracks) are side-by-side so very easy to enter and leave.
Use whichever of the two railway companies you prefer, you may look at the photographs on seat 61 to help you choose but they will both be very similar for what you are doing. Pick the time you want to go at the fare you want to pay and just buy your ticket in advance - it will include a seat reservation and you will have lots of time in Venice to find your seat and once you get to Florence have your luggage gathered up and get off the train. The doors to either will have very limited step up and down, to and from the train, onto the platform as they both operate very modern trains which go very fast and have all the modern amenities.
I would almost always choose train over bus/coach, but with that luggage situation I agree with Carol that the bus would be easier.
Have you considered shipping your skiing gear (and anything else you don't need) home before continuing on your journey? There are a number of companies that do this. In the end, it could be cheaper than checking bags to come home and would eliminate some of the luggage stress as well.
Can you rent the ski gear and not lug yours around?
To help with your information gathering decision making I'm going to recommend this specific part of the Man in Seat 61 -- A beginner's guide to Train travel in Italy: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm. It will cover a lot questions you might have, has pictures and provides useful links.
thank you all, especially for the tip on santa lucia being beginning of the line.
have just bought business class tickets on frecciarossa from venice santa lucia to florence. i think we should be ok. we survived dragging 5 suitcases and 3 carry on from our stay in venice to rialto stop (granted only 100 steps and no stairs).
I think it's safe to assume that if the members of OP's group are fit enough to ski in northern Italy, they'd be capable of carrying a few suitcases up a few steps into a train.
If they are upper level skiers, they may be traveling with ski boots, which may be custom fitted - it can be difficult to get a good fit in a rental boot. Add cold weather clothing and you then require extra baggage.
Going business class is a good decision, as there will be fewer passengers in the car, and thus more storage.
