Italy Train Travel

Thank you for you help thus far. I think my confusion is more based around stop to stop tickets vs a rail pass. Can you use a rail pass on any train in Italy? Is that the most cost effective option if I know we are going to be using it for at least 3-4 destinations on our trip? Can we make all our reservations in advance? Thank you!

Dpn't know what you mean by "train options." There is only one train system in Italy - exception are a few short, private, commuter lines. Are you asking about level of service? All trains are the same but you have high speed trains - fastest and most expensive. Intercity, and intercity express - more stops. And regional - slowest, cheapest, and no reservations required. The best option will be the train going where you want to go and the time you want to take.

Rome, Florence, to Venice are on the High speed rail lines. Buy your tickets 60 day ahead of your travel dates for the best pricing. Use the Italian rail site for purchases.

Audrey, Frank and Walt bring up some good points. You might read this post, Riding Trains in Italy. It will give you some examples of the types of trains available. An example of the "newest" (and fastest) train is the "New" Frecciarossa Train With Four Levels of Service. It runs on part of the route you mention. Once you figure out which type of train to ride, the next question might be, "Should I purchase 1st Class or 2nd Class tickets?" That excellent article by GAC can help you. If you don't mind "locking down" to a specific train, time, and day... you can purchase a discounted Trenitalia MINI promotion ticket. You can purchase reserved seat tickets up to 120 days in advance (although I've only done about 92 days in advance). There is a disruption to purchasing during, or shortly after, June and December as this is when the routes and prices are revised. Competition is coming for Trenitalia (finally). In 2012, NTV, Nuevo Trasporto Viaggiatori, is scheduled to launch their private service. Not sure how they'll do (many runs from Roma Tiburtina and not Roma Termini), but if they do half as well as their website LOOKS, they will far exceed Trenitalia service standards. It will be interesting to see how Trenitalia responds. Currently they are in hot water for their latest ad campaign. Wonder how they will handle competition if their "numbers" start to decrease?

No, passes are not valid on private trains, such as the Circumvesuviana between Naples and Sorrento which goes to Herculaneum and Pompeii. If it is a higher grade train than the lowest of the low Regionale trains passholders must pay for mandatory reservations on all trains. Failure to have one will be very expensive.

Audrey, usually, a railpass is not a good as point-to-point tickets in Italy. For free travel, it only works on the Regionale class trains which are the slowest in Italy as they make every stop. For riding on the high-speeds, you will pay a 10Eu supplemental fee for each train you are on. Most of your train journeys between Naples, Rome, Florence and Venice will be on the high-speeds. The supplemental fee includes the seat reservation. You cannot just hop on. You must go to the automatic ticket machines or to the ticket windows to pay your supplemental fee and get your seat reservation. Railpasses are not as convenient as you might think. As Nigel points out above, they are no good on the Circumvesuviana train system from Naples to Sorrento. No big worry here as the fare is 4Eu. Also pointed out above, if you are really sure of your travel dates, you can get some really good mini-fares at www.trenitalia.com. This will easily beat the cost of a railpass.