Frecce or Rail Italia?

The Frecce trains are the fastest run by Trenitalia. The other major train company in Italy is Italo, and it also has fast trains between the major cities. However, I do not believe it stops in Assisi, so I would stick with Trenitalia for this trip.

Rail Italia does not run trains. It seems to be an American company selling Italian rail tickets.

If you tell us what date and approximately what time you are traveling, we can take a look at your options. You should be able to see all the trains on the Trenitalia website. Some re-sellers don't offer all the options. They may also charge different prices.

Understand the rail systems. Trenitalia is the national rail system (company) that operates all of the train systems in Italy. (Couple of exceptions for private, generally commuter, rail companies) Italo is a private company using Trenitalia rails to service major cities. Frecce, Frecciarossa, Intercity, Regionale refers to the type of train service available on the tracks. You can tell from the schedules and frequency of stops which service is faster than the other. And, of course, big price difference. Tickets for all trains, except Regionale, include the seat reservation. Regionale trains are the cheapest price wise and the slowest.

However, I think the second leg from Florence to Assissi is a bus. Not positive that train service is available to Assissi BUT I would need to check it more carefully. When doing this kind of trip, general you have fewer options.

There is train service to Assisi but the train station is several kilometers below the old town walls. My experience is that if you don't dawdle when getting off the train in Assisi, you'll be able to take one of the two or three taxis that seem to meet the trains from Florence. There is also a shuttle bus, but finding the bus schedule and figuring out how to link it up to the train schedule was beyond my patience (plus the taxi is not very expensive and will take you right to your hotel). It also wouldn't be a bad idea to have a phone number for a taxi service in Assisi ("RS Italy" has at least one number), and be prepared to call it if there is no taxi at the station).

pc,

As mentioned above, "Rail Italia" is only a ticket reseller, and doesn't operate the trains. Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. is the state-owned agency that does operate the main rail network in the country, Trenitalia including the Freccia high speed trains. The competing Italo Treno network operates only on the high speed routes (which doesn't include Assisi).

I've always found pricing on the Trenitalia site to be the most favourable. You can also buy tickets online at www.trainline.eu, usually at the same price as that offered by Trenitalia. Registration on the website is required but after that the process is very user friendly. There are no price breaks whether buying Regionale tickets online or locally. NOTE that if using locally purchased Regionale tickets, these MUST be validated prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. Failure to do so can result in hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

For your trip from Venice to Assisi, you'll be travelling via Freccia high speed from Venezia Santa Lucia to Firenze S.M.N. and then Regionale from there to Assisi. The trip will be 5-6 hours with 1-3 changes, depending on which rail solution you choose.

When you arrive at the station in Assisi, you'll need to get from there up to the town either via Taxi or Bus (I prefer Taxi, although the price is higher). I believe the options are explained in the RS Italy guidebook.