Two questions:
On the trenitalia site, if I put in one adult for a trip from Venice to Rome, it shows 29 euros (mini fare). I would expect if I increased that to 2 adults for it to be 58 but it is 66. And so on until if I buy for 5 of us it is 170 (instead of 145). Should I try to buy each ticket separately so that I truly get the 29 price for each of us? Btw the mini fare is cheaper than the family fare. Question two: The trip back to Rome is to catch a flight back to the states the next day. So I'm wondering if we should just fly from Venice to Rome (since we are staying by the airport for an early flight) - or would it be more of a hassle to try to do that (I did see an airfare that was fairly close to the price we pay for the train.)
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23290 posts
Cannot help you with the mini fare. It is a new fare structure and I don't know how it works. Is it possible that the mini fare is tied to capacity and changes as seats or blocks of seats are sold. Have you looked at an open jaw out of Venice instead of return to Rome? That would make more sense.
Posted by
OP
Sugar Land, TX, US
21 posts
Unfortunately we can't change the flights home.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
Linda, IMO, that trip will be much more pleasant by train, given the usual "hassles" with air travel these days. Also, the European airlines often have very restrictive baggage limits, numerous extra charges and often a limit of ONE carry-on item of the approved size and weight. As an example of the extra charges, I recently paid a surcharge of €16 for the "privilege" of using a North American Visa card to book a flight. Any extra charges would need to be included in your overall cost comparison between rail and air travel. The rail trip from Venice to Rome is 3H:46M via EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita. I suspect air travel might actually take longer, when all factors are considered (travel to and from airports, check-in, security, waiting times, etc.). I try to use rail travel as much as possible to avoid the annoyances of air travel. Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
Sugar Land, TX, US
21 posts
Thank you, I'll stick with the train!
Posted by
Cincinnati
76 posts
I'm just guessing that this is like airfare, and that there is only one fare left at $29. So, when you want 2 tickets, it will move up to the next available fare bucket.
You can verify if this is what's happening by buying one ticket at a time and seeing if you get the 29 for more than one ticket. Let us know if you learn anything.
Posted by
New York
7 posts
Yes, I think the fare structure is tied to capacity. I booked two trips on trenitalia recently for the 5 of us. On one trip, 1 ticket came at the lowest price and 4 at the next highest, and on the other trip 2 came at the lowest and 3 at the next highest.