parosblue

Hi Friends,
Hotels and flight from US are already booked.
8/29 - 9/1 Rome
9/1 - 9/5 Venice
9/5-9/11 Florence
9/11 back to Rome for flight on 9/12
About us: Older couple, but in decent shape for walking etc. Particularly interested in history, art, food, and wine. Celebrating our 42nd anniversary!
Questions: We want to travel by train between cities - should we reserve train tickets prior, or can we purchase them when we get there? We'd like to travel in a better level than basic economy coach. I looked on the Trenatalia site, but got a little confused, so your experience will be helpful.
Secondly, we want to take at least one day trip to visit countryside vineyards while in Florence. We'd like to hire a driver, but aren't sure the best way to do this. Ask hotel to book it for us? (We do not desire a bus tour!)
Lastly, we want to see major sites, but like to wander on our own and get off the beaten trail. Should we buy tickets to major sites we wish to visit in advance? Are you familiar with the "jump-the-line" offers I have seen online? Any other tips for a great time and delicious and casual eating?
Thanks for your insights Fodorites!

Dukey1

If the Trenitalia site confuses you, try looking at the Italiarail.com site. It has the exact same schedule and availability but levies a small surcharge for tickets.

I find it easier to use and pay for tickets than the Trenitalia site but I am NOT saying you MUST use it.

WHAT was it about the Trenitalia site which confused you?

In general for some routes the earlier you purchase tickets the cheaper they are. Notice I said SOME routes and services; if you are traveling on a purely second-class regional service I think the prices are the same whether you buy the ticket on line or at the station from a machine.

You can usually buy ahead up to 3 even 4 months ahead as I recall.

Jean

If you're not very interested in getting discounts on the train tickets, you can buy all of your tickets at once after you get to Italy. There is no requirement to buy tickets in advance, and you can buy them on your day of travel if that works for you.

But I would buy entry tickets for any sightseeing stop that offers them. The only disadvantage to doing this is that you're locked into being at a particular place at a specific time, which isn't conducive to casual wandering, but it beats standing in long lines.

I would book in advance a car and driver for a day in Tuscany. Try Luca at Hills and Roads. If he's unavailable during your Florence stay, contact you hotel for suggestions and/or help in booking someone.

http://www.hillsandroads.com/inflash/index.html

Several of the major sites in Florence are not open every Sunday and/or Monday, so you might want to plan your excursion into the countryside on one of those days.

annhig

It's probably too late for this trip, but for future reference, it's usually a good idea to put all your days in your departure town/city in one block, at the end of the trip. This means that you can use your arrival day to travel, and again, another good idea is to use to to travel to the place which is furthest away, in this case Venice.

So I would have done :
Day 1 - arrive Rome. Train to Venice
Day 4 - train to Florence
Day 7 - train to Rome
day 11 - fly home.

Another trick which I learnt here, is flying "open jaw" i.e. a "multi-city ticket" in airline speak. This means that you fly into one place, and out of another which saves backtracking. This is NOT the same as buying two single tickets, and should cost the same, more or less, as a round trip ticket which is what you have.

as for

All that aside, I hope that you have a wonderful anniversary trip.

PalenQ

Yes book yourself at www.trenitalia.com or http://www.italotreno.it/en - two separate train companies serving your cities.

For lots of great info on trains- www.seat61.com - sage advice on booking discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

annhig

Lastly, we want to see major sites, but like to wander on our own and get off the beaten trail. Should we buy tickets to major sites we wish to visit in advance? Are you familiar with the "jump-the-line" offers I have seen online? Any other tips for a great time and delicious and casual eating?>>

ok, wandering off by yourselves isn't that easy in these very big cities which attract many tourists, but you can make life easier, as you have guessed, by pre-booking.

Venice - The Basilica is free but you can book a "slot" to visit it which costs €2 pp:

https://www.venetoinside.com/attract...arks-basilica/

You can use the same website to book a visit to the Campanile, but possibly better views can be obtained without the crowds from the campanile on the island of San Giorgio, which you reach by Vaporetto. I strongly suggest buying a vaporetto pass for the entirety of your visit to Venice - it will make getting about a lot easier and more interesting.

You can also book tours of the Doge's palace including the Secret Itineraries Tour which we did some years ago and liked a lot:

http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en...t-itineraries/

If you are interested in art, you may want to book a time to visit the Academia but honestly, I wouldn't bother and the other sights in Venice are rarely so busy that bookings are required.

In Florence, you can "invest" if you like in the Firenze Card; it covers entry to 72 sights in 72 hours for, you've guessed it, €72. Only you know if it would be worth it for you. of course it does mean that you don't need to make separate reservations for the Academia and the Uffizi, if you had planned to visit them.

http://www.firenzemusei.it

http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default.aspx

you can also book separately for the civic museums of Florence:

http://ticketsmuseums.comune.fi.it/?ref=portale

Finally, in Rome, if you intend to visit the Vatican museum it's a very good idea to book your tickets or a tour, or if you want to see the Borghese palace, you must reserve in advance:

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/...ticani/en.html

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/en/

for the colosseum, forum and Palatine hill [ticket valid for 2 consecutive days, one entry per site] and for booking the tour of the underground and upper tiers:

https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

Phew!

massimop

When I travel in Italy on the Trenitalia fast trains, I book the business class "silent" car. There are discounts available when booked in advance and there are also 2-for-1 deals available on many weekends. There are also trains run by Italo, but I have never been on them. You can learn a lot by looking at the train travel website called Man in Seat 61.

It's really not a good idea to travel to Venice upon landing in Rome if that will exhaust you. I always sleep my first night (or more) in the city where I land or within a taxi ride of the airport. I've never had any problems or regrets at the end of my trip going back for jus one night to an airport area to fly home. (I have had regrets getting sick trying to push myself too much the first days of a long-distance trip). Sometimes I spend a few days where I've landed, then go do some traveling around, and go back to the city where I landed and fly home. It's a myth that not splitting days in a city is somehow not good as putting them all in a "block" in the end I've done it both ways, and what works best varies not only from person to person, also from trip to trip depending on the time of year, what is cheaper to do, etc etc etc.

Your travel dates are HIGH season for all the cities you are visiting. If you want to see the sites that are famous the world over, reserving tickets in advance where that's on offer avoids waiting in looooooooooong lines, and means you won't face disappointment for sold out sites.

PalenQ

and means you won't face disappointment for sold out sites.>

which sites will potentially be totally sold out for the day - where you cannot just wait in a long line?

Curious as say in Paris I cannot think of one major sight that you can't buy walk-up tickets albeit potentially waiting in a long line-

so the Q is there are no walk-up chances at what places.

Thanks in advance.

fmpden

For future reference I would have flown into Venice and home from Rome. Probably would have been cheaper and more convenient.

As for trains - all trains in Italy - except Regrionale trains - require a reservation. Three levels of prices - Super Economy, Econ, Base. SE and E can be purchase on-line at discount and deep discount for SE. But SE is absolutely no refund, no change. Econ allows one change and paying difference in fare. The Base ticket is available anytime and change easily be change even after the train has left the station. If you miss the train, you have an hour to change the ticket. The SE and E tickets are limited in quantity and sell out fairly quickly. All tickets come with a seat number, car number, train number, date and time and are ONLY good for that train at that time.

Regionale trains - more like bus on rails is the slowest and cheapest. No discount. Same price all the time. Ticket never sell out. No seat -- stand till one is available. No advantage to early or on-line purchase. Buy at the station when convenient. BIG CAUTION -- since these tickets are good on any Regionale train headed in the correct direction, they must be validated (time stamped) in a little blue/green/yellow box at or near the head of the platform. Watch for locals doing it. Then the tickets are good for five hours.

Personally we find 2nd class to be more than adequate. About like business class in an airplane. First class is a wider seat but not much difference in knee room so we don't think first class is worth the difference in ticket price.

parosblue

Thank you for the great responses! I agree with the observation that an open jaw flight would have been more convenient but we got a better deal on the RT to Rome, so took that route. We will have a long travel day upon arrival so I decided to stay in Rome to get into sync before train to Venice. The additional web links are greatly appreciated and the info on train tickets and purchasing advance tickets is invaluable. Thanks again!

PalenQ

And the cheap train fares you see one day may be gone the next-once definite don't delay!