datl

Sorry, I know this has been discussed, but I still have a few questions....getting the express train to Florence from Venice on 10/10 and will rent a car in Florence. Do we need to buy the tickets online now, or can we buy in Venice - we get there on the 7th. We were planning to take our car back to Florence at the end of our stay, and train into Milan. Fly out the next day. We are also closer to LaSpezia, would that be better to turn our car in there and take the train from there instead of Florence? We are staying in Ortonovo. And, one more - when we get in the morning of the 7th to Milan, train to Venice...assuming we can just buy the ticket when we get there....?

Thanks so much. Have everything else in place, only the packing left to finish!

Dukey1

You can buy them online now for perhaps a cheaper price:

www.trenitalia.com or for a small admin fee use www.italiarail.com

You can print the "tickets" out at home.

The problem is if you buy tickets for a SPECIFIC train and time there may not be any exchange or refund options if you miss the train (I am thinking of when you arrive in Milan in this case).

Jean

You only "need" to buy tickets in advance if you want to take advantage of possible discounts. Some of the possible discounts may already be sold out for your dates.

Where you return the car depends on how you want to spend the time: driving or sitting on trains. Some people are ready to give up the car as soon as it's not needed. Others don't like getting on/off multiple trains.

If it matters, you should check with the rental company to see if there is a charge for picking up and returning the car in different locations. That charge is becoming a little more common.

kybourbon

I would buy the Milan/Venice when you get there. YOu don't know if your flight will be late and you will still have to get into Milan (about an hour from the airport depending on which transport) to catch the train to Venice.

Venice/Florence - I would buy on Trenitalia if there are still discounts if you know what time as you will be buying specific seats on a specific train. Your other option for Venice/Florence is Italo. The operate trains from the same stations for these two cities. Their website is this: http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx

Italo doesn't use the same station in Milan that Trenitalia does so would require more effort to use from Milan. I would stick with Trenitalia for Milan.

bvlenci

I agree with kybourbon, with the additional reflection that the discounted tickets are strictly nonrefundable. You can exchange them for a different time of day only by applying their cost towards a full-price ticket, and only if you do it before the day of travel. The full-price tickets can be changed freely up until an hour after the departure of the train. For this reason, I buy discounted tickets if the savings are significant. Sometimes you save only a small amount, and in that case, I prefer to pay a little extra for the flexibility of the full-price ticket.

RonZ

Pre-paid tickets following flights are a bad idea for a number of reasons.

The most popular advice for a Florence car rental is to get one at the airport. You way wish a more convenient place to drop it off. We have always used Autoeurope the toll free number as the reps are pretty knowledgable.

Train ticket machines accept debit cards with 4 digit pins and cash. Have a variety of sized bills in case your card is refused. Ticket office lines can be long.