Planning a 10 trip in September and know we will be in Rome and Florence. Want to take the train vs renting a car. We will definately go from Rome to Florence and then back to Rome from Florence as we are flying in/out of Rome. May take some day trips out of Rome or Florence as well. Just trying to figure out if these companies are one in the same or different and whether or not we would save any money by buying a 4 or 5 day pass.
TrenItalia vs Rail Europe. Are they the same? Buy a pass or pay as we go?
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No, they are not the same. Trenitalia is the Italian rail company. Raileurope sells passes. Prices on Trenitalia include your required seats (all trains require reserved seats except the slow R trains), passes don't.
If you are only traveling roundtrip from Rome-Florence-Rome and doing a couple of "day trips," then point-to-point tickets should be MUCH less expensive. As kybourbon states, Trenitalia prices include seat reservation on the fast trains (Florence-Rome). If you purchase a railpass through RailEurope you'll have to buy a seat reservation for the faster trains - at a charge of perhaps €10 per person for EACH leg of the trip.
If you want a ticket "in-hand" before arriving in Italy - and many people do - you can purchase online through the Trenitalia website. Read this for some help understanding their site: http://tinyurl.com/tren-online.
The biggest money saver might be the MINI ticket, which is a limited quantity discounted ticket. Here's more info on it: http://tinyurl.com/tren-online.
You really don't need to buy in advance - unless perhaps you can score a BIG 60% discount with a MINI - and so you could wait and purchase through a local travel agency, or at the train station using the kiosks. They are quite easy to use. See this step-by-step walk through: http://tinyurl.com/buy-tickets-2011
There are many, many trains to Florence/Rome daily so they won't sell out in September. And the local trains (regionale) that you might use for your daytrips NEVER sell out as they have open seating. So you have plenty of options and plenty of time to plan and SAVE! The RailEurope site many be easier to use - but you'll pay for the convenience upfront with additional costs and hassle (buying a seat reservation??) in Italy.
For day trips from Rome, you might consider some of these options: http://tinyurl.com/ostia-antica ; http://tinyurl.com/orvieto-daytrip ; http://tinyurl.com/tivoli-daytrip ; http://tinyurl.com/lake-bracciano .
For daytrips out of Florence, I'd recommend you rent a car - if only for a day - to drive through Tuscany. Well worth the experience. If you do, get an IDP before leaving if you're coming from the USA: http://tinyurl.com/Italy-IDP . Tuscany is one of the places I recommend TO DRIVE in Italy.
Have fun!
Many train day trips from Rome or Florence will only cost around 5-10€. Buses are better options for some places from Florence (Siena, Volterra, etc.).
http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Firenze-Siena06.pdf