retrievergirl

There are 3 of us travelling in July. We are flying into Venice from Barcelona and want to spend a few days in Venice, Florence and Rome. Train info I've found on the web so far is confusing & looks pretty pricey. Any suggestions are very much appreciated

MaureenB

If you want to call and talk with helpful people who understand the rail system and the prices, go to BudgetEuropeTravel.com and there's an 800 number posted on the first page. I can vouch for them, having used them once already. You can buy all your tickets through them at face value, plus a small S&H fee (about $15) to have the paper tickets in hand before you leave home.
(Or try trenitalia.com if you want to figure it out yourself.)

rkkwan

Trenitalia.com is one of the easiest European official train sites to use and buy tickets. Information is easy to come by. Italian trains are also very cheap, with no advance purchase necessary in general.

There's fast ES* trains between Venice and Florence every 2 hours. Takes 2:49. 26.6 euro for 2nd class.

There are even more trains between Florence and Rome. About 3 every 2 hours. Takes 1:37, 29.44 euro for 2nd class.

tedgale

Can anyone understand Trenitalia's website?

(I actually found myself writing "Can anyone stand...&quot

I read italian with ease, yet never cease to be amazed at the dead ends, lack of follow-on links etc.

Try to take advantage of ANY of their promotional fares. Where do I sign up?

The instructions say these fares are available for on-line booking. WHERE?

Long story short: From Venice you can take a Eurostar train to Rome (4h33 minutes, minimum) or a 2h30 train to Florence.......

flygirl

I plan to take the train... just don't forget your corkscrew and remember to pack a picnic - wine included! it will make the afternoon fun and you will make friends of your seatmates.

JeanneB

If you go to Trenitalia, use the Italian version (it works better) and remember to use military times. Type "Venezia, Roma, Firenze" instead of the westernized names. It's really not hard.

I don't speak Italian but have found it very easy to use for getting schedules and routes.

JeanneB

Oh, I meant to mention the train Venice to Florence has a dining car. Nothing fancy, but the coffee was good.

jtrandolph

We took the train. Yes, trenitalia is hard to fathom on the internet, but trust me. Just go to the train station in Venice, before your trip to Florence, and buy a ticket. I would suggest a seat reservation as well, unless you like standing in aisles outside the compartments.

Be sure, before you board the train, to "validate" your ticket by finding the machine on the platform which does this, or you will be roundly scolded, if not fined, by the porter who checks your ticket.

It is not all that "pricey", as I remember.

Nice trains. Enjoy.

knoxvillecouple

Once I realized that you can't purchase tickets on the trenitalia website more than 60 days in advance (or is it 90), I had no problem with the English version of the website. I bought all of our tickets for day trips from Orvieto to Florence, and then Orvieto to Naples and Naples to Rome. I don't recall the prices, but they were easy to decipher on the trenitalia website. If you want to know the schedule and cost earlier than 60 (or 90) days out, just put in phony dates - the schedules and prices won't change appreciably.

If you do purchase the tickets from the trenitalia website, simply take the e-mail confirmation with you on your train to show the conductor, or if you want a "real" ticket with you when you board the train, go to the ticket window before your train and show them the e-mail confirmation.

KC

retrievergirl

Thanks ! You guys are fabulous! I think I've got a gameplan now for the Italian connections. Has anyone ever travelled the Madrid to Barcelona to Venice route? Looks like flying is cheaper than rail? Any comments are VERY VERY helpful. Hope to repay the favor sometime - Chris

tuscanlifeedit

I can't speak for Spain, but I would think flying would be your best option. Check

kayak.com

whichbudget.com

Are you in the UK? Another good site for budget flights is opodo.co.uk. You can use it if you live in other countries, but the booking process almost gave me a breakdown. It's doable, though. I did it. ;-)