My parents are going to Italy (Venice and Florence) in June with another couple. I often read/post on this board, so I offered to ask some questions on their behalf. <BR><BR>Their round-trip tickets land them at the Venice airport in the morning hours (around 10:30am) on a Monday. However, they will be going straight to Florence from there (returning to Venice on the last leg of their trip). They plan to take the train to Florence, and they have some questions: <BR><BR>1. How do they get from the Venice airport to the train station? By water taxi? Any other options? General cost? How long does this take?<BR>2. Is it advisable to reserve tickets ahead of time for the train to Florence? They would most likely travel in the 1st class car. <BR>3. For those of you who have reserved train tickets from the US, did you use http://www.trenitalia.it?<BR>4. Is there a certain train that is preferable to another (for example, the Eurostar vs. Intercity) and why?<BR><BR>They plan to take day trips from Florence, in particular to Siena. Anyone have any other favorite day trip destinations in Tuscany? <BR><BR>Thanks.<BR>

Hi Nicole,<BR><BR>I can answer the question about reserving ahead of time for the train. We did a round trip in 2nd class last week from Florence to Venice and back. We bought them at the train station an hour before the train left. We were unable to get reserved seats for the first leg of the trip, however we had no problems with getting seats. We had reserved seats coming back it was approx $200 for 4 people. Later in the week we went to Rome, reserved a first class car which was $400 for 4 people. the hotel booked it for us the previous day and had the tickets waiting for us the night we booked. I would definately recomment the Eurostar as opposed to Intercity it is much faster. The intercity took 3.5 hours to get to Venice from Florence and the Eurostar was about 3 hours coming home, there were a couple stops coming home though and about 10 minutes of "technical deifficulties". <BR><BR>Alyssa

Venice airport has very inexpensive buses(less than $5) that can take you to surrounding towns and into the city itself. They are similar to greyhound. You can't buy the ticket on the bus - you have to buy them at the magazine stands/souvenir shops at the airport. The person who sells it to them will probably speak English so they can ask for the right ticket. Present the ticket as you get on the bus. The stand is right outside the airport - reall easy.<BR><BR>In Venice, it is a short walk from the bus depot to the train station. If they have a lot of luggage to carry they should take the public boats (under $3) NOT the water taxis (rip off!). <BR><BR>There is no need to book a ticket from Venice to Florence in advance. They should be able to find seats without reserving. The difference between trains is in speed, not in quality. They should go to the train station first thing, check out the schedule, and buy their tickets. If the train isn't leaving for a while, they can put their luggage in one of the huge lockers and have an espresso on the waterfront.<BR><BR>Siena is a gorgeous city! You can't do it justice in one day, though.

just wondering, have they looked into flying? AFter a long flight they may be tired and flying the extra leg might be the easiest.

There is a difference between speed and quality on the different trains. Eurostar trains are faster and CLEANER than regular INTERCITY trains. The Eurostar seats are also more comfortable than the IC trains.

Thank you to all who replied so far. Anyone else out there with opinions regarding my original questions? Thanks!

If your parents and their friends can afford a water taxi, it's a lovely introduction to Venice, and by far the easiest and most comfortable way to get from the airport to the train station with luggage and jet lag. The price is the same for 1 person or many, and will be set right at the airport by the person in charge of getting passengers to the taxis. I think we paid about $50 or $60 to go from the airport to our hotel near the Rialto bridge last year. I thought it was worth every penny.

Nicole--I took the Eurostar from Florence to Venice in late March. We bought our tickets a day ahead, and used 2nd class. I stepped into the 1st class car to see the difference, and was glad I hadn't paid more. The seats on the Eurostar in 2nd class were very comfortable, and since we had packed using 2 22" suitcases and one carry-on<BR>size bag, we had no trouble putting them in the rack over our head. Hope your parents love both Venice and Florence.

Me again, with another vote in favor of the more expensive option. We had first-class reserved seats on the Eurostar from Venice to Florence last June and would certainly have had to stand on the crowded train if we had not done this. I bought the tickets ahead of time on-line, which cost an extra $5 or so, I think, but again, I thought that was little to pay for not having to think about it while I was in Venice.

Karen,<BR>Thanks for your two posts. I have a couple questions for you. You said you bought the train tickets ahead of time online - do you remember which website? <BR><BR>Also, do you remember how long it took you to travel in the water taxi from the airport to your stop at the Rialto bridge? If my parents reserve train tickets ahead of time, they need to calculate approximately how long it will take them to get to the train station. Thanks!

Nicole, I bought the tickets from Raileurope (www.raileurope.com). They were $40 each, plus a $10 mailing fee for the whole order. The tickets were Fed-Exed to me at my office in the U.S. a week or so before our departure date. We had very comfortable seats and some of us even opted for the dining car lunch. OK food, and expensive of course, but an experience we otherwise would never have had. I can't remember exactly how long the water taxi ride to our hotel took. Maybe 30 to 40 minutes? But the train station is farther than the Rialto bridge. They wouldn't want to cut it too close anyway, in case their flight is delayed. I'm not sure what happens with Eurostar tickets if you miss the train, but Rail Europe could tell you.

Nicole,<BR><BR>I bought my tickets ahead of time, too. I used Euraide. You can check them out on the web @ www.euraide.com. I bought several tickets and they charged a $35 service fee for everything (not each ticket). Good luck!

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Nicole, My daughters and I made the same trip in at the end of March, including the timing in reaching the airport. Once I actually got to Venice everything fell into place and my concerns were over . We took the ATVO bus from the airport. It might have been because of the time of year we were traveling, though it seemed busy, we were able to purchase tickets on the Eurostar at the train station and have time to grab a bite at the train station before departing. I was able to see a pictures and read about the various Venice transportation on about.com.

1. Don't know<BR>2. Midday Monday should be no big deal. They can just buy tickets on the next available train. <BR>3. RailEurope is a significant premium. <BR>4. We took both IC and Eurostar. Eurostar was a bit nicer but 1st class IC was fine although a bit slower. <BR>I would recommend they get to the station and take the train that gets them there the fastest IC or ES. If the time difference is small take the ES.<BR><BR>Hope this helps<BR><BR>Doug

We are going to Italy and wanted to travel from Venice to Naples. The one-way ticket is more than $100 on IC. Is it too expensive and should we consider<BR>flying from Venice airport instead? THe train is the overnight train and takes about 10 hours to get to Naples.