Huma

Hello <BR> <BR>We will be traveling to Italy in May. I wanted to find out how to buy train tickets from Rome to Florence and Florence to Venice. Do the tickets sell out quickly? Is it better to buy the tickets much in advance? Which train would you recommend? <BR> <BR>Thanks

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Huma,They run hourly every day. Go to <BR>www.raileurope.com for details and schedules. Good luck !

Scott

I have travelled extensively throughout Italy and whenever I use the trains I just read the train schedule at the station and buy my ticket. I have ALWAYS been able to buy a ticket to my destination. Tip: when you buy your ticket try to get a train that is an express train. These trains do not stop at every small town and therefore you arrive at your destination much sooner. The beauty of buying your ticket as you see fit allows you have complete flexibility with your schedule. I cannot think of anything worse then being hurried to catch a train when you decide that you need more time at your current town/city. Upon arriving at a new town I also check the departure schedule for my NEXT destination and make a note so at least I can plan ahead. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps, <BR> <BR>Scott <BR> <BR>

mike

Huma, try this site:http://www.itwg.com/trains/trains.asp <BR>There is an express to Florence from Roma. Hopefully someone else will have first hand info., haven't taken it myself, but friends say it is the only way to go. Takes about 1 1/2-2 hrs v. 4 hrs (and BIG crowd on other line). This will get your message back to the top. Ciao.

Rex

BobTheNav: <BR> <BR>Do you really recommend that people use www.raileurope.com - - for anything other than info on rail passes? (which are a poor match for most people in my opinion, unless they plan to travel some every day, or an average of about 200 miles EVERY day) <BR> <BR>The raileurope.com website only features selected routes, at distinctly inflated prices! <BR> <BR>They ARE an interesting source for discounted air fare quotes, but I don't understand buying (or even pricing) rail tickets there. <BR> <BR>The actual sites for individual countries are the preferred sources for information. Like www.fs-on-line.com - - for Italy - - and http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/misc/timetabl.html (no "www") - - for a listing of EVERY country in Europe. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

rlk

-- <BR>Huma: <BR> <BR>The website to check out your options is -- http://www.fs-on-line.com -- <BR> <BR>There's a few quirks you need to know as you try to gather info; although you can select an 'English' option (British flag) on the website, you still have to enter your departure & arrival cities as they are called in Italian. <BR> <BR>For your purposes: <BR> Rome --- use 'Roma' <BR> Florence - use 'Firenze' <BR> Venice -- use 'Venezia' <BR> <BR>The train that you want to take is the EuroStar (ES) --- it's the quickest on those routes and also, the nicest. I've travelled both first class & second class on the ES; both are comfortable. As to whether it's worth the extra cost for first class, that's a matter of your pocketbook & opinion. In other words, if price is an issue you'll be fine with 2nd class. <BR> <BR>Although it usually is easy enough to buy your tickets on the day of travel, I'd suggest doing so a day or two ahead. In Italy, you can buy tickets at many travel agencies or AMEX offices -- your hotel should be able to direct you to the closest place (or if you're passing by the train station itself). <BR>Reason I suggest doing this is that some of the more popular travel times DO sell out, particularly with the increase of tourists in Italy. <BR> <BR>Did a quick check on the Roma - Firenze timetable on May 4th; on the morning run, there's an ES train leaving at 7:00 am, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:00 & 11:30 am --- so you do have lots of options. The duration of that trip is 1 hr, 35 minutes. <BR> <BR>Buon Viaggio

Howard

To sum up - <BR> <BR>Rail Europe is pretty micu of a rip off <BR> <BR>For your particular plans, there are so many trains that you do not really have to do any advance planning - except maybe to check schedule to next destination when you are in prior destination