Italian train question
 

My family of four will travel from Termini station to Orvieto by train on a Saturday, and then a week later from Florence Santa Maria (I think that's what it is) back to Termini on a Monday. None of us speak Italian. i have looked at routes and times on Trentalia and feel pretty comfortable that there are multiple trains doing what I need. Am I better off booking online now, or will prices and availability be there when we are there in late July? I'd like to be as flexible as possible, but don't want to pay a ton extra for it, and also was a little concerned about finding the right train when we're there. Thanks.

I would book Florence-Rome trip in advance on the fast train (1.5 hrs). Prices start at 19€ for selected departures and 29 for most others. On departure day you'll pay 43€ pp. Trains are very frequent, several per hour.

Don't bother booking to Orvieto in advance.

Rome Termini to Orvieto is largely by Regional trains which have a flat fare regardless of when you do and are dirt cheap- just buy those ducats on the day of travel.

Between Florence and Rome you have choice of snail-like regional trains and high-speed trains that take only about 90 minutes I think vs 3-4 hours maybe on regional trains - faster trains cost more but if you want to book weeks early and not need to change your ticket then at www.trenitalia.com you can nab some discounts - if you want flexibility to chose what train you will take once there then pay the extra 20% or so for a full-fare ticket that you can easily get in Florence - so so many trains it would be rare to find full trains but those trains do require seat reservations before boarding and these come with the train ticket - regional trains do not even have seat reservations possible.

For lots of great info on Italian trains check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Do not be concerned IME of riding Italian trains for years in finding the right train - everything is well marked and lots of station and train personnel speak English.

>>>My family of four<<<

Ages? Trenitalia has a kids (under age 15)free promo this summer. Book the Florence/Rome fast trains following the instructions halfway down this link to take advantage. You might have to show their passports on board to prove age.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...008916f90aRCRD

>>>Rome Termini to Orvieto is largely by Regional trains which have a flat fare regardless of when you do and are dirt cheap<<<

Yes, these are cheap (7€). There are some slightly faster IC trains (only 10 minutes faster), but not as often. Just take the regional train, buy your tickets at the station (not in advance - no discounts and more restrictions for regional tickets purchased in advance) and be sure to validate your tickets before boarding (yellow box trackside).

Know the stops on the Rome/Orvieto trip. These slow regional trains are often only scheduled to stop for 1 minute (3-4 minutes max depending on train). You must be at the door with your luggage ready to hop off or you will miss your stop. For Rome/Orvieto, enter a day in the next 7 days for the day of the week you are traveling. Look at the train you are considering and click on the i next to the train and the list of stops will appear below.

This will not be a problem for your Florence/Rome fast train as it will be in the station 10-15 minutes. You also don't have to validate these tickets before boarding as they are checked on board.

Thanks much!!

This will not be a problem for your Florence/Rome fast train as it will be in the station 10-15 minutes>

that should be it should be... Florence S M Novella station is very hectic and trains at times are delayed coming in until the previous train using that platform leaves - turnaround time can be much less IME than 10-15 minutes at times and trains may even switch scheduled platforms on occasion. Just be ready when the train is announced on the overhead boards and re-check the platform to see it has not been changed.

You also don't have to validate these tickets before boarding as they are checked on board.>

Well the reason you do not have to validate discounted tickets - if talking about discounted tickets is that they are train specific and cannot be used again - they will be looked at onboard just to see if you have a ticket - but since they are valid only on that train it would be senseless to validate them - only tickets that can be used on any train need be validated in case there is no conductor on the train and to prevent folks from them using the same ticket again.