My wife and I are taking our kids to Italy next month and plan taking a train around the country. We arrive in Rome and immediately depart to Venice. Can anyone recommend the safest train service from Rome to Venice and back to Rome? Should we book in advance?

Thank you in advance.

This posting my give you useful information:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...ome+and+venice

Until April 30, you can travel from Rome to Venice (or reverse) for a little as 29 Euros, in reserved FIRST CLASS Eurostar train, by booking ahead.

See: "Eurostar a 29 Euro" promotion on the Trenitalia website. See also my separate posting on this topic.

www.trenitalia.com

This is my posting on Trenitalia's promotion for Eurostar travel as low as 29 Euros (through April 30, 2005):

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...++for+29+Euros

GAC,

Thank you for the information. What the safety issue and how does this line compare to others available as far as quality and reliability.

GAC is THE expert on Italian transportation, so perhaps I should let him reply.

The information GAC has given you applies to the Ferrovie dello Stato, which is the train system run by the state (i.e., the Italian government at arm's length) and, with the exception of a few tiny private railway systems in some corners of the country, the ONLY train system in Italy.

To the best of my knowledge, the Ferrovie dello Stato have an excellent safety record.

Your other options are extremely limited: Alitalia, Italian discount airlines, and buses, which are a mystery onto themselves: there is no single system, but numerous private operators; in large Italian cities, there is often not just one but several bus stations.

Hello-

Question- Is there a significant difference between 1st and 2nd class seats on Italian trains?

Thanks!

Eloise is correct: there is NO COMPETING train service between Rome and Venice. The only alternative is to drive or to fly.

Ferrovie dello Stato (Trenitalia) has a very good safety record considering the millions of passengers it moves each year. Between Rome and Venice, I don't recall a single accident in over 30 years. There have been a few accidents on other lines, often due to very bad weather (fog, etc.).

I really would not worry about train safety, unless you're obsessed with the risk of third party acts of sabotage. For this eventuality, nothing can be said other than it's never happened yet in Italy.

On second thought, I would be remiss not to mention that there was ONE notorious act of terrorism (by domestic perpetrators) directed at the Bologna Train STATION waiting room in August 1980 which was very tragic, but it remains, to my knowledge, the sole act of sabotage against the Italian national train system in a very long time. I would not think about it any more. The major rail stations are now much better monitored and policed than they were 25 years ago.

Hello golferb, I know there was the recent accident regarding the train between Verona and Bologna recently but I would not consider the Italian train system to be dangerous.

If you are thinking of the strike a few days ago by the train employees, well Italians like to strike occassionally.

Just a question. If you want to start your trip in Venice have you thought about flying into Venice rather then Rome. It seems to me (assuming that you are flying to Rome from the US) that is a long train trip after the international flight.

Are you planning on flying home from Rome? If you have not purchased your tickets yet have you checked into an open jaw (or mulitcity) flight where you fly into Venice and home from Rome?

In any case, I would not be concerned about taking the trains in Italy.

AnnieGoo: It looks as though your question has been lost in the shuffle about safety.

In my personal opinion, the difference between first and second class is not significant enough to warrant taking first class. On most IC and all ES trains, seating is similar to airplane seating; the old-fashioned compartments of six people locked together in a tiny space are almost totally gone from the Italian train system.

However, if you are going a very long distance (and I would not consider Rome to Venice a very long distance...), then it may be worth your while to go first class.

Eloise-

Thank you so much. I appreciate the quick reply.

I was confused for a moment, golferb's thread and then answers to Annie Goo. Then saw Annie Goo's thread.

Seems as though the two threads regarding train travel in Italy got mixed up a bit.

great info - thanks all

Awesome information from all. Thank you.

More questions, sorry. Would it be better to buy tickets from a travel agent here in the states, or buy from www.trenitalia.com website? Should we reserve a train time in advance? What happens if we reserve a time and then our flight runs behind?

What about buying insurance?

Thank you.

Hi golfer,

>Would it be better to buy tickets from a travel agent here in the states, or buy from www.trenitalia.com website? <

It is unlikely that your travel agent can get you the discounted tickets available on the website.

>Should we reserve a train time in advance? What happens if we reserve a time and then our flight runs behind?<

If you are taking an ES*, all seats are reserved.

It took 3:30 hr from the time our plane was scheduled to arrive at FCO before we got to Roma TE. Luggage was greatly delayed.

Since we had planned to take the next train anyway, we spent about 40 min in the self-service cafeteria, people watched and relaxed.