We will be flying into Rome then planning to take the train to Florence and Venice then back to Rome. Is it wise to make advanced reservations for the train travel or, with what appears to be very frequent service, is it safe to wait until we arrive? Any comments would be appreciated.

we made reservations and were glad of it, as our train times were crowded. we took the train from venice to florence and later from florence to naples and our only problem was finding help in loading and unloading our luggage. hope you have a great time.

Notwothstanding what carol has posted here, the more commonly expressed view here is that you are perfectly fine to reserve your train travel AFTER you arrive in Europe. People change their plans (a little bit, for example) based on the weather of that day, mood, how late you sleep, etc. Your reservation is good for one train at one time only. Your TICKET will still be good, you simply have to get another reservation if you decide to go later or earlier.<BR><BR>But you pay a substantial markup to buy tickets - - at www.raileurope.com or other sources outside Europe.<BR><BR>I think that it IS safe to wait.<BR><BR>If you want to add to your peace of mind, buy them 4 hours to 24-48 hours in advance IN Europe. Any train station can sell you tickets for any segment of train travel anywhere.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

I think if your itinerary is pretty well set and you are planning on taking the fast inter-city trains then it only makes sense to make reservations in advance, especially if a guaranteed seat in a non-smoking section is important to you. I have been on these routes where people were left sitting on their luggage in the entry way areas for hours because there were no available seats. I can't stress enough how popular these inter-city routes are! As Rex says I think as long as you can reserve at least 48 hours in advance you should be safe-though, the queues at the Rome airport ticket office are horrendous. Of course, don't use the websites like raileurope who do charge an awful lot more.

Dont' do it!