We will be arriving in Rome on the morning of May 1st. We did not realize that it is a holiday until after our airline tickets were booked. Does anyone know if Trenitalia has an English speaking helpline? I have not been able to find one on their official site. Also, could anyone give us an idea of how long it takes to get from the airport(FCO) by train to the central train station? We are not sure if train service will be limited on holidays. Thanks.

There will be frequent trains even on this holiday - much like a Sunday - zillions of trains so really all you have to do is head for the train station in Rome's airport on arrival and buy a ticket on the Leonardo Express into Rome's Termini station, and change there to your destination.

(Where are you going?)

Have no fear about trains selling out - there are so many and the worst you may have to do is to go first class, which after decades of riding Italian trains for the average traveler I HIGHLY encourage anyway.

Forget about trenitalia.com except for schedules - print out the various trains you may take and hand it to the clerk at the airport train station so there is no language barrier, etc. Buy your ticket onward from Rome at the airport train station, leaving enough time to transfer in a Termini (main) train station that can seem hectic to novice travelers - zillions of tracks - people coming and going from all angles, etc.

a problem with pre-booking train tickets to use after landing is that you never know exactly when your plane will land, when you will clear customs, reach the airport train station, etc. And most Italian train tickets are train-specific and if you have to change them you may well have to wait in a long long line at Termini's often mobbed IME ticket window - so just buy when you reach the airport train station.

For lots of great info on Italian trains check out these fantastic IMO sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com

And you can easily check train schedules for May 1 at www.trenitalia.com or the German Railways web site - www.bahn.de, which I use for schedules of any European train - easier for me than finicky trenitalia.com.

But anyway IMO just forget about the ducats until you land and go to the airport trains station.

sorry about not noting in your title you are going to Venice - expect hourly trains even on that day. You shall have to change in Rome Termini station I believe.

Here is a link to the schedule for the Leonardo Express, teh direct shuttle train that connects FCO to Roma Termini. Note that it does not seem to have a holiday schedule, just one schedule for all days of the week. The trip takes 30 minutes and leaves every half hour.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

I would not purchase your tickets until I was in Rome and had cleared baggage claim at FCO. When you arrive at the FCO train station, you can buy all you tickets, both for FCO to Roma Termini, and for Roma Termini to Venezia SL. Choose a Venice-bound train that departs at least 15 minutes after you get to Termini. As PalenQ said, the station can be big and confusing to first-timers, and the Leonardo Express arrives on a track at the far end of the station. You will need 5 minutes just to get to the main part of the station, and then might need more time to determine you departure track and walk there. There is an underpass accessible as you walk from the Leonardo Express that can save some time, since it connects all the train platforms at their midpoints.

A check of schedules for May 1, 2011 on www.bahn.de says trains leave Rome Termini station hourly at :45 after the hour and take 3 hours and 48 minutes to reach Venice's Santa Lucia station, righr in the heart of old Venice, with public transit boats and boat taxis docking out front of the station.

PalenQ and ellenem: Thank you so much for the detailed responses! I read somewhere (can't remember where) that train tickets are much like airline tickets...the closer one comes to the departure date and time coupled with fewer seats being available for purchase = much higher ticket prices. We assumed that information was correct and, therefore, planned on buying our tickets ahead of time. We would much prefer to wait until we get to the airport, as you both have suggested, before purchasing the tickets. Puts my mind at ease that you both have suggested that we not pre-buy! We were just afraid , for reasons that you mentioned, that we would miss our train. On a previous thread on this site, there was a differing opinion by several Fodorites as to whether or not we should purchase the tickets in advance because it is a holiday. Thanks again for your help. It is much appreciated.

For me, paying full price is much more economical than buying a cheaper ticket a head of time, missing the train, and then having to buy another full-price ticket anyway. Worse case: you may not be able to get on the first train, or you may have to buy a first class ticket to do so. Not really a tragedy.

ellenem- The price of the ticket was never really the issue for us. It was making sure that we had a seat. Thanks again for your input. Have read alot of your threads to other travelers. You come across as a very seasoned traveler--great for those of us who need help!

Glad to help, Rita. Hope you have a great trip.

Leaving aside the special promotional-fare advance purchase train tickets (which have extremely restrictive rules), if you buy a standard-price ticket ("base" fare) on any Trenitalia long-distance train with mandatory seat reservations in advance (all trains EXCEPT the unreserved regionale trains), and if you happen to MISS your reserved train by MORE THAN ONE HOUR, you will have a WORTHLESS EXPIRED ticket, and you'll need to buy a brand new full-fare ticket!!! A fine way to start a vacation!

That is the reason it's a VERY BAD IDEA to pre-book these train tickets in advance for the very day of your plane arrival. The odds are very good that you will MISS your train, unless you give yourself five plus hours connection time (in which case you would probably end up wanting to change your reservation to an earlier train, which is possible but a hassle). Even with a very long connection time, you might still miss your train, considering the vicissitudes of intercontinental air travel these days. It's a risk NOT worth taking, in most cases.

Fortunately, there are HOURLY Frecciargento high-speed reserved trains between Rome and Venice. Even if your first choice is sold out, you'll probably find space on the train leaving one hour later. The cost of the regular fare ticket does NOT increase the closer one gets to the travel date. It always remains the same. Only advance-purchase promotional fare tickets increase in price the closer one gets to the travel date. But here, we're talking about regular-fare tickets!

For these reasons, it really makes sense to buy the train ticket when you arrive at the Rome FCO airport train station, when you'll know exactly WHICH Venice-bound train you'll be able to connect to at Roma Termini station after arriving there from the airport on the airport train. You should give yourself 30 minutes connection time between the airport train and the Venice-bound train, since there's a fairly long walk involved, and because the airport train could arrive late. By purchasing the ticket for the Venice-bound train at the airport train station ticket counter, you avoid the hassle of having to stand in line a second time when you arrive at Roma Termini Station. Instead, you'll be able to walk to the connecting train and board it without delay.

>>>ellenem- The price of the ticket was never really the issue for us. It was making sure that we had a seat.<<<

The tickets for the Leonardo Express are 14€ and the price doesn't change. There are no reserved seats on this train and there's a good chance you might have to stand on the way from the airport to Termini(be sure to validate/punch this ticket trackside before boarding).

The faster trains in Italy (AV,ES,ESCity,IC)are reserved seat only so if you get a ticket, you will have a seat. Your ticket will be for a specific car and seat on the train. No need to worry about standing for Rome/Venice as you will likely be taking the AV train (you do not have to validate tickets with reserved seats).

By now you have all the info you need. I would just add one little wrinkle that may be useful. It relates to your concern about having a reserved seat.

I have taken that train several times in off-season. I have noticed that the company seems to book EVERYONE (at least in 2nd class) into the same 2-3 carriages. Meanwhile, there were many nearby carriges that were empty.

The train makes no stops between Rome and Florence. That trip takes 1.5 hr. So if you find youself in a crowded carriage, just wait until the train leaves the station and then wander into other carriages until you find somewhere nice to sit.

Leave your luggage in your original carriage -- it won't disappear.

After Florence, the stops are more frequent, the "va-et-vient" of passengers is accelerated and you will probably have to return to your original seat. You shd certainly be in it during stops.

PS: The last time we traveled to Florence on that train, we and 50 others found our appointed carriage was missing! Conductors said "Just sit anywhere" and we did.

Let me shed some light on the phenomenon of the "empty railcars" noted in the previous posting: Trenitalia typically keeps one railcar in each class of service for its long-distance trains available for passengers who "hop on" without a seat reservation (but with a valid ticket). This is actually possible, in accordance with tariff rules, during the window period beginning ONE HOUR BEFORE, and ending ONE HOUR AFTER, the scheduled departure time of the train for which one has a ticket with a reserved seat, PROVIDED that it is a regular, undiscounted "base" fare ticket (and not a discounted, promotional fare ticket).

Why would one "hop on" without standing in line to secure a new seat reservation? Because sometimes there's no time to do so, without missing the train about to leave the station. Passengers who "hop on" must hunt down the ticket agent on board the train, who will validate the ticket, collect a fee of 8 Euros, and direct the passenger to sit in the UNRESERVED railcar (either first or second class, according to the type of ticket held by the passenger).

The BETTER solution in these cases is to secure a last-minute seat reservation change at the MOBILE STATIONS located in the area directly in front of the tracks where the Frecciarossa and Frecciargento AV trains depart from the MAJOR train stations in Italy. That avoids having to stand in line at the very crowded main ticket counters. It also avoids having to pay the 8-Euro fee for "hopping" on a different train (within the timeframes allowed by tariff rules) without a new seat reservation. The personnel at the MOBILE STATION will make last-minute seat reservation changes such that the passenger will indeed have a reserved seat when boarding the train.

Bear in the mind that the information above does NOT pertain to any of the discounted promotional tickets, which CANNOT be used on trains different from the one reserved unless a formal reservation change is made in accordance with the very restrictive tariff rules for such promotional tickets.

The above information also does NOT pertain to any of the regionale trains, which have unreserved seats (and undiscountable fares). Tickets for regionale trains can be used indiscrimately on any regionale train for the city pair in question and during the validity of the ticket (2 months after purchase, as long as not "validated"). That's because there are no reserved seats on regionale trains, and consequently, the ticket is not specific to a particular train on a particular date, as is the case on ALL of the long-distance, faster trains.

Clear and unambiguous?

www.seat61.com excellent train info

Plenty of trains will be running

Personally to save might stay at the

Seraton Roma $69/nt hotwire.com 5 euro airport shuttle

3 euro to train station... train up to Venice rested

intercity trains from 25 euros or so double for fast trains

never booked...regional trains cheapest but a long slog.

Have fun,

Wow! Now that's called getting a question answered! I
appreciate the wealth of information from all of you that took the time to respond. Thanks so much.

Are you going round trip Rome to Venice - if so the Italian Railpass can be - I think is currently - cheaper than the return regular fare.

PalenQ- We will travel from Rome to Venice, Venice to Florence, and Florence to Rome. Arriving in Rome on May 1st and departing Rome on May 11th.

At regular fares bought at stations the pass may be better value - but if you go the online discount and train-specific route and want to book way in advance then that would be probably the cheapest route. But if you want any flexibility to chose times of travel en route then full fares I believe could be more expensive than the pass - especially in first class, which I heartily advise. You can easily compare fares at www.trenitalia.com and pass prices at sites like www.ricksteves.com or www.budgeteuropetravel.com or www.raileurope.com - add in 10 euros surcharge for each train you take with the pass.

When comparing fares locally with the pass prices in dollars add 3% to the euro total if your credit card as many do impose a 3% surcharge on any foreign transactions - perhaps you have one of the relatively few cards that do not?

Actually, many cards don't charge 3% and more are dropping/lowering it lately to be competitive. If you don't have a Capitol One card, now might be the time to get it. They have a promo going for 100,000 points. Read the rules before applying. Also read the discussion on Flyertalk.

http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...m#last-comment