During our upcoming trip to Rome (in March), we want to take a side trip to Venice via the trains. We had considered Volare airlines, but after reading the boards we decided that it may be too much trouble to do so.

What is the least expensive type of ticket that we can buy to facilitate this? My daughter (college student) and I will be traveling on March 6 (earliest train possible) and returning the next night (maybe second to last train, in the event we miss it we can still get back to Rome).

I've read something about flexi passes that I could use from midnight on the day of travel to midnight of the following day. As I understand it, it's a better buy than the point to point ticket. As you can probably tell, this is all getting confusing to me at this point. I just want to make sure that I purchase the correct type of ticket more than anything and would it need to be 'validated'?

Also, is it better to purchase the ticket in Italy and how far in advance should I? I arrive on March 2nd.

Italian train fares are calculated from the distance in kilometres and are cheaper than in most other west European countries. For a return journey (a round trip), the fare will be exactly twice the one-way fare, whether you're staying away for a night or a month. Tickets are valid for two months from purchase. On top of the basic fare, there are supplements for intercity trains and higher fares for Eurostar trains. It's not worth getting a rail pass for a simple journey like Roma-Venezia. It's easiest and cheapest to buy tickets in Italy.

My suggestion would be to look at the schedules and determine which exact trains you want. After you arrive in Rome go to a travel agent or the AmEx office and book the Eurostar tickets with reservations.
You have a good point about reserving the next to the last return, just in case you should miss it.

Hi Renee

I'm not aware of a one day railpass. I checked with www.railsaver.com. They don't show one either.

If your daughter is under 25, she might be eligible for Youth Fare discount.

You can see train schedules, get prices and buy your tickets on line from www.trenitalia.com.

See Trenitalia Tickets Online
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34465647

Thanks, guys! So I guess the answer is to do the point to point tickets...

And it's also a lot cheaper just showing up at Roma Termini and buying a couple of 2nd class point-to-point tickets than buying from Rail Europe or other on-line agencies. You'll be pleasantly surprised!