Please Help
 

We are taking our first trip to Italy in October and intend to travel by train, with several day visits to Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. We would really appreciate info on the following:1.Should we buy a railpass, first or second class? 2. Any info on reservations and possible upgrades (How,When,Where)3. The railpass company offers a list of B&Bs Anything on experiences and reliability?
Lastly, we are in our seventys and personal safety and frugality are most important. Any comments?

It would be helpful to re-post your questions with something about train travel in the title so people know what information you want.

Second class has always worked for me. It gets there just about the same time as 1st class and costs less. We have found it to be comfortable.

My favorite guide to railpasses is

http://ricksteves.com/rail/rail_menu.htm

This group is almost always cheaper by using point to point tickets.

I've used http://www.eurocheapo.com for budget accomodations but there are convents and hostels too.

If you are considering the hostel route, read the reviews at
http://www.bugeurope.com They have both their own reviews and users reviews.

Also check reviews at http://www.tripadvisor.com

Search this board for "Rome + Hotel", "Venice + Hotel" for recommendations. Keep your expectations realistic. The rooms and bathrooms will usually be small.

Personal safety is not a problem except for pick-pockets and petty thieves. Search this forum for "Money Belts". I'd use one on a first trip. Use ATM's for cash and credit cards (VISA) for hotels and restaurants. Keep your valuables in your money belts with only the day's spending accessible.

Have a great trip. You've waited too long. Be frugal enough and you can go again next year.

You can start a new post for B&B info. If you give some names, people can comment if they are familiar. You can also look them up on tripadvisor.

You also need to mention Italy in the heading.

If you can provide a hotel budget, people here can also offer suggestions. Depnding on your budget, you may want to look into convent accommodations. They can be very nice, inexpensive and, of course, safe.

You probably don't want a railpass for traveling to those cities. I think it's on railsaver.com where you can plug in your planned itinerary and it will compare prices between point-to-point tickets and a railpass, to help you decide. But I just traveled Rome-Florence-Venice-Santa Margherita Ligure-Nice and it was cheaper without the pass. You would be better off with Eurostar reservations, which cost extra above the pass anyway.
Go to budgeteuropetravel.com, get their 800 number, and you can call some very helpful people who really know the rail services in Europe. You can purchase your tickets through them, at a very small fee for mailing them to you before you leave home. If you're like me, you might want to have paper tickets in hand before you depart. Otherwise, it isn't difficult to just buy tickets at the stations as you go, if you don't mind some uncertainty.
I will soon post my trip report, including very nice little hotels in Venice, Florence and Rome, but I'm not organized enough yet with my notes. The hotel names are: in Venice, the Hotel Riva or Casa Rezzonico; in Rome the Domus Julia/Hotel Julia; in Florence, the Relais Cavalcanti. All very nice little places under 200EUR.

Train tickets in Italy are very cheap. A pass is unlikely to be cost-effective. But be sure to pack lightly, because you'll have to carry those bags up and down stairs and up into the train. You should be able to lift your bags overhead to store them on the train. (This is not always necessary, but just in case.)

You can buy individual tickets online, sometimes at a substantial savings, at www.trenitalia.it, but the site is a bit difficult to navigate. In Italy, you can buy train tickets and reservations at travel agents as well as at train stations. The web site www.slowtrav.com has extensive detailed information about traveling by train in Italy.

Regarding reservations, do you mean train reservations?

As for places to stay, look at www.tripadvisor.com. There travelers review hotels and B&B's. Will you require an elevator? Most B&B's and many smaller hotels don't have elevators.