kdetrav

Is it wise to buy train tickets ahead of time? Do they get full or more expensive if you wait until a few days before? I just am not sure exactly what time we will want to be going--though I can make a plan if it makes sense. Are there different classes of service? Thanks for your help!

Seamus

Yes, advance purchase fares are lower and last minute tickets are usually the most expensive. Yes, it makes sense to plan ahead. Yes, there are two classes of service.

greg

You can easily find this out on your own without having to wait for someone to tell you. Just compare prices online.
Goto www.trenitalia.com. Choose English if you need to.
Enter Roma Termini and Firenze S. M. Novella.
Then look at the prices for February 17th, or whenever is "tomorrow". That is the last minutes price.
Look at June 8th prices. That is as far away as you can book today. It is roughly the half of the last minutes price.
If you click "+" on the right edge of the particular box, you see ALL the prices. What you see is that if you can book ahead, you can buy the Super Economy non-refundable tickets. As the travel date approaches, Super Economy and Economy tickets are snatched up and you are left with the Base price tickets only.
These trains can get pretty full. It can get totally full on certain busy days. When are you traveling?

Traveler_Nick

If your schedule is set it's cheaper to buy in advance.

Sales are never valid on the day when you'll pay the highest possible price. If it's a busy day it's even possible the cheaper seats will sell out forcing you to take a seat in first class. Even more expensive.

There are two competing train companies on that route.

TrenItalia the old government owned monopoly.

Italo the competitor. Italo is usually cheaper but has less trains. I'd put schedule ahead of the small price difference. At least most tourists should.

Italo has three main classes. The main difference is the car layout. Lowest class the seats are 2x2. The class above are actually older first class cars. These are 1x2. That means less people in the car. The chance to sit by yourself if you want. More room in general. There is also a higher club class. But for a ninety minute ride the lowest class is more than adequate.

Both companies have been running weekend sales lately. They start Friday afternoon local time and run until Monday. The sales allow you to get further discounts on seats one to two months out. Always check the terms of the sales.

But in general for a tourist the most important thing is a convenient schedule. Don't worry about the other things

PalenQ

check www.seat61.com for lots on tips on booking your own trains - trenitalia.com can be hard for many to use -general info like classes, et BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Trains would rarely be all full with so so many trains on that route - I took a regional train Florence to Rome and though it took twice as long it was dirt cheap on walk-up basis - no seat reservations possible- I enjoyed stopping at towns and stations - high-speed trains train don't stop anywhere and goes thru fairly boring countryside. So, a regional train would be cheaper probably and can just buy tickets once there.

kdetrav

Thanks. Very helpful. I had compared prices, but didn't know if the difference was due to timing or time of year and I didn't notice the + sign to see ALL the prices. We are travelling on a Wed.

PalenQ

n any case don' worry abut getting on trains if you wait till Florence and want to pay full-fare which is not that much on those high-speed trains. And yes check www.italotreno.com too.

kdetrav

Thank you --tickets booked successfully!

willit

As a general rule, the slower the train, the cheaper it is, and the less likely you are to need reservations.

With faster trains earlier is definitely better. For example , travelling on 27/2 on Italo from Termini to SMN on Florence will cost you from €19
whereas booking the same train for this coming Wednesday is nearly twice as expensive at €35.
Similar on the Frecce trains of Trenitalia - €40ish on this coming Wed, €22 on the 27th.

Man_in_seat_61

On the day: Base fare applies, €50 in standard class.

In advance: Super-economy and Economy fares from €19.90 in standard class, no refunds, no changes at cheapest price levels.

Your call!

Trains seldom get full unless it's Christmas or something, there are so many seats on so many trains. But as all seats are reserved they can in theory fill up. But the real issue is price.

www.trenitalia.com or competitor Italo, www.italotreno.it, you want Roma Termini to Firenze SMN.

PalenQ

OP has booked tickets but for others check first class too for discounted tickets.

AGM_Cape_Cod

PalenQ

You can always take regional trains Rome-Florence that take twice as long but are flat-fare dirt cheap no reservations possible - does not take high-speed line but old line stopping in many towns.

Amount of time to book in advance varies according to previous posts - just start checking.

Traveler_Nick

In general 120 days but there is a schedule change June 8th.

But there isn't a huge reason to rush. Italo Rome to Florence starts at €15. About two months before travel they'll start announcing sales usually. The sales make it possible to do Rome/Florence for €10.

OTOH even if you miss the cheapest seats you're only looking at €20 or so per person. Even if you buy on the day of travel it's only €40. That's the most Italo charges for Smart class.

vincenzos

Price are increasing through the time because the cheapest tickets are sold out shortly. There are two calles of service but, indeed, the trips is so short, 95 minutes, that it is not worth to buy the higher class even because the lower one is good too.

PalenQ

Well sometimes when all discounted 2nd class tickets are sold out some discounted first class tickets may be just a few euros more - in that case go first class with is more relaxed.