Train Rome to Venice - Tickets Purchase
 

Please help - we are traveling from Washington, DC USA to Rome arriving at 8:40am next Monday! We will be tired & need to clear customs. We are then traveling directly to Venice (air travel did not make sense since the flights I found all left hours later and the train schedule showed arrival at the same time as air which was quite costly). Do you suggest purchasing the train tickets now from the USA?
Venezia S Lucia to Firenze S MN (4 1/2 hr trip) departs 8:55, 10:55, 12:55
How do we do all this? I looked at trenitalia.it and raileurope.com and am confused! How do we get from customs to the train station. Reservations,seats,ticket purchase - please help!

After you get through customs at the airport, you need to take the airport train, follow the signs, to the MAIN train station (termini) in Rome. From there, you will catch your trains. There is a small ticket counter that you may be able to purchase the entire trip through. If you have time, get some Euro (small change to larger bills) in the USA, or at the Rome airport, you will need it to purchase the shuttle train to Rome.

By all mean, if you want to get directly to Venice, take the Euro (ES) or Rapido only. These are non-stop to main cities only. These will take 1 1/4 hour to get to Florence where the regular train (IC) will take up to 3 hours.

I'm not sure of the exact route, but it will probably be. Airport to Rome, Rome to Florence, Florence to Venice.

I've never purchased ahead of time, but being tourist season, you probably need to make reservation for this trip ASAP.

Make sure that you have enough time to get land, get luggage, clear customs, and get to Rome before the train leaves. The Shuttle from the airport takes about 30-45 minutes depending on when you get to it.

Hi alm,

Your major bottleneck, assuming your plane lands on time, will be your luggage. Immigration will take about 1/2 hr or less. Customs takes no time at all.

Follow the "Treni" signs to the Leonarda da Vince shuttle to Roma TE - not Tiburtina. LDV leaves on the :07 and the :37. Arrives 30 min later at track 24. It's about a 15 min walk to the head of the tracks for the train to Venice.
See http://www.romatermini.it/indexf.cfm

If all goes well, you should see the 10:55 ES* departing as you get to the head of the track.

You will probably make the 11:30, but you have to change trains in Bologna.

You should easily make the 12:55 ES*.

There is a pleasant self service cafeteria at Roma TE, where you can have a light lunch, a little wine and people watch while settling into the Italian rhythm.

You can buy your ticket to Venice at the FCO airport when you buy your LDV ticket, IF the ticket agent is not too busy or surly.

Buying a ticket in Rome will require standing on line for a while.

You can buy your ticket at www.trenitalia.com. For the ES* you have a reserved seat, and the confirmation is your ticket.

If your plane is delayed significantly, you can change your reservation to a later one for free if you do it before the train leaves.

If you arrive early, you can change your ticket for free, if there is room on the train.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Dear all - Thank you! I feel much better. We will arrive tired and most likely confused. I think we will purchase the tickets upon arrival in Rome 1st for the shuttle and then the ES*.

I copied your directions and will follow them upon arrival to find the shuttle and then the train. I expect we will make the 12:55 ES* or the 11:30 slower one - If we take the 12:55 we will certainly enjoy the self service cafe - If we make it, the 10:55 would be terrific (although most likely an unrealistic train to catch) -

Are you suggesting that we book the train now from the states for the 12:55 and make a change once there if we are early?

Almans, are you flying USAir from PHL? (your post under ira's trip report says you're departing from PHL) I'm curious as to why you didn't take a PHL-VCE non-stop flight.

We got our tickets round trip to Rome almost a year ago before the Venice flight existed - When I heard about the Venice route I called - no room for the switch! I am broken hearted - I would have switched! I did try several times!

There are ticket vending machines all over the place at Termini. This is your best bet for buying tickets unless you 1) like to wait in line and 2) speak and understand Italian.

You touch screen for your destination, number of seats, class etc, pop in your credit card, out comes your ticket, reservation made.

I've had both good and bad experiences with ticket agents at Termini; I prefer the machines by far. Do not buy the tickets in advance, if you do and your flight is late and you miss your train you will have to stand in line to talk to a service agent to have the tickets reissued. This is truly a pain to accomplish, trust me, I've had to do this as well.

I am so thankful I used this forum...I will only purchase upon arrival...I am just so excited! I did call USair once again this afternoon to see if we could switch - no luck. We will manage!

Hi al,

>Are you suggesting that we book the train now from the states for the 12:55 and make a change once there if we are early?<

Yes. However, it's your call as to how comfortable you would be with the automatic ticket machines.

Do a search on this forum to see what others have experienced.

Have a great trip. The Rome Venice train ride is relaxing.

((I))

I agree w/ previous psters: you do not needto buy tix in advance. That would really limit you in timing and add some time-stressing you dont't need. This is avacation, no? Log on to "trenitalia.it" and download your choices [there is an English button] so you know whats next...The italian train system is light years beyond anything in North America, and you will be well served by it. By the way, in 11 days of travelling around 4 locations, only 1 train was ever late!

This was posted above:
"If your plane is delayed significantly, you can change your reservation to a later one for free if you do it before the train leaves."

What is you are in the air when the train leaves and can't make the change? I've been stuck on the tarmac in PHL on USAir for two hours in the past...or am I misinterpretting this statement?

This is copied directly from the Es train descriptions at trenitalia.com:

Ticket and booking changes
You may ask for ticket and booking changes for an unlimited number of times, without payment of a surcharge, if the request is made before the booked departure. The new journey must be carried out within two months of the first booking.
Before train departure you may ask for booking changes through this internet site, by telephoning the Telephonic Ticket Office (ph. 892021 for mobile and landline numbers) or through the agency where the ticket was issued.
After train departure you may change only the booking, only once within 24 hours, directly at the place of departure indicated on the ticket or ticket issuing place. In this case, a surcharge of Euro 3.00 must be paid. Changing, however, is not allowed when the issuing place corresponds to that of journey destination.
If the ticket was purchased by via Ticketless, the change must be requested within an hour of the booked train departure

Refunds
If you decide not to take the journey and ask for refunds before train departure, a voucher of the same amount of the ticket will be given or, alternatively, a ticket refund with a 20% deduction.

Remember that, after the departure of the booked train and until the successive 24 hours, a refund request must be made only at the departure train station (departure being indicated on the ticket) or at the travel agency ticket issuer. The refund here has always a 50% deduction, even if you have made a booking change. In this case, it is possible to have a refund until 24 hours after the departure of the new ES* train. Refund requests are not admitted when the tickets issuance place is the same as the destination. If the ticket is purchased via Ticketless, the change must be requested within an hour of the booked train departure.
If the residual amount is less than Euro 8.00, net of deductions, then no vouchers will be issued for journeys not taken nor refunds given.