I have been researching the option of taking a mid-day train from Venice to Rome on May 18. (We already have a RyanAir flight booked, but I am becoming less enchanted with the thought of getting up at 5 in the morning and catching an hour shuttle to Treviso...and hoping for no delays) I am considering swallowing the cost of the ryanair tix and taking the train for less headaches. However, on www.raileurope.com I can only find one train from Venice to Rome and it is at 1200am! I am not fond of this. I finally found www.trenitalia.com and there are several options listed, but I can't seem to purchase any of them. The 12:30 train seems perfect but it says NO under the buy column and won't give me a price. I registered with the site and everything, but no luck purchasing. What am I missing? Are there other sites I should check out? (Travelers include 2 adults and 1 child--age 6.)

I think you are too early. I looked at the trenitalia site, and tickets seem to be available for purchase only within 60 days.

Oh. That makes sense.

1st class is 67.14 euro, 2nd class 44.93 euro. The child should be half price.

Trenitalia is the website for the Italian rail lines. Raileurope is a ticket broker like Expedia, Orbitz,etc.
To price tickets on Trenitalia, you must select a date within 60 days. The website only shows 5 trains per web page so you must keep clicking other options to get the rest of the trains. You can book your tickets when you get to Venice .

Also as experience from living in Italy, you should definitely plan for delays and unexpected adventures. It's the Italian way.

You can save a night’s hotel bill and four hours journey time if you take sleepers from Venice Mestre at 2333 to Rome Tiburtina at 0656. The train stops later in Venice Santa Lucia, but you can have thirty minutes more sleep if you board at Mestre. Please tell the conductor you want no morning coffee and want to wake as late as possible.

Ben Haines, London
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Hi J,

The website you want is www.trenitalia.com.

The 00:04 from Venezia san lucia to Rome Tiburtina (arr 06:56) has seats for 15E.

The seats on the night train are cheap because nobody would want to spend a night sitting on a train. Overnight trains are a great way of saving time, but only if you have somewhere to sleep - a couchette or, preferably, a sleeping berth.

If you decide to train to Tiburtina, be aware that this station seems (is) quite a bit seedier than other train stations.