My family is travelling via train from Venice to Florence and Florence to Rome this summer. We have our travel days but not exact times and didn't know how far in advance you need to make train reservations. We will probably want Eurostar both times. Should we do this before we leave or is it easy to get tickets maybe a day or so in advance? Thanks.

You can only make reservations at www.trenitalia.com 60 days in advance.

If you aren't traveling on a weekend or around August 15, it shouldn't be difficult to get tickets a few days in advance. The routes you mention have frequent trains. For convenience and speed, I'd suggest using Eurostar trains, where your ticket includes a seat reservation. On Eurostars, the difference between first and second class is minimal and not really worth the cost, in my opinion.

It might still be a good idea to get all your tickets when you arrive at your first Italian destination.

I second Eloise, if you know the dates you want to travel, go ahead and buy your tickets when you arrive in Italy. I was in Italy last June and was always able to buy train tickets for the day I wanted to travel, though I did have one time when I had to take a later and slower train.

When this summer are you going? And how many people are you traveling with? Depending on how many you're traveling with and when, you might want to get tickets in advance so you're seated relatively near each other.

Eloise is right about the weekend and August 15. It'll be murder, or you'll get stuck in what my mom and I affectionately call the refuge car, a local train packed to the brim with no space to rightfully occupy, much less sit.

If you want to take the eurostar which takes significantly less travel times. Make your reservations as soon as possible. I have had problems getting seats every time I have been in Italy on the major routes. If you don't care about which train you take, you can wait. In october, the florence venice route was sold out on 3 different days. Florence to rome Euorostar had routes sold out on 2 days.

I would travel 1st class since the price difference isn't that great and includes snacks and much nicer seats. If you by the italy pass, you can pay the reservation fee seperately.