Hi there

We (2 people) will be travelling to Milan in Italy end of July for 4 days. On one of those days, we intend to take the first morning train to Venice and return the same day on the latest train. I have checked trenitalia website and the cheapest fare I can find is 76 Euros for 2 people. I was wondering if there are special tickets for groups of 2-5 people that would offer cheaper transportation (as few years ago, we went from Vienna to Salzburg using such a ticket for only 24 Euros or so...)

Note that we will be taking another train to Rome where we will stay for another 4 days. The price I got on Trenitalia was 86 Euros at least.

And, in case this might be helpful, we will be coming into Milan from Freiburg in Germany (costing another 98 Euros minimum).

What options do we have? Could you please advise me if these prices are good to go with or if there are cheaper alternatives, I would greatly appreciate your help!

The cheapest fares would have been available if you had booked them 90 days ahead but that has passed, obviously.

I am not sure there is any special sort of ticket and if there isn't then book those fares now or they may go up even further.

Buy second class tickets - they're much cheaper and no worse than plane seats.

Buy second class, fine, but only on the express (Freccia) trains.

This is a long trip, you want to get there fast, and the slower trains are often overcrowded. Perhaps unusual, but a friend had to stand up all the way to Venice after being up all nigh on her flight to Milan from the US.

I just plugged in Milano Centrale to Venezia SL for July 29 (you didn't say exact dates) and see a 7 am train for 19 euro. Seats are limited but they appear to be available for at least some dates in July still.

Milan to Venice starts at €19 and rises to €55 full-fare. You just have to book as early as the booking horizon will allow and hunt for the cheapest departures as you would with a budget airline.

Milan to Rome starts at €29 and rises to full-flex €86.

Hang on! €78 for two? €39 each? €19 each way????

You've already got the cheapest €19 deal for Milan-Venice, snap it up before it sells out and rises to €29!

To the OP: how many times do you need to read the same info?

>>>Hang on! €78 for two? €39 each? €19 each way????
You've already got the cheapest €19 deal for Milan-Venice, <<<

Actually not. The cheapest fare Milan/Venice is 9€ for the fast train. Without knowing the exact dates/times, it's hard to say what would be cheapest, but there is also a r/t special of 69€.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...008916f90aRCRD

To the OP, it's much more helpful if you include you exact dates/times.

Fares for flights from Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport to Venice Marco Polo start at 60 EUR (random date July 28th: Basel-Freiburg dp 9.50 - Venice ar 11.00)
http://www.easyjet.com/

Is the €76 round trip for two people? If so, it's the Economy fare, already a greatly reduced price, because the full fare, round trip, for two people would be €150. The only cheaper fare is the Super Economy fare, which would have cost you €36 for two people, round trip. It must be sold out for your date already. Tickets go on sale 120 days in advance, and the really great discounts are snapped up quickly, especially on popular routes.

The full price, one way, for two people traveling from Milan to Rome is €172, so €86 is a good price for that trip, also. The cheapest fares on that route would be €58 for two people, but again, you have to buy months in advance to get those prices. All of the discounted tickets are available in limited numbers, and once they're sold out, it's too late.

The only group fare in Italy is the Family fare, which is for adults and children traveling together.