Hi we will be in Florence for 7 nights in late February. We purchased a package so we’re based there. We were thinking of going to Venice for 1 night. Is the train the best way to get there? Does anyone have a recommendation for a hotel in Venice? Neither my husband nor I have ever been to Venice so any info or recommendation is great. I’m also not familiar with the trains so help on that is also appreciated. We will just take a small bag for the one day drop is our plan since our hotel in Florence is already paid for.

Looks like the first fast train out of Florence is around 830 and takes 2.5 hours. We stayed at the Abbazia Deluxe which also has a sister property the Hotel Abbazia. They are both on the same street just a few hundred feet from the train station.

To me, you get off the train and immediately drop you bag at the hotel and off you go. Breakfast was great, room was beautiful and I though the location was great. If spending one night, this way the hotel is right by the train station.

It is about a 3 hour train ride between Florence and Venice. Book on Trenitalia website. The train is the best way to travel between these two cities. Book as long in advance as possible for best fares. What is your budget for hotel?

Try the website www.trainline.eu to check for tickets. It should show both Trenitalia and iTalo trains for that route.

Sorry I am so new at this what are the names of the train stations I need to book? Also for hotel budget hopefully no more than $250 for 1 night. Thanks again

You are going FROM "Roma Termini" (which is the name of the main train station in Rome) TO Venezia S. Lucia (Venezia Santa Lucia), which is the train station on the Venetian island.

Go to www.trenitalia.com to search for train fare and schedule.

Oops, sorry, you are leaving from Florence, so your FROM station name is "Firenze S. M. Novella" which stands for Firenze Santa Maria Novella.

The carnivale in Venice is from 01/27 thru 02/13 in 2018. If you're going in late February, you should be have your pick of nice hotels in your price range. Since carnivale will be over by then, you might want to stay around San Marco, which will not be crowded at that time, especially if you go on a weekday. I like hotels.com for an idea of what's available, then usually book directly with the hotel.

Hopefully you'll be there after Carnivale, if not hotel rates in Venice will be steep. For trains , go to trenitalia.it for schedules and fares. As others have said, once you have your hotel in place you should book train to take advantage of early fares, some times first class can be equal or less than coach!
For hotel I can recommend a lovely B&B called Alpontemocenigo.com
Its just a couple of vaporetto stops from the train station, and its just a few steps from the vaporetto stop. Its very easy to get from there to St Marks and other points by vaporetto or walking.

Oh, and I just wanted to clarify, its really just a 2 hrs train ride between Santa Maria Novella station in Florence and Santa Lucia station in Venezia. Make sure you pick a fast train.

We really enjoyed staying at the Locanda Orseolo. The staff were very helpful and friendly and the location was terrific.

I suggest you pick a hotel that is (a) easy to find when you arrive in Venice and (b) is not in an area that typically floods during an acqua alta and (c) near the restaurant where you plan to eat dinner. Good B&Bs or hotels in your budget that tick all 3 boxes are not difficult to find.

Even though you will probably only carry an overnight bag (yes?), it's not particularly fun to be unable to find your hotel when you only have a very short time in Venice, and short daylight hours, and want to get on with your sightseeing. In February you run the risk of very cold or rainy or even snowy weather, so being near your hotel for dinner after dark can make it more pleasant walking back. Acqua alta flooding usually only has a minor impact on sightseeing plans, but not if your hotel is right in the middle of it and you either can't leave for a few hours without needing to slosh through freezing water, soaking your socks and shoes. Areas furthest from the train station near San Marco typically get the worst of nuisance flooding, so for an overnight in February you might want to avoid that sestiere and pick lodgings somewhere in between the Rialto Bridge and the train station, not far from a vaporetto stop.

The most handy hotels for a 1 night stay are those in the quiet area besides the railway station:
Hotels Dolomiti, Stella Apina, Villa Rosa ....

Yes train is fast and easy - but book your tickets ASAP to get deep discount fares over walk-up or full-fare tickets: www.trenitalia.com to book your own - www.seat61.com will be of great help in doing this; for general info on trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Venice is awesome - even for just a quick look go for it -will be more whatever than anything in Florence IMO - just the city itself.

Have you used the rail Europe app it seems fairly easy. Would the higher class be recommended? We also plan to take the train to Lucca and Pisa do I just book a ticket to the farther place and we can hop on and off the train? Thanks again everyone!

No, but I have used the Trenit app (Trenitalia trains only) and found it very helpful, both to buy tickets and check platforms on the fly, even train delays. Rail Europe has the reputation of being more expensive than buying directly from the train companies themselves - I see no need to use it when I can go directly to Trenitalia's website and Trenit app. I might try the TrainLine app next time because it would do the Italo trains too not just the Trenitalia trains.

You can't just get on and off the trains, no - you need to buy a new ticket on each train. Between Pisa and Lucca, the bus might be easier, especially if you are visiting the Tower (a bus leaves for Lucca close to the Field of Miracles).

Do not use Rail Europe unless you wish to pay more for your tickets. Read the Main in Seat 61 for all the information you need on European train travel

I've only gone 2nd class on Italian trains. Sometimes the regional trains (no reserved seats) can be more crowded in 2nd class - maybe even standing-room only. First class might be quieter and less crowded, but I've never found it worth the extra money. The only country where I found first class train tickets worthwhile was Poland, where the 2nd class trains were very cramped and old and 1st class didn't cost much more anyway.

1st class is very subjective - Andrew whose takes I take seriously after years of reading them sees little difference - I've always had to go first class because I had a first-class Eurailpass as I was going all around Europe and always loved having first class as IME a lot less crowded often - and again I love those single row of seats- for me priceless for others not.

But with discounted ticketing first class at times costs little or even nothing extra due to various factors -if not much more go first -if I had to be paying extra for first class I'd had been in 2nd but had the first-class pass (since I was over 25 only option). Folks not on a starvation budget like I always was may want to splurge on their first and maybe only trips - and there is a difference between classes and that's why lots of folks pay extra.

Regional trains in Italy - I'm glad I had first class pass on several as school kids jammed aboard sometimes for a few stations - I was alone in first class while the rest of the train was SRO. But many regional trains do not have first class -those that do charge a pittance for either class so on regional trains to hedge against SRO IMO buy a first-class ticket for a few extra euros.

Man in Seat 61 has said in the past on Fodor's that 'he was an aficionado of first class' himself - and as the Internet's best possible source for trains (and especially discounted tickets) that says a lot. But again especially in recent years 2nd class has become much nicer on trains in general and with cpapacity-controlled trains with mandatory seat reservations SRO rarely if ever occurs -but can on Regional trains where there are no seat reservations even possible.

But again very subjective.

It is subjective. I'm also very frugal.

After my visit to Poland, where I trained all over the country, I took a train on to Czech Republic. I booked first class again, out of habit. It was much more expensive than second class - and when I finally got on the train, I saw why: it was really super nice. Oh, I'm on a Czech train now, no wonder!

There's nothing wrong with going first class on Italian trains if you feel it's worth the extra cost. It just isn't to me.