Travel from Venice to Florence
Jun 27th, 2003, 10:15 AM
#3
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I think I put the wrong URL...Go to www.trenitalia.com
Jun 27th, 2003, 10:35 AM
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Direct trains leave Florence every two hours at 8:38, 10:38, etc at :38 after every two hours for Venice. Most of these are higher-speed Eurostar Italia trains taking 2 h 50 min. ES trains cost $10-15 more than regular trains and require reservations before boarding. There is one IC train leaving Florence at 13:25 that doesn't charge the surcharge or require reservations, though these are advised to be sure of getting a seat. ES trains charge the supplement above the regular rail fare and even to railpass holders. For the supplement you get an Italian newspaper, a small packaged pastry and the world's smallest cup of coffee - most of the coffee evaporates before hitting your mouth! But ES trains are about the only direct trains. Otherwise you can take frequent regular trains from Florence to Bologna and change there for frequent regular trains to Venice, but this takes up to an hour longer due to the change in Bologna. Arriving in Venice, don't get off at Venice Mestre station, the last stop before the Santa Lucia Venice station across the lagoon in the heart of Venice. Some trains from Bologna may terminate at Mestre, from which you can take constant trains to Santa Lucia. Make reservations at the Florence train station. You could do so in the US through Rail Europe but at a higher cost, $11 for a seat and a $15 order fee as opposed to $2-3 in Italy. If you were reserving in the US, i'd advise skipping Rail Europe and go to Budget Europe Travel Service (800-441-9413), who works through Rail Europe but is much more knowledgeable and has veteran staff that knows everything about European rail the times i've dealt with them. They also have a great free European rail guide stuffed with great info you can ask for.
mestre
mestre
Jul 1st, 2003, 04:55 AM
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Help - Leaving in two days - I tried to book trains on www.fs-on-line.com but it requires registration in Italian. Any suggestions?
Jul 1st, 2003, 05:28 AM
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When we took the train from Venice to Florence, we were able to buy them off www.sncf.com, the French rail system, but they sold Italian rail tix as well. Good luck.
Jul 10th, 2003, 06:06 PM
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What did you find the luggage situation to be on the trains? was there room - safely for 2 26" rolling suitcases and probably one 22" one as well? would first class help over 2nd class?
Is it easier to go from florence to venice or venice to florence regarding trains and stations or no difference?
Is it easier to go from florence to venice or venice to florence regarding trains and stations or no difference?
Jul 11th, 2003, 03:58 AM
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A couple of reminders...
1. At this time of year many of the trains are fully booked....advance reservations are a plus.
Last Week we tried to change our 12:38 train to 10:38( while in the Florence station) and were told we might have to stand the whole 3 hours...we waited until our 12:38 reservations.
2. The trains are only in the station a short time before leaving again. Don't waste time getting to your train.
It was a very enjoyable ride to Venice.
1. At this time of year many of the trains are fully booked....advance reservations are a plus.
Last Week we tried to change our 12:38 train to 10:38( while in the Florence station) and were told we might have to stand the whole 3 hours...we waited until our 12:38 reservations.
2. The trains are only in the station a short time before leaving again. Don't waste time getting to your train.
It was a very enjoyable ride to Venice.
Jul 11th, 2003, 07:05 AM
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I just got back from there. Easy train ride from Venice to Florence, plenty of luggage room, buy your train tix there as early as possible (but we were able to get a reservation on a eurostar main line within 30 minutes one time). Travel agency is right next to the Venice train station or you can avoid the few euro surcharge and wait in line at the station itself. Good luck and enjoy!
Jul 11th, 2003, 07:38 AM
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One other thing about reservation (which is certainly advised): If you take ES* (Eurostar) train, reservation is required and gives you a specific seat. We recently saw a couple who got to the station early and decided to board a train earlier than the one for which they had reservations. Conductor (or whatever they're called) caught this as she went on her rounds, and these people had to buy new tickets, i.e., they paid for the trip twice. So, if you have a reservation, it is specific as to time as well as route.
Jul 11th, 2003, 08:02 AM
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Actually, you don't have to buy a new ticket in that case, but pay a change fee. You can avoid that however by changing your reservation at the station BEFORE boarding the train. This is only an issue with ES trains.
On others you simply don't have an assigned seat, no extras to pay though.
Hope this helps,
Andre
On others you simply don't have an assigned seat, no extras to pay though.
Hope this helps,
Andre
Jul 11th, 2003, 08:50 AM
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Andre,
We tried taking a train two hours earlier than scheduled.
The ticket agent( in the station) told us that we couldn't just changer reservations. We were told that we would have to pay a change fee of 8 euros for each ticket to the conductor on the train.
The agent said that since the earlier train was fully booked, there would be no guarantee of seats if we took the earler train. Not wanting to stand during the 3 hour trtain ride, we waited and took our originally reserved train.
We tried taking a train two hours earlier than scheduled.
The ticket agent( in the station) told us that we couldn't just changer reservations. We were told that we would have to pay a change fee of 8 euros for each ticket to the conductor on the train.
The agent said that since the earlier train was fully booked, there would be no guarantee of seats if we took the earler train. Not wanting to stand during the 3 hour trtain ride, we waited and took our originally reserved train.
Jul 11th, 2003, 09:11 AM
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Dick,
The EUR 8 fee was the fine you would have had to pay because the earlier train was already full, hence you would be boarding it without a reservation (the ticket agent obviously couldn't rebook you on a train that was already full).
Had there been seats available, the change would have been free.
Here's an excerpt from the Trenitalia site regarding ES tickets:
"Cambio della prenotazione
Il cambio data/treno è illimitato e gratuito e può essere effettuato prima della partenza del treno.
...
Entro 24 ore dopo la partenza del treno è possibile un solo cambio data/treno con un sovrapprezzo di 3,00 euro (in biglietteria e presso le Agenzie di Viaggio).
Dopo 24 ore dalla partenza del treno prenotato non è consentito alcun cambio.
Qualora, entro le 24 ore successive alla partenza del treno prenotato, il cliente acceda senza prenotazione a un
treno Eurostar Italia diverso, è tenuto a pagare un sovrapprezzo di 8,00 euro avvisando preventivamente il personale di bordo prima della partenza."
Translation:
Reservation change
Train/date changes are unlimited and free when made before the departure of the (original) train.
1 change is allowed up to 24 hrs AFTER the departure of the train for a EUR 3 fee.
No change possible more than 24 hrs after scheduled departure.
If a client boards a train within 24 hours of scheduled departure without a valid reservation, he must advise the conductor of this before departure and pay a fee of EUR 8. *This would have been the case for you as you would have boarded the train WITHOUT a reservation for it*.
Andre
The EUR 8 fee was the fine you would have had to pay because the earlier train was already full, hence you would be boarding it without a reservation (the ticket agent obviously couldn't rebook you on a train that was already full).
Had there been seats available, the change would have been free.
Here's an excerpt from the Trenitalia site regarding ES tickets:
"Cambio della prenotazione
Il cambio data/treno è illimitato e gratuito e può essere effettuato prima della partenza del treno.
...
Entro 24 ore dopo la partenza del treno è possibile un solo cambio data/treno con un sovrapprezzo di 3,00 euro (in biglietteria e presso le Agenzie di Viaggio).
Dopo 24 ore dalla partenza del treno prenotato non è consentito alcun cambio.
Qualora, entro le 24 ore successive alla partenza del treno prenotato, il cliente acceda senza prenotazione a un
treno Eurostar Italia diverso, è tenuto a pagare un sovrapprezzo di 8,00 euro avvisando preventivamente il personale di bordo prima della partenza."
Translation:
Reservation change
Train/date changes are unlimited and free when made before the departure of the (original) train.
1 change is allowed up to 24 hrs AFTER the departure of the train for a EUR 3 fee.
No change possible more than 24 hrs after scheduled departure.
If a client boards a train within 24 hours of scheduled departure without a valid reservation, he must advise the conductor of this before departure and pay a fee of EUR 8. *This would have been the case for you as you would have boarded the train WITHOUT a reservation for it*.
Andre
