Venice/Florence/Rome train travel
 

Logged onto the trenitalia website, which in my opinion is a little complicated. Do the faster trains run all of the time? Which type of fast train is recommended? Is there a great difference between first and second class?

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Yes fast train IME run usually on time - in fact Trenitalia guarantees ontime arrivals or within a few minutes by some kind of money back guarantee I believe. (Bourbon above, Fodor's absolute Italian rail expert IME will know more about that than I)

the fastest trains - ES type high-speed trains (also called AV and some other names I believe) are infinitely more comfy than older IC trains and certainly dumpy IME regional trains.

And though 2nd class is comfy enough on fast trains IME of riding Italian trains incessantly for years now I am adamant that for the average tourist, especially those hauling luggage around, that first class is a much much more relaxed experience and well worth the rather neglible IMO extra fee to use it - there is some reason zillions of Italians pay extra for first class you know

so IMO apply the same criteria to train travel as you do to hotels and restaurants, etc. Do you eat at McDonalds where you can eat perfectly well for a little or stay at one-star budget hotels where you can get a perfectly good night's sleep - most folks spend $200 and over for a hotel each night and probably $100 or more on proper restaurants - so these costs pale to what going first class on Italian trains cost - and if wanting flexibility to take any train anytime once you are there and if traveling more than say two long trips then by all means investigate the Italy Railpass - compared to full fares just a few long journeys can make it pay off and you can, unlike the discounted online tickets that hard to change or refund once there - can be great deals, especially in first class.

2nd class online discounted tickets are often the best deal for those with few trains trips but if you want flexibility to take any train once there and not have to book something weeks in advance that is for all purposes non-changeable nor refundable then go with that.

Great sources for info on Italian trains (and passes) - www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

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train travel questions >>>> http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-385692-2.cfm

There isn't a big difference between 1st and 2nd class on the fast EUR (eurostar) trains. There is a big difference between the prices for the slower running trains and the faster ones. Usually the Trenitalia site shows you the most expensive trains, so be sure to click on "ALL SOLUTIONS" (in the english version or "Tutte le soluzioni" for the italian version) so you can see the pricing difference and the duration. Sometimes, you can save quite a bit by going on the IC (Inter-city trains are medium speed) or the REG (regional trains are the slowest) and there might not even be such a great difference in the total duration. For example, from Venice to Padua, the fast train costs 14 EUR and takes 26 minutes, while the Regional train costs 3.45 EUR and takes 34 minutes. Just a piece of advice for those who want to save a couple bucks.

However, between the big destination cities like Venice/Florence/Rome, the fastest is the ES-A, which stands for EuroStar Freccia Argento which means EuroStar Silver Arrow, but really all the Eurostar trains are the fastest, so any one you pick will be the quickest and I suggest going for the 2nd class seating since they are fairly newer trains.

There is enough of a difference between first and second class on newer high speed trains that cause zillions of Italians to pay extra for them every day - lots of first class seats sold every day - unless Italians are dumb.....

the major difference between first and second class on Italian high-speed trains, even the most modern ones that you see in staged photos often shown here - photos of practically empty train cars just out of the factory - is that in first class there are three seats in a row and second class always four seats in a row.

2nd class always IME two seats on each side of an aisle

1st class always IME two seats on one side on an aisle and on the other side just one seat - thus a seat with an aisle and a window - and no need to having to ask anyone 'can I get out please' say to go to the loo or snackbar car - I love those so-called isolated seats - aisle and window and these can be booked when you buy your ticket if you specify or on trenitalia.com too I believe.

And for couples you can have two isolated seats facing each other with a table in betwen - rare to have tables at all in 2nd class and if you do there are four people at each one.

Thus the major difference to me is getting to have these isolated aisle and window seats so you never have to bother others to get in or out or be bothered by others - this is a MAJOR difference between the classes that anyone who says there is little difference between classes may not even realize. And also there are many more empty seats in first class and lots lots easier luggage storage - I almost always put my bag on a nearby empty seat and rarely have to hoist it into the overhead luggage racks that IME in 2nd class can already be chock full before I board.

There is a big difference between first and second class and i do say that anyone who says there is not just has never ridden in first class - and this is not to say 2nd class is a cattle car though on some regional trains that can be the case.