Advance Purchase Train from Rome to Florence

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

We are flying into Rome and plan to take the Leonardo Express from the airport to Termini. Our plan is to then take the fast train from there to Florence for some precruise days prior to catching the train to Venice to board the Ruby. Our United flight is due to arrive at 8:30 am from the States. Should we advance purchase our 1st class tickets for the 11:15am to Florence? If our flight is delayed, can the tickets be exchanged or if we are fortunate to breeze through customs and getting our luggage, can we exchange our tickets for an earlier train.

[euro cruiser]

Full fare tickets can be exchanged for a later train, but reservations are required as all seats are reserved. In other words, you can't just jump on the next train, you must wait on line to exchange your tickets and get a seat reservation.

 

Unless you are traveling on Christmas Eve or Easter weekend, it's HIGHLY unlikely that you would be unable to get full fare seats at the very last minute. The primary reason folks purchase in advance is to get a discounted fare. If that's not important to you, simply wait until you get there to buy your tickets. You can buy your tickets all the way to Venice at the airport train station (no need to wait on line again at Termini).

 

I'd also question the need for first class ... second class is quite nice on these new, fast trains.

[The_Big_M]

The corollary is if you buy significantly discounted advance purchase tickets, then you can't readily exchange them.

 

Basically, two choices: 1) Buy in advance discounted tickets and be willing to lock in plans

2) Buy full-fare tickets whenever you feel like it. Though if you want the flexibility of taking the most convenient train at the time and don't mind paying full price, it's often fine to wait until just before departure to save multiple queues/transactions.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thank you both! I guess we'll have to pass on the discounted tickets as we never know if our flight will be on time. I assume they can't be exchanged except with a change fee that would negate any savings from a pre purchased discounted fare.

 

We hope to travel with just one large bag and carry on each. Hope this is manageable on the train especially from the airport. What is the actual difference between 1st and 2nd class seats?

[euro cruiser]

On trains you're actually better off with two medium sized cases vs. one very large one; that said, my family once got on the Rome to Venice train with so much luggage that we had to make two trips to the station to get it all there. We managed it (but it wasn't pretty).

 

The difference between first and second is slightly larger seats (but not the dramatic difference between economy and business class on an airplane), a free cup of coffee and a couple of cookies. There is slighly more space between the seats where you can jam in a large suitcase but, again, I don't remember it being all that significant.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

On trains you're actually better off with two medium sized cases vs. one very large one; that said, my family once got on the Rome to Venice train with so much luggage that we had to make two trips to the station to get it all there. We managed it (but it wasn't pretty).

 

The difference between first and second is slightly larger seats (but not the dramatic difference between economy and business class on an airplane), a free cup of coffee and a couple of cookies. There is slighly more space between the seats where you can jam in a large suitcase but, again, I don't remember it being all that significant.

 

Our understanding when we took the train from Venice to Rome a couple of years ago was that our luggage would be safer in the 1st class car. Is this not the case? We could care less about the coffee and cookies and we don't plan to store the suitcases in our seats but rather in the luggage area at the front of the car. The train ride is just a couple of hours so I'm sure we can manage with a little less space...

 

Is the train from the airport stand only or do we need to worry about where our luggage is being placed on there as well. We'd rather just stand with our luggage in between us.... but not all the way to Florence ;)

[caviargal]

Our understanding when we took the train from Venice to Rome a couple of years ago was that our luggage would be safer in the 1st class car. Is this not the case? We could care less about the coffee and cookies and we don't plan to store the suitcases in our seats but rather in the luggage area at the front of the car. The train ride is just a couple of hours so I'm sure we can manage with a little less space...

 

Is the train from the airport stand only or do we need to worry about where our luggage is being placed on there as well. We'd rather just stand with our luggage in between us.... but not all the way to Florence ;)

 

I cannot imagine why luggage would be safer in 1st class. The 1st class cars are accessible to anyone.

 

Luggage that does not fit overhead or between seats is generally stored at the end of the compartment. This is the same on Eurostar trains in either class.

 

I agree that two medium cases are much preferable to a large and small. We often travel by travel in Europe and bring one medium bag each as well as a mid size backpack. It makes life easier.

[Sinppu]

Second class tickets can be very cheap but they do not have an assigned seat number. We bought 2nd class train tickets from Rome to Civitavecchia and quite impolitely :) had our luggage with us on the seats next to us. It was never short of space for us or other passengers, though.

 

Do be careful of helpful young people at the train stations, however. Their services come with a price tag ;)

[CathyCruises]

We always travel in second class and put our luggage in the luggage stand area near the door. What we do is take turns standing there casually at each station just to be sure that nothing mysteriously disappears. There has never been any type of threat, we just feel better this way. I also agree with Eurocruiser about two medium suitcases--the big ones are awfully hard to get up and down the steps. We learned this the hard way!

[cruisemom42]

Is the train from the airport stand only or do we need to worry about where our luggage is being placed on there as well. We'd rather just stand with our luggage in between us.... but not all the way to Florence ;)

 

If I could make a suggestion: Consider taking one of the express bus services from the airport to Termini, rather than the train. There are a few good reasons for doing so, not even considering that the cost is about half (or less, when there is a special) of the train fare.

 

First the buses are easy to locate, just exit the arrivals terminal -- that is, actually exit the building through the doors -- after picking up your luggage and turn right. Walk to the end of the terminal (not far) and you'll see the area where the buses park.

 

Second, you can securely store your luggage in the underbus area.

 

Third, you can sit down -- something that may or may not happen on the express train. Just recently they started using different train cars for this express train (with fewer seats per car!) and it was already pretty crowded at times.

 

 

The bus I took in April was the Terravision bus, but I know there is at least one other service. We went direct from FCO to Termini and were dropped very close to the side entrance to the station. It took about 45 minutes (the train takes 30).

 

http://www.terravision.eu/rome_fiumicino.html

 

As of now, they are still listing the discounted price of 4 euros, which is what I paid. I've done both the train and the bus, and I really think the bus is easier.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

If I could make a suggestion: Consider taking one of the express bus services from the airport to Termini, rather than the train. There are a few good reasons for doing so, not even considering that the cost is about half (or less, when there is a special) of the train fare.

 

First the buses are easy to locate, just exit the arrivals terminal -- that is, actually exit the building through the doors -- after picking up your luggage and turn right. Walk to the end of the terminal (not far) and you'll see the area where the buses park.

 

Second, you can securely store your luggage in the underbus area.

 

Third, you can sit down -- something that may or may not happen on the express train. Just recently they started using different train cars for this express train (with fewer seats per car!) and it was already pretty crowded at times.

 

 

The bus I took in April was the Terravision bus, but I know there is at least one other service. We went direct from FCO to Termini and were dropped very close to the side entrance to the station. It took about 45 minutes (the train takes 30).

 

http://www.terravision.eu/rome_fiumicino.html

 

As of now, they are still listing the discounted price of 4 euros, which is what I paid. I've done both the train and the bus, and I really think the bus is easier.

 

Thanks for the option. It certainly has alot of positives and we did consider the bus but worried that there may be a delay due to traffic or an accident and we'd miss our connection at Termini.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

We always travel in second class and put our luggage in the luggage stand area near the door. What we do is take turns standing there casually at each station just to be sure that nothing mysteriously disappears. There has never been any type of threat, we just feel better this way. I also agree with Eurocruiser about two medium suitcases--the big ones are awfully hard to get up and down the steps. We learned this the hard way!

 

Sounds like a good option for the luggage stand area. We'd love to just travel with a medium size bag but for 24 days of travel including formal wear, a large bag for each of us will be necessary.

[NanciEA]

I have another train question. Is it true that you do not have to validate long distance tickets (such as Rome to Venice), but only for local trains? Or do all tickets have to be validated at the yellow boxes?

[euro cruiser]

You do not need to validate any ticket for a specific train (date and time) with a seat assignment. It is only non-speific tickets (ones that are to a particular place but could be used on any day) that must be validated.

 

Regarding luggage safety, there is nothing that would make first class any safer than the rest of the train. One idea I've seen done is to bring a flexible bicycle lock which you use to secure your bags to the luggage rack in the vestibule. That way you don't have to stand guard. You do want to ty and be one of the first on the train, regardless of which class you choose, because the luggage racks fill up quickly.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thanks for all the great advice! One of us will have a large suitcase and the other 2 medium... a compromise! After reading the website, it looks like we can change to a later train if we miss our ticketed one, even if we have discounted fares, if we don't use ticketless.

 

My DH reminded me of the horrendous traffic delay the last time we hired a car from the airport into Rome - same flight on a Friday again - took us over 2 hours.. so he's nixed the bus idea. We'll take the train from the airport and stand with our luggage... we'll have been sitting for quite a few hours on the plane even with business class.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and warnings - CC as usual is the place to be!!

[maryann ns]

It would be really helpful if after your trip you come back here to tell us how everything went.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

It would be really helpful if after your trip you come back here to tell us how everything went.

 

Will do!

 

Your suggestions when we did the Canada/NE cruise a couple of years ago was invaluable - Thanks. We hope to visit your area in the not too distant future.

[Sinppu]

The bus I took in April was the Terravision bus, but I know there is at least one other service. We went direct from FCO to Termini and were dropped very close to the side entrance to the station. It took about 45 minutes (the train takes 30).

 

 

The Terravision buses tend to have long lines as they are the most well-known company. There were other buses that cost the same 4 euros but had no lines.