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Train tickets in Italy
Posted on 2/19/25 at 9:06 pm
Posted on 2/19/25 at 9:06 pm
For a quick trip from Venice to Florence and then another from Florence to Rome is it worth doing the business class? Is standard that bad? Trips are about 2 hours each.
Is there luggage restrictions that differ between the classes?
Is there luggage restrictions that differ between the classes?
9
Posted on 2/19/25 at 10:19 pm to hawgndodge
I have taken both of those train rides.
Standard is just fine for such short rides. The seats in business class may be a little more comfortable and it may have more luggage racks, but it is not a big deal. We always manage to find luggage room and we don’t pack light.
Standard is just fine for such short rides. The seats in business class may be a little more comfortable and it may have more luggage racks, but it is not a big deal. We always manage to find luggage room and we don’t pack light.
Posted on 2/19/25 at 10:22 pm to hawgndodge
I sprung for Executive class on Trenitalia on both of those trips. I haven’t done Business or Standard so I can’t speak to those.
Executive is not something I would pay for often, but as those were my only train trips on that vacation, I decided to go ahead and spend the money.
The cabin was not full on either trip, and there was a steward to bring you food and drinks. Both trips were nice and fairly quiet, although the steward did tell one of the passengers at one point to stop talking so loudly. At least, that’s what I think was said, since it was all in Italian.
More information about the different classes on Trenitalia can be found here:
The Man in Seat 61
Executive is not something I would pay for often, but as those were my only train trips on that vacation, I decided to go ahead and spend the money.
The cabin was not full on either trip, and there was a steward to bring you food and drinks. Both trips were nice and fairly quiet, although the steward did tell one of the passengers at one point to stop talking so loudly. At least, that’s what I think was said, since it was all in Italian.
More information about the different classes on Trenitalia can be found here:
The Man in Seat 61
Posted on 2/20/25 at 6:37 am to geauxpurple
The concept of a standard class is fine, but nearly every seat was full last time I traveled that route. We went in November last year around election time. So pretty off season. I don’t like being shoved shoulder to shoulder in a train or struggling with luggage.
Posted on 2/20/25 at 7:16 am to hawgndodge
I went backpacking in Italy 20 years ago for 3 weeks, we took the train over the whole country, cheapest we could get. Think we bought some unlimited pass though. Never had any issues from what I can remember other than some BO from gypsies on the way to Naples.
This post was edited on 2/20/25 at 11:39 am
Posted on 2/20/25 at 8:37 am to hawgndodge
Depends on the individual's comfort with crowds. The lower fare is most likely going to be a little more crowded but may not be by much if at all.
Train travel in Italy is very hit or miss compared to most of Europe. Its part of the "charm" of Italy. My son and I did nearly 2 months of bicycling across Italy when he was 10 years old and we used the trains a lot and the schedule was more or less a suggestion, not something they particularly cared about strictly adhering to. It was fine for us, we had nowhere in particular to be most of the time, but had we had plans or were making a connection it'd been a lot of stress....
Train travel in Italy is very hit or miss compared to most of Europe. Its part of the "charm" of Italy. My son and I did nearly 2 months of bicycling across Italy when he was 10 years old and we used the trains a lot and the schedule was more or less a suggestion, not something they particularly cared about strictly adhering to. It was fine for us, we had nowhere in particular to be most of the time, but had we had plans or were making a connection it'd been a lot of stress....
Posted on 2/20/25 at 10:59 am to hawgndodge
If its a vacation and you can afford to, i'd splurge. It's a worth upgrade imo.
We did business class and had two privates 4 seat rooms for my group.
We did business class and had two privates 4 seat rooms for my group.
This post was edited on 2/20/25 at 11:01 am
Posted on 2/20/25 at 11:49 am to HollierThanThou
It's our 25th anniversary. I planned on getting at least business but didn't know if the executive was worth it on that short of a trip
Posted on 2/20/25 at 1:10 pm to hawgndodge
Any way you can reserve a numbered seat is the choice you should make. You can distract her with goodies from the bar car (FRECCIABistrò) on both legs. SNCF had such good train treats we ended up changing our pantry olive oil to the one they gave out on the train (Oleoestepa Hojiblanca.)
Posted on 2/20/25 at 9:11 pm to hawgndodge
Trains are newer and comfortable. Not worth an upgrade just for two hours.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 7:23 am to hawgndodge
The difference between the standard and the base business from Florence Venice is about €17 and the difference from Venice to Rome between standard and the base business is about €25 per ticket. So not much.
The executive class can be double or more times the standard fares.
Use the Trenitalia app.
LINK Trenitalia
Don’t get distracted by the word base in the ticket prices. You can also get refundable tickets.
See here for seat comparisons
LINK train line
The executive class can be double or more times the standard fares.
Use the Trenitalia app.
LINK Trenitalia
Don’t get distracted by the word base in the ticket prices. You can also get refundable tickets.
See here for seat comparisons
LINK train line
Posted on 2/21/25 at 3:00 pm to Pepperoni
We are going for two weeks in June. Will be going by train everywhere. Milan-Lake Como-Venice-Florence. Not sure if we should book tickets ahead of time or just do once there. Or if we should buy pass?
Posted on 2/21/25 at 8:21 pm to Shotgun Willie
I think I'm just gonna buy mine in advance just because I'll know it's already done.
Posted on 2/21/25 at 9:29 pm to hawgndodge
We were there in June and took trains all over Liguria. The only time we dealt with true crowding was the Nice to Monaco section of train (and a little bit in Cinque Terre). I, personally, thought that riding the train like a normal person was pretty entertaining and made for good people watching instead of being insulated in some cocoon of class.
Posted on 2/22/25 at 9:01 am to hawgndodge
I’ve done those trips before, and honestly, standard class is perfectly fine for just a couple of hours. The business class is nice if you want extra space and a quieter ride, but for the time you're spending, it’s not really necessary. As for luggage, there's no big difference between the classes in terms of restrictions; both allow standard carry-ons and a small personal item.
Posted on 2/22/25 at 3:03 pm to Shotgun Willie
If I knew my schedule (as in hotel nights set up) I always go ahead and book ahead. Especially for longer distances to get business class and reserve seats.
But some of the runs you take are short (e g Milan to Como San Giovanni (Lake Como) and could be regional trains or EuroCity or intercity and they are frequent so no ahead booking would be needed.
See Rome2Rio to play around with schedules
LINK Rome2Rio trip planning
Also, all about trains in Italy
LINK https://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm
But some of the runs you take are short (e g Milan to Como San Giovanni (Lake Como) and could be regional trains or EuroCity or intercity and they are frequent so no ahead booking would be needed.
See Rome2Rio to play around with schedules
LINK Rome2Rio trip planning
Also, all about trains in Italy
LINK https://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm
Posted on 2/22/25 at 11:13 pm to Pepperoni
The only two I know for sure on dates are July 8th Venice to Florence and July 12th Florence to Rome. Haven't decided on exactly what days we're going to do day trips from where. So I'm going to go ahead and book those two trains.
Posted on 2/25/25 at 9:16 pm to hawgndodge
Trains to and from Venice get packed in summer, especially on weekends. Book high-speed tickets early, travel off-peak, early or late in day, pack light—Santa Lucia Station is a zoo. What people shlep on board is nutso.
Posted on 2/27/25 at 1:22 pm to hawgndodge
I was there in October. I took the train from Rome to Florence to Venice to Milan to Lake Cuomo back to Milan to Genoa and back to Milan again. business class is as high as you need to go. When I booked it was typically between 2 and 5 euro more per ticket for business class compared to economy. I may have lucked out with it being the shoulder season.
Posted on 2/27/25 at 1:36 pm to Pepperoni
The only trouble we had with the train from Florence to Venice was that once we got to Pizzale Roma it was a pain to get to our hotel. We took Vapporato82 which is the main line for the Grand Canal water bus and the line was long and slow moving. Water taxis are available but you better hope your hotel is near the water.
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