O.K. I have never taken a train in europe and I have a few questions.
I am going to take a train from Rome to Florence on May 27th.
1st question, Should I buy a ticket on-line before I leave home? Tickets are $50 for 1st class without reservations. Another $20 with a res. Are tickets cheaper at the train station in Rome? After i buy a ticket what do I do with it? Do I board the train and then give it to a conductor? Are tickets taken before you get on the train?
Thanks, Duke

Duke, thanks for your interest in FT. Your Q. is far more appropriate for FT's Travel forums. I'll move it to the most active TravelBuzz but you may wish instead to have it placed in the Rails thread of Travel, which is less active.
Ocn Vw 1K - Moderator, Community

[This message has been edited by Ocn Vw 1K (edited 05-14-2003).]

Someone else will be able to answer the rest of your questions, but I would definitely try to get a seat reservation. Those trains can be absolutely packed - as in you stand shoulder-to-shoulder and can't move. It's not a great way to travel for the few hours it takes between the two cities. It's easy to buy a ticket at the station, but it's no so easy to get a seat reservation on short notice.

Yes, a conductor comes through at some point and punches your ticket. Use the restroom before you get on the train. They tend to be beyond filthy.

I agree with letiole on all accounts.

If you speak some Italian, getting a ticket at the Termini station in Rome is no problem, and they have discounts or special offers every now and then. If you don't speak the tongue, it might be easier to book online, but I've never done that myself.

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truly yours. airOli.

no reservation in first necessary - and trains between Roma Termini and Firence run frequently (if Italy is not on another strike ...).

There's a 6-8 hour local and an approx. 2 hour express. Take the express. I think it's called Eurostar. No one stood, the seats are better than AA coach and they served drinks. Our concierge got the tickets for us. I haven't tried online but here it is:

http://www.fs-on-line.com/home/en/index.html

[This message has been edited by RS (edited 05-14-2003).]

* Roma Termini-Firenze departure 6:55 arrival 8:30
* Roma Termini-Firenze 7:10-8:50
* Roma Termini-Firenze1 7:30-9:05
* Roma Termini-Firenze 7:54-9:56
etc. etc. etc.

Take the Eurostar, for sure. 1st isn't really necessary, but it is only slightly more expensive than coach (known as 2nd class, BTW) so why not splurge?

a couple of weeks ago I walked up and bought tix at the station for the 0730 train from Rome and the train was less than half full, as was the return train around 1730 hrs.

I want to say a little under $60 return(pre-crappy dollar). The train ran to the minute, both ways...Benito would have been pleased.

Walk up, buy ticket + upgrade for your cup of comp juice, walk to car #1 (or #11), get on and notice how empty it is during mid-week during the day.

Duke of Dust, you don't say where you got your rail fare info, but the size of the reservation supplement suggests to me that you looked it up on raileurope.com. They charge a large premium above what you would pay by buying the ticket in Italy.

The easiest way to deal with the language barrier is to write the information on a piece of paper (use Italian place names - e.g. Firenze vs. Florence) to help your pidgin Italian be more easily understood. Did this in Rome while making sleeper reservations to Venice and it worked well. Don't forget that to Europeans, 6/5 is May 6 and not June 5.

Buying the ticket locally works best if you do it a day or so early - so you won't be worried about having enough time.

I've done that same trip twice few years ago. No problem getting tickets at Termini stn, train was quite empty both ways on week days, no need to get first class, tho I don't remember if there is no smoking car or not. At Rome stn, be wary of gypsy children approaching you, carrying newspapers or cardboard sheets - their little hands are very quick in getting into your pockets and relieving you of whatever's in there.

You can use the ticketing machine at Roma Termini. Much like an ATM and you can select English - except for the city names. Very easy to use and you can do it ahead of time. Needed cash though. Wouldn't accept credit cards.

They have all said it here, just get your ticket at the station, r/t is twice the o/w price. You can use a ticket kiosk or just go to the window. All employees at the stations speek English, and many on the trains do as well. Certainly take the Eurostar as it takes only 1:45 each way and is non-stop. 2nd class is fine for the trip, but if you want to spend the extra money for 1st go ahead. It should be about 50 Euros r/t and you will get an assigned seat and car when you get your ticket, no need to ask.

speaking of Florence/Firenze, I just happened to run across this post on another site this morning and thought it was funny:
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"We made reservations for the train from Florence to Rome, but two other Americans were already in our seats. My husband and another gentleman went to get a conductor to settle the issue.
The conductor arrived just as the train was leaving. We all provided our reservation cards and the conductor informed the other Americans that they should have gotten off at Florence. One of them responded that they had not yet arrived in Florence, but the conductor pointed out that we had indeed just left Florence. The gentleman spluttered, "What do you mean Firenze is Florence?" The conductor pointed to their tickets which showed Firenze as their stop.

The gentlemen then demanded that they stop the train and let them off, but this was a non-stop ES train to Rome. They even argued with the conductor that they should not have to pay a fine as Florence was not clearly stated as the stop. This train was full and they were forced to stand the entire way to Rome, roughly 2 hours.

The former occupants of our seats glared at us throughout the trip and complained loudly, "The younger generation has no respect for their elders" and hinted that we should offer our seats. (We are in our 30's. They were in their 40's.)"