2OnRway

We will be traveling to Italy this fall. When going from Venice to Florence, Which railroad, italotreno or trentitalia? Can I get tickets on the day of departure or should buy them in advance? Do the rates flucuate, like airfare or remain constant?

Dukey1

You want to buy them in advance which can save you considerable amounts of money.

Tickets usually go on sale 90 days out.

Trenitalia.com is the site you need

Prices often rise as the date of travel approaches for high speed trains; you could take regionals if you prefer and they would be cheaper and don't necessarily require seat reservations; high-speeds come with the seat reservation.

ellenem

If you buy weeks ahead of time, you might get discounted tickets. There are a limited number of discounted tickets so the best ones sell out early. The prices won't fluctuate.

You will have to pick which train company based on the schedule, price, and preferred stations.

Dukey1

I'll defer to Ellenem from here on out so go ahead and wait to buy your tickets since the prices never fluctuate...why buy ahead of time?

kybourbon

>>>italotreno or trentitalia?<<<

Either one, but Trenitalia usually has more trains than Italo. For these two cities, they both use the same stations. Italo sells discounted tickets further in advance (6 months) than Trenitalia (sells 4 months out for the fast trains). You won't have a problem walking up and buying a ticket, but trains early morning, lunch, rush hour tend to fill up more so it's possible you might have to purchase a ticket for an hour later train if you wait until day of (trains will be at least hourly and 2 per hour at certain times).

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD

http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx

kybourbon

>>>wait to buy your tickets since the prices never fluctuate...why buy ahead of time?<<<

The regular/base price doesn't fluctuate like airline tickets. If base price is 45€ now, it will be 45€ in Oct. The discount prices increase as they sell out. It used to be you couldn't buy discount tickest day of, but now you can (if still available and not sold out).

flanneruk

The stations used and the journey times are the same and the differences in equipment between the two companies little more than a matter of taste in standard class (Italotreno arguably is funkier in premium classes). For such a short journey, service really doesn't matter - though, as with almost all Continental trains, getting luggage on and off is an identical pain on both.

Only you can really calculate which offers better value on the day and meets your needs. Just remember you have a choice.