I'm new to this group, so apologies if this question has been previously answered.
My wife & I plan to fly to Rome in early September, stay in Rome for a week, then
use the train service to stay in Florence for our second week, then return to Rome
for the return flight to the UK. Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would
be cheapest.

I have looked at the Trenitalia web site, but it isn't particularly helpful,
especially as the booking service has been suspended.

My question: What is the most economical ticket to buy based on the above info? Can
anyone point me to a web site with the info I require?

Thanks in advance & best wishes,

Scott Leckey

    > Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would be cheapest.

No, think of it like a subway (underground) or city bus service - artificially cheap
subsidized fares and little need for prepurchase. See schedules at
http://bahn.hafas.de/english.html
(click on graphics).

If you're terribly retentive, on arrival to Rome stick a credit card in the train
automated kiosk ticket dispenser to make reservations. Nice graphics, easier to make
seat selection, etc compared to a noisy manned window with communications
difficulty, etc.

You should consider using the cheap trains to spend time outside of those black holes
of tourist hell - I'm euphoric about completely avoiding Rome and Florence in my next
Italy visit. Guidebooks even emphasize Florence is the worst base to see Florence
itself(!) but to continually daytrip in there from Siena for example. And I always
use open jaw airline flights at absolutely no extra expense to avoid those pointless
return train trips.

In article <[email protected]>, "Scott Leckey"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    > I'm new to this group, so apologies if this question has been previously answered.
    > My wife & I plan to fly to Rome in early September, stay in Rome for a week, then
    > use the train service to stay in Florence for our second week, then return to Rome
    > for the return flight to the UK. Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would
    > be cheapest.
    > I have looked at the Trenitalia web site, but it isn't particularly helpful,
    > especially as the booking service has been suspended.
    > My question: What is the most economical ticket to buy based on the above info? Can
    > anyone point me to a web site with the info I require?
    > Thanks in advance & best wishes,
    > Scott Leckey

The trip is such a short one these days on the high speed train that it is worth it
to me to go on one of them. When I first went there in the early 70s it seemed
endless. Now it's more like a commute. Give yourself the deluxe treatment. It isn't
that much money and it is comfortable. buon viaggio willgee

"Scott Leckey" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > I'm new to this group, so apologies if this question has been previously answered.
    > My wife & I plan to fly to Rome in early September, stay in Rome for a week, then
    > use the train service to stay in Florence for our second week, then return to Rome
    > for the return flight to the UK. Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would
    > be cheapest.
    > I have looked at the Trenitalia web site, but it isn't particularly
helpful,
    > especially as the booking service has been suspended.
    > My question: What is the most economical ticket to buy based on the above info? Can
    > anyone point me to a web site with the info I require?
    > Thanks in advance & best wishes,
    > Scott Leckey

There's no magic in this. You walk up to the window that says "Biglietti" and ask
for two second class return tickets to Firenze. (Due biglietti secondo) You can
even do this at the airport train station windows when you arrive, if you like, since
they lines are shorter. At the airport there's more likely to be some English on the
other side of the counter. It is cheap, not necessary to buy ahead and hardly longer
than a lot of people's daily commute. You then check the printed schedule on the
wall and it will tell you which track (binario) to go to to get your train. Before
you get on, stick the tickets into the yellow machine to validate that leg, then look
for a car that has a big 2 on it, and get on.

"jt" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected] om...
    > > Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would be cheapest.
    > No, think of it like a subway (underground) or city bus service - artificially
    > cheap subsidized fares and little need for prepurchase. See schedules at
    > http://bahn.hafas.de/english.html
    > (click on graphics).
    > You should consider using the cheap trains to spend time outside of those black
    > holes of tourist hell - I'm euphoric about completely avoiding Rome and Florence in
    > my next Italy visit. Guidebooks even emphasize Florence is the worst base to see
    > Florence itself(!) but to continually daytrip in there from Siena for example.

How dismissive of two treasure troves of the world. Don't travel in high season and
work out how to stay in less touristy accomodations. Rent an apartment. Even people
who live in Italy love to go to Rome and Florence, just not in the summer.

Judith wrote:
    > "jt" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected] om...
    > > > Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would be cheapest.
    > >
    > > No, think of it like a subway (underground) or city bus service - artificially
    > > cheap subsidized fares and little need for prepurchase. See schedules at
    > > http://bahn.hafas.de/english.html
    > > (click on graphics).
    > >
    > > You should consider using the cheap trains to spend time outside of those black
    > > holes of tourist hell - I'm euphoric about completely avoiding Rome and Florence
    > > in my next Italy visit. Guidebooks even emphasize Florence is the worst base to
    > > see Florence itself(!) but to continually daytrip in there from Siena for
    > > example.
    > How dismissive of two treasure troves of the world. Don't travel in high season
    > and work out how to stay in less touristy accomodations. Rent an apartment. Even
    > people who live in Italy love to go to Rome and Florence, just not in the summer.

I love Rome at any time of the year. Even when it's beastly hot and crowded, I still
love that city. I also wouldn't miss a chance to go to Florence, but it doesn't
captivate me as Rome does.

Barbara

Problem is, Firenze does not exactly have a low season and is the closest Italy has got to Disneyland these days

"Scott Leckey" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > I'm new to this group, so apologies if this question has been previously answered.
    > My wife & I plan to fly to Rome in early September, stay in Rome for a week, then
    > use the train service to stay in Florence for our second week, then return to Rome
    > for the return flight to the UK. Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would
    > be cheapest.
    > I have looked at the Trenitalia web site, but it isn't particularly
helpful,
    > especially as the booking service has been suspended.
    > My question: What is the most economical ticket to buy based on the above info? Can
    > anyone point me to a web site with the info I require?
    > Thanks in advance & best wishes,
    > Scott Leckey

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Scott Leckey

Scott

Termini Station in Rome is a modern rail road station were can will find all the
help there and answers to your questions at the information area.

I would suggest you not buy your ticket in advance until you get to Rome. Then a few
days before you have to leave for Florence stop by Termini Station, visited the
Information booth and let then help you plan your rail travel. This way you can be
very flexible with what time you want to leave Rome for Florence. They can also help
you on your return trip from Florence to Rome and with the train from Termini to the
Rome's airport.

Have fun Rome is a beautiful place to visit

Bill


"Scott Leckey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > I'm new to this group, so apologies if this question has been previously answered.
    > My wife & I plan to fly to Rome in early September, stay in Rome for a week, then
    > use the train service to stay in Florence for our second week, then return to Rome
    > for the return flight to the UK. Obviously a return train ticket of some sort would
    > be cheapest.
    > I have looked at the Trenitalia web site, but it isn't particularly helpful,
    > especially as the booking service has been suspended.
    > My question: What is the most economical ticket to buy based on the above info? Can
    > anyone point me to a web site with the info I require?
    > Thanks in advance & best wishes,
    > Scott Leckey

Judith wrote:
    >There's no magic in this. You walk up to the window that says "Biglietti" and ask
    >for two second class return tickets to Firenze. (Due biglietti secondo)

But which type of train? You have basically 3 choices. (By cost & time). The slow
multi-stop "D" train, your ticket would be valid for 2 months. Just validate and
hop-on. Basic ticket. The quicker IC train also valid for 2 months. But if you wanted
the optional =803 seat reservation you would have to specify exactly what train you
wanted to take. Basic ticket with a suppliment. The fast direct ES train, I believe
it's now (changed recently) like an airline ticket. You ticket is only valid on that
specific train with a mandatory seat reservation. If you miss it or wish to change I
believe it costs =805 to get a new ticket reissued. A different type ticket but
basically a basic ticket with a higher cost suppliment. Regards, Walter



..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

Opps, Sorry Judith I was mistaken. The OP did ask for the "most *economical*
ticket", which you told him how to puchase. I just couldn't figure out how the ticket
agent would know which type of train he wanted to take. I assumed he wanted an ES or
IC. Regards, Walter

I wrote:
    >Judith wrote: There's no magic in this. You walk up to the window that says
    >"Biglietti" and ask for two second class return tickets to Firenze. (Due
    >biglietti secondo)
    >But which type of train? You have basically 3 choices. [snip]



..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

    > The slow multi-stop "D" train, your ticket would be valid for 2 months. Just
    > validate and hop-on. Basic ticket. The quicker IC train also valid for 2 months.
    > But if you wanted the

How does a stopover of indeterminate length work with these tickets? Say you are
looking for a break between the Rome/Florence circus rings and tried a stopover in
Orvieto... for hours, or if you liked it for days. Is your ticket automatically good
for this, or do you validate again when departing Orvieto? Seems like such a system
could be abused, so I wondered what the restrictions are.

When you've validated your ticket, by sticking it in the orange box, the machine
prints date, time and station. The ticket is then valid for a period which varies
according to the total length of your journey. If you want to break your journey
within this time, that's OK, provided you complete the whole journey before the end
time for your ticket. I'm pretty sure there's no saving on returns in Italy as
compared with singles. But it's no matter as Italian train fares are astonishingly
low to English eyes.

Rome to Florence is 316 Km, so a single 2nd class ticket would be 14.31 Euros on
the cheapest trains, 21.33 Euros on Intercity and probably somewhat more again
on Eurostar.

--
Andrew Nightingale of Cambridge (UK)

Andrew Nightingale <[email protected]> wrote:

    > I'm pretty sure there's no saving on returns in Italy as compared with singles. But
    > it's no matter as Italian train fares are astonishingly low to English eyes.

Yes, a return ticket is simply two one-way tickets (maybe stapled together), and the
price is simply the sum of the two legs without any discount.

-- ----------------------------------------------------- Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy
e-mail: [email protected]