How to take a rail journey from Venezia/Venice to Rome/Roma

Final Destination: Roma or Napoli or Reggio di Calabria

The departure typically scheduled to leave at 09:26 usually carries on beyond Roma Termini to terminate at Roma Fiumicino Airport/Leonardo Da Vinci airport.

All trains also call at: Venezia Mestre and Firenze S.M.N. and Roma Tiburtina

Heading to Roma Tiburtina can be a good option if the location of your final destination in the city has convenient access from a station served by Line B of the Roma Metro.

The alternative train journey options:

(1) High speed Italo trains compete with these Frecce trains on the Venice to Rome route.
They're less frequent than the Frecce trains, but they match them for speed and can be cheaper.

(2) There also two Intercity trains per day from 'Venice' to Rome.

They're (much) cheaper than taking either of the high speed train services (Frecce or Italo) but they depart from Venezia Mestre station - so you'll need to take a connecting train from Santa Lucia station, in order to catch these trains.

They're also much slower than the Frecce and Italo trains, as they don't use high speed lines and now take a much longer between Bologna and Rome via Rimini on the Adriatic Coast.

If you're heading from historical Venezia/Venice make sure to select Venezia S. Lucia as the 'Departure' station and NOT Venezia Mestre.
If  you will be using an agent, confirm that they have booked tickets from Venezia S. Lucia.

A choice of stations in Roma:

Virtually all of these Frecce trains will call at Roma Tiburtina station, before going on Roma Termini.

If you will be travelling to Roma Termini, then use this specific station as the Arrival station when looking up tickets and prices.
To see the trains to both Termini and Tiburtina choose Roma ( Tutte Le Stazioni ) as the Arrival station on Trenitalia.

If your final destination is near a station on Line B of the Rome Metro, the best option can be to take these trains to Roma Tiburtina and connect into the Metro there.

Save by booking in advance: Yes, for more details on how to obtain the cheapest prices for Frecce trains see the guide to Italian rail tickets.

Online bookings usually open: Up to 6 months ahead of the travel date; Though the booking periods will be typically be shorter when looking up journeys for travel after the second Sundays in December and June.

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

The choice of train services - and tickets / prices

The high speed (AV) train service between Milano Centrale and Roma/Roma is provided by
(1) these Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia, and
(2) alternative Italo trains

Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains can be placed on sale up to 6 months in advance, but the tickets for travel by Italo trains are typically made available around 3 to 4 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.

If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking - the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on Trainline or Omio or Rail Europe. Though look out for the fact that these ticketing services will charge a booking fee.

The types of ticket:

Up to four core types of ticket will be available for advance booking:

(1) Long-term promotional tickets, such as 'Frecce Special' tickets, give discounts of up to 70% on the 'Base' ticket price.
Though they are made available in limited numbers, so can sell out on popular departures more than a month ahead of the travel date.
Regardless of how popular a departure / train is, they are only available up until 14 days ahead of departure.
They also can't be refunded or transferred to another departure.

(2) Super-Economy tickets are the cheapest option for journeys when a long-term promotion is either not available, or sold out.
They need to be booked more than five days ahead of a travel date.
They also can't be refunded or transferred to another departure.

(3) 'Economy' tickets are mid-priced, but they can be transferred to another departure, up to two hours before the train you were originally booked on, is due to leave.
However, you will need to pay the price difference, if tickets for the train you have swapped to are more expensive (they likely will be).
They also can't be refunded.

(4) Base tickets are the most expensive, but they are more flexible.
They can be refunded if the price per person is more than €10 - And they can also be transferred to another departure up until the time of the of your original departure - Meaning that you can go to the ticket counter and swap them to an earlier or later train.
You will have to pay any price difference, but the advance prices of Base tickets aren't heavily discounted.
You can also transfer them to another departure online, but this needs to be done at least two hours before the original departure time - When there is less than two hours to go, you'll need to use a ticket counter at the station.

Additional information, including what to look out for in general when booking, is available on the general guide to booking Italian rail tickets.

Child tickets:

• Those aged 3 and under travel for free, but they cannot occupy their own seats.
• Children aged 4 -14 receive a 50% discount on the 'Base' ticket price.
  However, adult 'Super Economy' tickets can be discounted by more than 50%; So if these tickets are still available for your journey, it can be worth paying the adult rate for a child aged 4 - 14.

Rail Pass Users:

Travelling with Eurail or InterRail passes:

Rail pass users will need to pay a €13 reservation fee prior to boarding these trains, which can be comparatively good value for such a long journey.

There also typically two Intercity trains per day from Venice to Rome.
However, they leave from Venezia Mestre station over on the mainland and NOT from Santa Lucia station in the heart of historical Venice; which is where these Frecce trains depart from.

Target these IC trains if you want to save €13 on rail pass reservation fees.
Though if you'll want the peace of mind of being able to remain in the same seat for the entire journey, paying the optional €3 reservation fee on these trains is virtually essential (this €3 fee is now compulsory from May to September).

Final Destination: Roma or Napoli

All trains also call at: Venezia Mestre and Firenze S.M.N. and Roma Tiburtina

If you're heading from historical Venezia/Venice make sure to select Venezia S. Lucia as the 'Departure' station and NOT Venezia Mestre.
If  you will be using an agent, confirm that they have booked tickets from Venezia S. Lucia.

A choice of stations in Roma:

All of these Italo trains will call at Roma Tiburtina station, before going on Roma Termini.

If you will be travelling to Roma Termini, then use this specific station as the Arrival station when looking up tickets and prices.

If your final destination is near a station on Line B of the Rome Metro, the best option can be to book these trains to Roma Tiburtina and connect into the Metro there.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: Around 3 - 4 months ahead of the travel date

The choice of train services - and tickets / prices

The high speed (AV) train service between Venezia / Venice and Napoli / Naples is provided by:

(1) these Italo trains
(2) alternative Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia

Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 6 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 3 to 4 months ahead.
However, Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.

If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking - the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on Trainline or Omio or Rail Europe. Though look out for the fact that these ticketing services will charge a booking fee.

Additional information, including what to look out for in general when booking, is available on the general guide to booking Italian rail tickets.

The types of ticket

Up to four types of tickets are available for journeys by Italo trains - regardless of the type of ambience / travel class you wish to travel by.
The three types of ticket which are always available are:

(1) Low Cost tickets = You can change the class, date and time of your trip, as many times as you like, up to 72 hours before scheduled departure - Subject to availability
But will be charged 20% of the price initially paid + plus any price difference with the original price
You can purchase a Refund Option for an additional cost - and if you then want to cancel you will receive 80% of the price paid; Without it this type of ticket is not refundable

(2) Economy = You can change the class, date and time of your trip, as many times as you like, up to 3 minutes before scheduled departure - Subject to availability
But will be charged 20% of the price initially paid + plus any price difference with the original price
If you want to cancel you will receive 60% of the price paid.

(3) Flex = You can change the class, date and time of your trip, as many times as you like up to 3 minutes before scheduled departure - without paying any price difference from the offer available at the time of booking.
If you want to cancel you will receive 80% of the price paid
Plus if you miss your train, you will have an hour to re-book by the next available departure - but this can only be arranged at an Italo booking desk at a station, or by telephone.

When long term promotions such as the Extra Summer Offer are available, they will be the cheapest type of ticket, but they cannot be re-booked or refunded.

Child tickets:

• Those aged 3 and under travel for free, but they cannot occupy their own seats.
• On the Family Offer ticket, children aged 4 to 13 travel for free if they are in a travel party of 2 to 4 people, with at least one of them being an adult (aged 15 and over).
  However, this Family Offer only applies when the Adult purchases tickets at the Flex fare price - Though the Adult(s) will receive a 50% discount.
  The offer is only available when travelling in Smart class (standard class).

Worth knowing is that this offer has terms, which are atypical of Flex tickets, including

• must be purchased at least 3 days before the departure date
• no changes or refunds.

When not booking under the Family Offer, children aged 4 to 13 will be charged Adult rates.

Rail passes

Eurail and InterRail passes can't be used on Italo trains.

Final Destination: Roma Termini

These trains also call at: Foligno (connect for Assisi)

Note that these Intercity (IC) trains depart from Venezia Mestre station on the mainland and NOT from Venezia S. Lucia station in the historic, tourist heart of Venezia.
The alternative high speed services, the Frecce and Italo trains, do depart from Venezia Santa Lucia.

These IC trains from Venice to Rome are also much slower than the Frecce or Italo trains, because unlike them, they don't use the high speed lines between Bologna and Rome.
Also they have recently been switched to an even longer route via Rimini, though fans of scenic rail journeys will appreciate the views of the coast and the Apennine Hills, available when taking the first departure of the day.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

These Intercity (IC) trains are usually scheduled to depart from Venezia Mestre at 07:34 and 14:14.

If you will be commencing your journey at Venezia S. Lucia, you will need to take a connecting train to Venezia Mestre.

When making an online booking, if you select Venezia  S.Lucia as the 'Departure station' your ticket will include both the connecting train AND the Intercity train.
Despite the need to take two trains, when commencing a journey at Santa Lucia station, these IC trains will be a cheaper option than either of the two high speed services; Frecce or Italo.

If you want to compare the ticket prices of these IC trains with both the Frecce AND Italo trains, you will need to look up this journey on Trainline, as Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains.

Rail pass users

Target these IC trains if you want to save €10 on rail pass reservation fees.
Though if you'll want the peace of mind of being able to remain in the same seat for the entire journey, paying the optional €3 reservation fee is virtually essential

(1) taking a R or RV train from Venezia S. Lucia to Venezia Mestre
(2) taking one of these IC trains from Venezia Mestre to Roma.