Related Content
How to take a rail journey from Venezia/Venice to Rome/Roma
Share this journey with a friend...
Venezia / Venice / Venedig to Roma / Rome by train
The 'Frecce' trains operated by Trenitalia share the high-speed section of the route between Bologna and Roma, with Italo trains.
They have similar speeds, so the differences between the two services are to do with the on-board experiences, check out the 'Trains' guides below; and the fact that tickets for the Italo trains and Frecce trains can be purchased from different online booking agents - it's a route on which you can save by booking in advance.
However, some trains from Venice/Venezia to Rome/Roma take an entirely different and much longer cross-country route.
If ticket price and not speed is your key criteria, you can usually save money by taking these trains and they're a cheaper option for rail pass users; but they are not as frequent as the high speed services.
Routes you can take to go from Venezia / Venice / Venedig to Roma / Rome
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1: taking the high speed Freecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
3 hr 45 min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
14 x trains per day
There is usually at least one departure in every hour, but there is a gap between 07:26 and 09:26.
There are an additional two daily departures from Venezia Mestre station
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Other Ticket Providers
Italia Rail Guide
Italiarail lives up to its name by selling tickets for rail journeys within Italy and the core feature of its service is that it is primarily designed to be used by international visitors to Italy.
So the English translations of place names are used when looking up journeys and the terms and conditions for using each type of ticket are clearly explained.
It also clearly points out the additional costs of upgrading to other classes and types of tickets while spelling out the additional benefits of doing so.
Though Italiarail will charge a booking fee, typically of around €3.
The Early Bird service
Italiarail has launched an 'early bird' pre-booking service for journeys by Frecce trains.
Tickets can be booked up to a year ahead of travel at a flat-rate price per route, before the tickets have been released for sale by Trenitalia.
If when they are placed on sale, the price is cheaper than what you have already paid to Italiarail, it will automatically refund the price difference.
Conversely, if the price is more expensive, you won't be charged the price difference.
You can also have the peace of mind of securing your seat(s) on the Frecce train(s) when you are first planning a trip.
If before the tickets are placed on sale, you decide to change your plans, you can request a refund; but once the tickets are released for sale, you will then be bound by the terms and conditions of the ticket(s) you have booked.
Trenitalia Guide
Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:
- Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
- Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
- The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.
Save A Train Guide
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
OBB Guide
OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.
It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.
OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.
Travel Information
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.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
These trains will reverse direction when departing from Firenze S.M.Novella station.
Journey description:
The Venice to Roma journey by high speed trains has four distinct phases:
(1) It's not a scenic journey, but it starts with a flourish as the trains head out over the lagoon from the heart of historical Venice/Venezia.
The best of the views are from the right of the train (when facing the direction of travel).
(2) Between Padova and Bologna the train will travel across a flat landscape, with nothing of note to see
There is no high speed line between and Venezia/Venice and Bologna.
(3) Then from Bologna to Firenze the train will travel at more than 275 km/h on a high speed line, but virtually all of this part of the route is contained within a series of tunnels
(4) The high speed line between Florence and Rome is more scenic than most, it's not a beautiful journey, but there is a wow factor of travelling across the rolling landscape at more than 240 km/h*.
*The direttissima between Florence and Rome was the first high speed railway line to be built in Italy, so it has a slower maximum speed than the other Italian high speed lines.
These videos showcase the journey experience on this part of the trip.
Note that trains will reverse direction when departing from Firenze S.M.Novella station.
Tickets
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.
*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 period will be typically be shorter when looking up journeys for travel after the second Sunday in December.
The high speed train (AV) service between Venice/Venezia and Roma is provided by:
(1) these Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
(2) alternative Italo trains
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.
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale up to 6 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets 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.
So, 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 with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
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.
Travelling with Eurail or InterRail passes:
Rail pass users will need to pay a €10 reservation fee prior to boarding these trains, which can be comparatively good value for such a long journey.
There also 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 €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.
Route Information
Option 2: taking the high speed Italo trains
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
3 hr 45 min (Italo trains)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
10 x trains per day
There are an additional two daily departures from Venezia Mestre station
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Other Ticket Providers
Italo Guide
Italo trains compete with the Frecce services, provided by the national rail operator, Trenitalia, on the high speed routes which link major cities in Italy.
The Italo booking site only sells tickets for journeys by its trains.
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
Happy rail Guide
Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.
HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.
Travel Information
Final Destination: Roma or Napoli
All trains also call at: Venezia Mestre and Firenze S.M.N. and Roma Tiburtina
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that these trains will reverse direction when departing from Firenze S.M.Novella station,
These trains take the same route as the Frecce trains.
Tickets
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.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open:: around 3 months ahead of the travel date
The high speed (AV) train service between and Venice/Venezia and Roma is provided by
(1) these Italo trains
(2) 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.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
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.
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, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Rail passes are not valid on the Italo trains
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.
Route Information
Option 3: taking the Intercity trains
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
8hr 1min - 8hr 6min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
2 x trains per day
Purchase Tickets
Trenitalia Guide
Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:
- Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
- Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
- The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.
Italia Rail Guide
Italiarail lives up to its name by selling tickets for rail journeys within Italy and the core feature of its service is that it is primarily designed to be used by international visitors to Italy.
So the English translations of place names are used when looking up journeys and the terms and conditions for using each type of ticket are clearly explained.
It also clearly points out the additional costs of upgrading to other classes and types of tickets while spelling out the additional benefits of doing so.
Though Italiarail will charge a booking fee, typically of around €3.
The Early Bird service
Italiarail has launched an 'early bird' pre-booking service for journeys by Frecce trains.
Tickets can be booked up to a year ahead of travel at a flat-rate price per route, before the tickets have been released for sale by Trenitalia.
If when they are placed on sale, the price is cheaper than what you have already paid to Italiarail, it will automatically refund the price difference.
Conversely, if the price is more expensive, you won't be charged the price difference.
You can also have the peace of mind of securing your seat(s) on the Frecce train(s) when you are first planning a trip.
If before the tickets are placed on sale, you decide to change your plans, you can request a refund; but once the tickets are released for sale, you will then be bound by the terms and conditions of the ticket(s) you have booked.
Travel Information
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.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Take the morning InterCity train to see these views.
South of Rimini the train will travel by the shore of the Adriatic Sea for more than 40 minutes, the views are on the left, then the train will turn inland and spend more than an hour travelling through the foothills of the Apennine Mountains.
Tickets
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.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
- Austria by train
- Innsbruck
- Salzburg
- Wien / Vienna
- Belgium by train
- Bruxelles / Brussels
- Czechia by train
- Praha / Prague / Prag
- Denmark by train
- København / Copenhagen
- France by train
- Lille
- Lyon
- Marseille
- Paris
- Germany by train
- Berlin
- Frankfurt (Main)
- Hamburg
- Köln / Cologne / Koeln
- München / Munich
- Great Britain by train
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- London
- Manchester
- Hungary by train
- Budapest
- Italy by train
- Bologna
- Firenze / Florence
- Milano / Milan / Mailand
- Roma / Rome
- Torino / Turin
- Venezia / Venice / Venedig
- Verona
- Netherlands by train
- Amsterdam
- Norway by train
- Oslo
- Poland by train
- Warszawa / Warsaw
- Spain by train
- Barcelona
- Madrid
- Sweden by train
- Stockholm
- Switzerland by train
- Basel / Bâle
- Bern
- Genève / Geneva
- Zürich / Zurich
- No Matching Cities
- List is empty.
- No Matching Cities
- List is empty.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
TOP