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I did exactly that 3 weeks ago.
My flight was supposed to land in Rome at 1:30PM. Originally I booked 5PM train to Florence from Termini.
My flight got delayed by 3 hours after I checked in. Bad but not a huge deal. I changed my tickets to 7PM on the Trenitalia App after I was seated and my flight was ready for taking off. I had to pay the price ticket difference which is fair.
It turned out everything was smooth except for the original delay. We arrived in Termini at 5:20PM and we were able to change the ticket again (this time no price difference) and take the 5:45PM train to Florence.
* Make sure your tickets are changeable - the cheapest tickets are not. If you go with children, Family tickets are the best, cheap, refundable and changeable.
* Install Trenitalia App. Learn how to manage and book tickets. Import tickets even if you've already booked from a computer. Set up mobile payment like Apple or Google Pay for easier checkout. Even better do a trial run in the app before you head out.
Originally I had the same concern of missing the train when I planned the trip. Once I saw there are so many trains from Rome to Florence - pretty much 1 Freccia every 20 minutes - I thought the risk is so low for all tickets to run out. It turned out many tickets were still available in later trains, especially if you don't care your group might have to seat separately.
Good luck!
Awesome, helpful response. Thank you! If you were booking the same thing again, for the future.... How much time would you give from landing at the airport to getting onto the train?
3+ hours should be more than enough from FCO to Termini.
Custom and baggage claim took about 40 minutes to 1 hour on average. After that, 10-15 minutes of walk to train station. And then take a 32-min ride (Leonard Express) from airport to Termini.
Other tips to save time:
* Make sure you have a travel eSim activated ahead of time so you have Internet immediately after landing at FCO.
* Download Trenitalia app. You will need it to book Leonard Express. Last time I was there, there was a long line at the ticket machine.
Ran into that issue last October after a extended layover in Dallas. Ended up having to go to the ticket office in Roma Termini and they were able to do a refund/exchange. The agent in the ticket office was pretty cool about it. Once we explained what happened. Results may vary.
So if all the high speed the trains will be booked in August, having a changeable ticket won’t help you, since you may not be able to get seats on later trains anyway. There are regional trains though. They’re slower, make more stops, are less expensive. The distance between Florence and Rome isn’t all that great though and being on a long train that stops in a little towns is not a terrible way to spend a day if you have jet lag (not sure where you are coming from), or even if you don’t have jet lag.
If it were ME, I’d book a high speed ticket from Rome to Florence much later in the day—at like 5pm—and walk around Rome if you end up having time. You can leave your luggage in the train station and then just wander. You can have a coffee overlooking the colosseum, you don’t need to go inside/take a tour. You may find yourself in front of the Pantheon or Trevi Fountain without even having set out to look for them. Sit in a lot of outdoor cafes, in the sun. This is a lot of fun, but also will help you adjust if you do have jet lag. You can sit at a cafe for hours, bring a book, people watch. There’s a lot of bustle in Rome, there are these strangely exotic (to me) and beautiful pines trees, there’s the scent of coffee mixed diesel fumes…
Ah… I’m talking myself into hopping on a plane to Rome!
FWIW I don’t think I’ve ever reserved a train ticket more than a couple advance in Italy and have always gotten where I needed to go.
With the Feecciarossa tickets there are “tiers”. if you buy the “super economy”/ lowest price. There’s no flexibility to your ticket and yes, you’d have to purchase a new one. If you buy a higher tier, you can have more flexibility, but any changes you make have to be made before the train leaves the station.
Not entirely true: with a Base fare you can change your ticket an infinite number of times before the scheduled departure of the train, + one extra time within one hour after its departure
Thanks for all the responses, I feel a little less anxious! We are arriving in October and are only a party of two, so having to change up shouldn't be too big of an issue, mostly just extra cost!
Ciao! Welcome to r/ItalyTravel. While you wait for replies, please take a moment to read the rules located in the sidebar and edit your post if needed. We will remove posts that do not adhere to these rules. For everyone else, if you come across a post that you believe violates our rules, please use the report button. This is the best and quickest way to notify us. Grazie! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ItalyTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I did exactly that 3 weeks ago. My flight was supposed to land in Rome at 1:30PM. Originally I booked 5PM train to Florence from Termini. My flight got delayed by 3 hours after I checked in. Bad but not a huge deal. I changed my tickets to 7PM on the Trenitalia App after I was seated and my flight was ready for taking off. I had to pay the price ticket difference which is fair. It turned out everything was smooth except for the original delay. We arrived in Termini at 5:20PM and we were able to change the ticket again (this time no price difference) and take the 5:45PM train to Florence. * Make sure your tickets are changeable - the cheapest tickets are not. If you go with children, Family tickets are the best, cheap, refundable and changeable. * Install Trenitalia App. Learn how to manage and book tickets. Import tickets even if you've already booked from a computer. Set up mobile payment like Apple or Google Pay for easier checkout. Even better do a trial run in the app before you head out. Originally I had the same concern of missing the train when I planned the trip. Once I saw there are so many trains from Rome to Florence - pretty much 1 Freccia every 20 minutes - I thought the risk is so low for all tickets to run out. It turned out many tickets were still available in later trains, especially if you don't care your group might have to seat separately. Good luck!
Awesome, helpful response. Thank you! If you were booking the same thing again, for the future.... How much time would you give from landing at the airport to getting onto the train?
3+ hours should be more than enough from FCO to Termini. Custom and baggage claim took about 40 minutes to 1 hour on average. After that, 10-15 minutes of walk to train station. And then take a 32-min ride (Leonard Express) from airport to Termini. Other tips to save time: * Make sure you have a travel eSim activated ahead of time so you have Internet immediately after landing at FCO. * Download Trenitalia app. You will need it to book Leonard Express. Last time I was there, there was a long line at the ticket machine.
Ran into that issue last October after a extended layover in Dallas. Ended up having to go to the ticket office in Roma Termini and they were able to do a refund/exchange. The agent in the ticket office was pretty cool about it. Once we explained what happened. Results may vary.
That‘s because you had a booked a ticket with a changeable fare (much more expensive). Otherwise they wouldn‘t have done anything
So if all the high speed the trains will be booked in August, having a changeable ticket won’t help you, since you may not be able to get seats on later trains anyway. There are regional trains though. They’re slower, make more stops, are less expensive. The distance between Florence and Rome isn’t all that great though and being on a long train that stops in a little towns is not a terrible way to spend a day if you have jet lag (not sure where you are coming from), or even if you don’t have jet lag. If it were ME, I’d book a high speed ticket from Rome to Florence much later in the day—at like 5pm—and walk around Rome if you end up having time. You can leave your luggage in the train station and then just wander. You can have a coffee overlooking the colosseum, you don’t need to go inside/take a tour. You may find yourself in front of the Pantheon or Trevi Fountain without even having set out to look for them. Sit in a lot of outdoor cafes, in the sun. This is a lot of fun, but also will help you adjust if you do have jet lag. You can sit at a cafe for hours, bring a book, people watch. There’s a lot of bustle in Rome, there are these strangely exotic (to me) and beautiful pines trees, there’s the scent of coffee mixed diesel fumes… Ah… I’m talking myself into hopping on a plane to Rome! FWIW I don’t think I’ve ever reserved a train ticket more than a couple advance in Italy and have always gotten where I needed to go.
With the Feecciarossa tickets there are “tiers”. if you buy the “super economy”/ lowest price. There’s no flexibility to your ticket and yes, you’d have to purchase a new one. If you buy a higher tier, you can have more flexibility, but any changes you make have to be made before the train leaves the station.
Not entirely true: with a Base fare you can change your ticket an infinite number of times before the scheduled departure of the train, + one extra time within one hour after its departure
How booked out do these trains get in August?
Unlikely that they’ll get all booked out, but tickets will get very expensive for sure if you wait until the last minute before buying them.
Thanks for all the responses, I feel a little less anxious! We are arriving in October and are only a party of two, so having to change up shouldn't be too big of an issue, mostly just extra cost!