Venezia / Venice / Venedig to Firenze / Florence by train

How to take a rail journey from Venice/Venezia to Florence/Firenze

The 'Frecce' trains operated by Trenitalia share this route 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.

The Frecce and Italo trains are now the only option for taking a direct train from Venice to Florence.

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Routes

Option 1: taking the high speed Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia

Travel Information

Final Destination: Roma or Napoli

All trains also call at: Venezia Mestre and Bologna

The alternative Italo trains:

Less frequent Italo trains compete with Trenitalia's Frecce trains on this Venice to Florence route.

They match the speed of these Frecce trains and can be cheaper, but tickets for the Italo trains are not sold on the Trenitalia website.

Instead prices can be compared on the Omio or Trainline ticket booking websites; see the links below.

Mon-Thurs = 14 x trains per day
Fridays = 13 x trains
Saturday = 14 x trains
Saturday = 11 x trains

There is usually 1 x train per hour, but there is typically a gap between departures from 07:26 to 09:26

Tickets

Book early and save:** Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

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

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

Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.

Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for these 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 Pass Users:

If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you will need to reserve prior to boarding these trains, either at the station (using a Trenitalia ticket machine or ticket desk) OR by booking them online.

How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
ItaliaRail from €24.90

ItaliaRail 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.

Users of InterRail and Eurail passes can also book seat reservations on the Frecce and InterCity trains without paying a booking fee,

Trenitalia from €24.90

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.
Trainline from €24.90

Trainline Guide

Omio from €24.90

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.

SaveATrain from €24.90

SaveATrain Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

There is no high speed line between and Venezia/Venice and Bologna, but these trains travel up to 280 km/h on the high speed line between Bologna and Firenze; virtually all of which is in tunnels.

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.
This video was taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction.

Option 2: taking the high speed Italo trains

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 5 months ahead of the travel date

The high speed (AV) train service between Venice/Venezia and Florence/Firenze is provided by
(1) these Italo trains
(2) Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia

Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 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 with 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

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Italo from €19 approx

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 from €19 approx

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.

Trainline from €19 approx

Trainline Guide

Happyrail from €19 approx

Happyrail 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.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

Final Destination:  Roma or Napoli

All trains also call at:  Venezia Mestre and Bologna

These Italo trains, compete with Trenitalia's more frequent service of Frecce trains on this Venice to Florence route.

They can be cheaper than the Frecce trains, but as the Trenitalia website doesn't sell tickets for these Italo trains, you can compare prices on either the Omop or Trainline websites.

They match the speed of those Frecce trains as they also use the high speed line between Bologna and Firenze.
There is no high speed line between and Venezia/Venice and Bologna.

These Italo trains take the same route as the Frecce trains,

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