Many of your questions can be answered at the Trenitalia website:

http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html

Note that the schedules are finalized only about 60 days in advance. But the schedules don't change much from week to week, so just look at the schedule for next week to get an idea. Then again, things may be quite different in January since that's low season for tourism.

On most trains there is very little difference between first and second-class.

Oh, and the only luggage requirement is that whatever you pack you have to carry it onto the train yourself. So pack light!

hi sandpebbles the fast trains from rome termini take about 1 hour 40 minutes to reach florence.these are the eurostar services to milan/venice . the fast trains to venice from florence take about 2 hours 45 minutes . www.trenitalia.com will give all train times but most US creit cards will not work .www.italiarail.com is a US based site where you can buy tickets but may cost you more .you can buy tickets in rome at termini station do this two or three days before you intend to travel and ask for the discounted (i think it's called aviva )fare this can saveyou money. get an international driving permit BEFORE leaving you can rent cars but need strong nerves to drive in italy the italians drive err shall we say robustly.hope this helped . enjoy your vacation

I answered this post in detail on the other thread, however, a couple of additional points:

I've rented cars a number of times recently (through Avis) and my US drivers license has never been questioned nor have I been asked for additional documentation;

At both the ticket office and the self service machines American credit cards are accepted; I've never tried to use my US debit card.

Thanks so much, everyone. The information provided is detailed and much appreciated.

I just discovered that I can obtain the International Driver's Permit through AAA. I would ONLY use it if the trains went on strike. Keeping to our schedule is important when one has made hotel reservations in three cities.

Am really looking forward to the train trips. It will be so interesting to watch the countryside going by.

Again, thanks.

The discounted train fare is called Amica and it is available on some trains at least 24 hours before travel.

TAB

They've done a really horrible update to the English language site of trenitalia posted above. This site is now your best bet:

ferroviedellostato.it/ferrovie/…inglese.jsp

You can see complete train schedules. The total journey time is shown in one of the columns. If you click on the shopping cart, you can see the prices. For reserved seat trains, they will ask what type of ticket you want. I would select "Standard", because if you select "Amica" and it's sold out, you have to go back and try again. Just keep in mind that the Amica fare, if you can get it, will save you 20%. It's available up until midnight of the day before travel, which is often less than 24 hours.

I live in Italy, and generally ride 2nd class. The few times I've gone 1st class, I couldn't see any difference. I choose first class if second class is sold out, or if there are no Amica fares left in 2nd class, but there are still some left in 1st.

Many people report that car rental companies haven't asked to see the International Driver's Permit, which is just a translation of your license. Others report that they were stopped by police and didn't have to show the IDP. Neither of these surprises me. The rental companies only care about insurance liability, and the IDP is irrelevant for that. Many Italian policemen can read English well enough to decipher a US license, and wouldn't ask for the IDP unless they needed a translation. However, Italian law requires you to produce one if requested, unless you are from a country that has the EU format license, or equivalent. Since it costs very little, I think it's foolish not to get one.

When I moved to Italy, my Italian husband inquired of the police in our town about my getting an Italian license. They told him that until I got one, I had to carry an IDP along with my US license. Later, my IDP expired before I got my Italian license, and I asked the police chief, who's a friend of ours, whether I couldn't just continue to drive with my US license, which hadn't expired yet. He told me it was too risky.

Just about all of your questions should have been answered in the first chapter or so of a decent guide book. You need to get a better one, and do it soon. You have no idea what other basic information you're missing.

bvlenci, thank you very much for giving me another link to train schedule information. I really appreciate it.

I agree about obtaining the International Driver's License. I'm going to do it and study the road rules even though I have NO intention of driving anywhere in Italy unless there is a train strike.

Does anyone have a favorite guidebook for Italy to recommend? I used Frommer's for my Greece trip in October 2007.

Thanks again, everyone!

Hi Sandpebbles, I really like DK Eyewitness Travel. They have a book; Top 10 Rome and another : Rome ,which is very detailed. We will be in Rome, Florence, and Venice this August.Counting the days. We will also be taking the train from one city to the next.We have been using the European rails for the last three trips and found them to be dependable and a great way to relax.Have a great trip I'll send you any rail info and general info we pick up. I will be posting on our hotels and tours when when we return. We live near Augusta,Ga. and it's neat to see another Ga address.