Airport Codes
Rome - Fiumicino (FCO)
Venice - Aeroporto Marco Polo (VCE)

Train Stations
Rome - Stazione Termini (From airport 30 minutes)
Florence - Santa Maria Novella (From Rome 2-3 hrs) (To Venice 4 hrs)
Venice - Stazione di Santa Lucia (To airport 30 minutes) (To Rome 5 hrs)

Trenitalia pass (train)
$175 Second class - 3 days of travel +23/day extra
Passsaver (2 or more travellers)
$149 Second class - 3 days of travel

One way train 
Rome - Florence ($39)
Florence - Venice ($35)

There are six main types of trains in the state railway in Italy:

• Eurostar
• Intercity/IntercityPlus
• Espresso
• Dirett
• Interregionale
• Regional

The main difference is the speed, number of stops, level of comfort, distance and price. Most of the trains offer first and second class, with first being more comfortable and more expensive. 

Eurostar (ES) is the fastest and most comfortable train, with very few stops in between destinations from North to South. Seat reservation is automatically issued with the ticket without any extra fee. If you purchase your ticket online you will get email confirmation that also serves as your ticket.

Intercity (IC) and Intercity Plus (ICPlus) trains are also comfortable and fast. ICPlus trains are just as comfortable as ES but cost much less. IC and ICPlus also run from North to South but make a few more stops than ES. Seat reservation (€3 fee) is not required on either train.

Espresso (E) makes about the same amount of stops as the IR trains. Seat reservation is not required on E trains but can be issued for €3 fee.

Diretto (D) covers a medium distance, usually within a region or between two neighbouring regions. Reservation is not available on D trains.

Interregionale (IR) trains connect neighbouring regions with stops in large and medium sized towns and not very expensive fare. Reservation is not available on IR trains.

Regionale (R) trains are the least expensive but only run within the region and make many stops. Reservation is not available on R trains.

If time is of concern, it is better to pay a little more taking the Eurostar than waste hours sitting on a train trying to get from one place to another.

For those travelers who are lovers of fine automobiles or have spouses that are lovers of fine automobiles, this is a tour you MUST take!

Jae’s very much into the whole motorcycle thing, heck, he runs a motorcycle store… so when I did a search for the Ducati factory and found that it was near Florence I knew we would have to make a stop there.  Upon further research I also found that all these other factories are nearby, well, heck, gotta see them all!  I was surprised to find that no one was offering tours of these facories, and that it was actually hard to figure out who allowed factory tours and when it happens.  Eventually I came across one site, motorstars.org.  They actually offer tours of all the factories in one day.  A full day tour of the Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini and Maserati Factories.I booked it right away, saves me the hassle of finding out where each factory was and how to get there. 

Motorstars responded promptly and gave us the location and time of the tour.  We pay in cash only after finishing the tour, so I wasn’t too worried about getting ripped off.

*Update*

This tour was one of the highlights of our Italy trip.  You can read all about it in my travelogue.  I highly recommend this tour for anyone that has a day to spare.  Or if you love cars, you should incorporate this day tour into your plans.

Rome: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican from top of Michangelo’s Dome, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Plazzo Senatorio Terrace

Florence: Santa Maria Novella, Dumo, Bridges across the Arno River, Pitti Palace garden

Venice: Rialto bridge, on boat while riding down the Grand Canal, Piazza San Marco, Santa Maria della Salute