Better, Faster, Cheaper: Why Trains Beat Flying During Our Family Trip to Italy

Trains in Europe are vastly superior to the train options that exist stateside. They are conveniently located in the center of European cities. They are fast -- often approaching 200mph, and they are spacious, providing more room to spread out than an airline seat. When you count in time to get to the airport and security, most times they are faster than flying as well. 

If you book far enough in advance, they are also very affordable. 

On our trip to Italy, we started in Rome, then went to Florence and finally back to Rome. This meant two train trips were needed. 

We booked directly through TrenItalia, one of the two high speed rail providers in the country. 

We booked months out -- and when traveling with children, received 50 percent off their tickets. The 2 hour ride from Rome to Florence was around 20 euros per person. A great deal. Same for our return from Florence to Rome. Cheaper than flying, less of a hassle and faster. 

You are able to pick assigned seats when booking, and can pick different class options -- we didn’t upgrade to First Class as standard seats were fine with us. 

Our seats had a table between the two rows, which gave the twins a place to put their drinks, snacks and tablets. And gave mom and dad a place to pull out the laptop to catch up on some work. That also meant that two travelers will be riding “backwards”, so keep that in mind if your little one has motion sickness like ours does. 

Boarding the trains can be a little stressful as you have to wait at the departure board -- similar to airline boarding in Europe -- to learn what track your train will be on. This information is typically not available until a few minutes before your scheduled departure. But don’t worry, it is typically a short walk to that track -- we’ve never had to walk more than 5 minutes to get to our train. 

Sometimes you see your train pulling in too if you are tracking where it is coming from via the TrenItalia website. 

Once on board, wifi is included and usually fast.

There is a cafe car where you can purchase snacks and drinks. It is a great place to bring your little ones to give them something to do on the ride. 

Overall, when traveling between cities with high speed rail in Europe -- do it. It is cheaper, more convenient then heading to a suburban airport and is often faster than flying.