Trains vs Planes in Italy: What’s Faster and Cheaper?

Planning a trip across Italy and wondering whether to fly or take the train?
This is a common question we get asked all the time. Choosing between a high-speed train or a flight within Italy isn’t always straightforward.
The high-speed trains in Italy are generally excellent for most routes but that doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t consider flying…
So we looked at November travel data and crunched the numbers to compare average prices and total travel times.
Here’s a detailed comparison of travel times and prices for both trains and planes between some of Italy’s most popular routes — so you can choose what suits you best.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
• We only looked at routes where direct flights are available so no layovers and connecting flights are included.
• Price data is for travel over the last week of November.
• The train prices were obtained from Trenitalia’s website.
• We’ve only included flight data for ITA Airways, Italy’s national airlines (The new Alitalia).
• Other direct flight routes are offered between various city pairs, however, they weren’t included as only low-cost airlines operate on these routes which require additional fees for baggage.
• An additional 2-3 hours have been added to flight times to account for time spent at the airport and to reach the airport.
• For the routes between Rome and Palermo, and Milan and Palermo, we’ve only included the Intercity sleeper train as it is a direct route with no connections and train changes. It is also the most scenic way of travelling by rail between the mainland and Sicily.