We are traveling from Nice to Florence on Sat May 3rd...apparently the Eurail pass we have (FlexiPass, France and Italy, 4 days of travel within 2 months) does not cover the train that goes from Nice to Florence (with many connections)...is there another way to go? Rent a car? Bus? Ferry? Thank you in advance....
Posted by
Ottawa
1446 posts
My understanding is that your Pass should cover most, if not all, of the journey.
Try getting your train itinerary from Ventimiglia to Florence and see if it shows up Pass-friendly then.
It's a quick and cheap connection (more like a suburban train service) from Nice to just over the border in Ventimiglia, Italy.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32700 posts
I wonder where you got the information that your very expensive pass wouldn't work?
Most people who read the posts around here would conclude that the pass is a waste of money on this journey, but it can be done with one.
I see no reason why not, except that in addition to having the pass you would have to pay a mandatory pass holder seat reservation fee of €10 on every Italian high speed leg and €3 on every Italian InterCity leg.
Most of your journey is Regionale (Regional) trains which do not show up in the electronic timetables over a week out. Look at travel this Saturday for comparison.
An example is
Nice Ville depart at 7:52 to Ventimiglia, 2nd class only Regional 50 minutes, 8 intermediate stations, 30 minute connection time
Ventimiglia to Savona, 2nd class only Regional 2 hours, 12 intermediate stations, 28 minute connection time
Savona to Genova Brignole, 2nd class only Regional 53 minutes, 12 intermediate stations, 15 minutes connection time
Genova Brignole to Pisa Centrale, Intercity -Subject to compulsory reservation-, 2:03, 7 intermediate stations, 29 minute connection time
and finally
Pisa Centrale to Firenze SMN, Regional but with both First and Second class 1 hour, 4 intermediate stations, arrive at 16:32
Total travel time 8 hours 40 minutes, only one mandatory seat reservation of €3 on the InterCity.
That would have been a pretty cheap journey, with no high speed trains.
Posted by
Oregon
111 posts
Railpasses that cover France and Italy do cover Nice-Florence train connections, as long as you make seat reservations where required. Get train schedules online using the link from http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules to Deutsche Bahn. The detailed version of any schedule will show which legs are "subject to compulsory reservation." If you were trying to reserve through Rail Europe, you might have to request each reserved portion separately. It's possible to get Italian reservations on pretty short notice in train stations and even from ticket machines. (But for TGV trains in France, it's better to reserve before you leave home.)