I plan to purchase a 2-country pass for 8 days for France and Italy. It appears that for some destinations a reservation is required. How do I know which parts of my trip require a reservation? My destinations so far are:
Paris - Lille France
Lille - Arles
Arles - Nice
Nice - Vernazza
Vernazza - Florence
Florence - Rome
Rome - Naples
Thanks for your help
Everything you need to know can be found on these two pages:
Idenglish,
I suggest you read this very helpful website seat61.com, prior to buying your railway pass.
Keep in mind that you may be able to book (in advance) point-to- point tickets at considerable savings.
ld,
You'll need to know what type of trains you're using on each segment of each trip, in order to determine whether you'll need reservations. That means you'll have to choose one departure time and buy reservations for any trains where they are required.
If France you'll need reservations for the TGV (high speed) trains, but not for the TER regional trains. Note that Passholder reservations in France are limited, and once the quota is sold out for a particular train you may not be able to buy them even if seats are available. Your only choice if that happens is to choose another train that does have Passholder reservations left, or forget the rail pass and just buy a ticket.
In Italy you will require reservations for Intercity and Freccia trains, but not Regionale trains. Note that reservations are specific to train, date and departure time and are only valid for the ONE train listed on the ticket. If you board the wrong train by mistake (even with a Railpass) you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! Also note that AFAIK, Railpasses are NOT accepted on the Italo high speed trains.
I'm not sure about France, but in Italy Railpasses are generally not a cost effective option as tickets are relatively cheap. If you're willing to commit to a specific train, date and departure time on the express trains, significant savings are possible if you can get Super Economy tickets (which will include the reservations). Note that S.E. tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased, so choose carefully.
I'd suggest reading the Seat 61 website carefully, as a Railpass may not be the best option. You can check train details on the Bahn.de website.
