Day or Overnight train from Munich to Rome?

The Eurail pass will not pay itself off unless you travel very very extensively. If Munich to Rome is your only trip a point to point ticket will be much cheaper. Come back to this forum with your entire train plan and we can figure out if a pass is worthwhile for your family.
If your intent is to see some views take a day train. If saving time is important to you then fly. Flying is probably not that expensive.

We are doing other trips by train. We will be traveling from Paris to Lyon on one leg. Then from Lyon to Munich. Lastly the Munich to Rome which is why we wanted the Eurorail pass. I believe the one we are getting is the 4 day pass which included 4 different countries.

Fly from Munich to Rome and return the rail pass. The other two legs purchased point to point plus the flight will be cheaper than the pass. I guarantee it.

In addition to Roberto and Emily being correct that the Eurail pass will be more expensive than individual tickets, there's another problem. For your Paris to Lyon and Lyon to Munich legs, they limit the number of tickets available to pass holders (even if there are more seats available). Once that quota is gone, you either have to find another train that does have passholder tickets available, or pay full fare to take the train you want. So you will have to book those legs in advance, or risk not being able to use the pass at all for those legs. Thus, the biggest potential advantage of the pass - flexibility - is gone. Since you have to book those tickets in advance whether you get a pass or not, you might as well save the money and just get the advance tickets. Advance tickets are heavily discounted, if you can accept non-refundable and non-exchangeable tickets (or ones that have restrictions on those actions). Since it seems your schedule is pretty set, fixed train times shouldn't be a problem.

Here's a great article from the train guru The Man In Seat 61, explaining the issues with rail passes vs advance tickets: http://tinyurl.com/bkw4u6c

And here's his list of where to buy cheap advance tickets for each leg: http://tinyurl.com/bo8x6o6

Years ago, when this country had good trains, I made three 3-night cross country train trips and had no trouble sleeping on the train. More recently, I had an overnight train trip in Europe and also had no trouble sleeping. If you are anything like me, I would say return the rail pass, but forget flying. Take the overnight train from Munich to Rome.

Maybe I'm jaundiced because I live in Colorado with spectacular mountain passes, but, although somewhat scenic, I found Brenner Pass to be rather mundane, so don't worry about sleeping through it. And, the world isn't that scenic from 40,000 ft.

The trouble with "fly-people" is that they look at a flight and say, "it's only 95 minutes", but they ignore the fact that they spend almost an hour getting to the airport, check in, go through security, wait at the gate to board, board half an hour before flight time, fly, get off the plane, find local transportation, and take it to the town center. A 95 minute flight can easily be 5 or 6 hours. An that time is usually in the middle of the day - prime sightseeing time. You spend the night in the first city, go to the airport in the morning, get to the second city mid-afternoon, have a few hours to see something, then it's dinner and to bed. Real sightseeing starts the second morning. But with a night train, you go to the station about the time you would otherwise be in your room preparing for bed and wake up in the morning in the second city, ready to start sightseeing, 24 hours earlier than you would have by flying.

Sure, accommodations on a night train are more than one night in a budget hotel, but flying replaces two nights in a hotel with one night on a train.

Sue,

While a budget airline is probably an option (I didn't check), travel by train from Munich to Rome is relatively easy and probably the method I'd use. Your two options.....

• Night train - the direct CNL train departing at 21:08 and arriving at 09:22 (on the current schedule) is the best option, but will be considerably longer than if travelling by day train. Although it's direct, there will be numerous stops at various times during the night, which may cause an interruption in sleep. If using a Rail Pass, you will of course have to pay separately for the Couchette or Sleeper as well as the charge for the compulsory reservation. Some of the other night trains on that route have as many as FIVE changes, so you likely wouldn't get much sleep.
• Day train - Despite the distance, this is a reasonably easy trip. I'd probably use a departure from Munich Hbf at 07:38, arriving Roma Termini at 16:35 (time 8H:57M, one change at Bologna Centrale, reservations compulsory). Note that if travelling with a Rail Pass, you MUST have reservations for the segment from Bologna to Rome or you'll be subject to hefty fines of about €50-60 PER PERSON, which will be collected on the spot!!! These reservations are specific to one train, date and departure time.

Regarding a Rail Pass, as the others mentioned you'll have to pay separately for the compulsory reservations if travelling via TGV in France, as those are not included. Pass holder reservations are limited in France, and once the quota for a particular train is sold out, Pass holders must either purchase regular tickets (with reservations) or take a different train. Also note that Rail Passes can not be used on some rail lines in Europe, including the new Italo high speed trains in Italy. Rail Passes are not the bargain they once were, and you'll need to do some careful "number crunching" to determine whether this is the best option for your circumstances.

Be sure that if you use a 4 day Eurail pass instead of cheaper advance tickets that you don't go for the Lyon-Munich train option via Geneva.

Because your train from Munich to Rome (that's a long way) goes through Austria for a few miles your 4 countries must have to be France, Germany, Austria, Italy. If you go from Lyon to Munich via Geneva (includes great scenery and maybe a rail operated InterCity coach from Zurich to Munich, or could be a train on that segment if a but slower) you will go through Switzerland which would add a country.

Don't forget about those French (and Italian) pass holder fees, and the rarity of French passholder seats on some TGV runs.

Sue,

im going to toss in my 0.02 here and i will post my bias towards trains.

I have never used a train until i traveled in Europe. I prefer train over plane. Trains will take you from city center to city center and as Lee has mentioned the additonal time to get to/from the airport and the security and such does and will add time to that "flight or flights". Also, just in case you havent been on a delayed or waiting for a delayed flight, you can add that to the mix.

If you havent did an over night train and want to do so, think about doing it. Since its the last leg of your trip, and if you loose much sleep, it wont hurt as much as if you did it at the beginning.

I did my first overnight from Budapest to Krakow and didnt get much sleep at all. But that was known upfront too. If you or others sleep like the dead, then maybe you would fair better, but really, you wont know until you get an overnight trip under your belt.

Also, what it comes down to is that you will have to weigh the pro/cons of doing either. That will include cost, time and maybe lack of sleep and a new experience. I personally will fly, if the train commute is approaching the 4~5+ hour mark, but thats subject and to each his own.

happy trails.

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions.
I've looked at flying from Munich to Rome and it's about $400 for the 3 of us. Yes a lot faster than 10 hours by train, but also the hassle of getting to and from both airports to the hotel.
I've been quoted around $1700 for the 3 of us to use the railpass (4 countries). Not including reservation and additional fees.
I can't get prices this far in advance for train travel from Lyon to Munich - firm travel dates are July 3/15.

Unless someone can give me an estimate?
Paris to Lyon travel date is July 1/15
Munich to Rome travel date is July 7/15

Flying from Munich to Rome for $133 per person sounds like a good price. Try also www.skyscanner.com if you haven't already. Munich and Rome airports are easy to get to, with frequent service by local train to Munich Hbf and Roma Termini stations, near which there are lots of hotels.

The trains have a wide range of fares, with the cheapest, nonrefundable options going on sale 90 or 92 days in advance and selling out quickly (limited seats at each price level). For Paris-Lyon, Rick’s France rail travel page has the link and tips for buying “Prems” rate TGV tickets through SNCF (cheap, reserved, nonrefundable, available three or four months ahead of your travel date) to print at home and pay with PayPal. It does not tend to work with US credit cards, unless you have an extra level of security set up.

For Lyon-Munich, the best connections (e.g., 10:00 with one connection) happen to be sold on the Germany web site, the same one recommended as your train schedule resource for all of Europe. How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. Regular fare for this route is €136 per person in 2nd class and I see some savings fares at €89, but not on every date. This connection does not enter Switzerland.

You may have a maximum of 3 long train rides, but the rail pass is for 5 travel days and could be a better value for someone who will use all 5.

With sufficient advance purchase, you can get three people in an economy (bathroom end of carriage) T3 cabin with breakfast from Munich to Rome for 255€ with a Europa-Spezial-Italien fare. If you assume a hotel room in Munich would cost at least $100/nt, that's transportation for about 52€/person.

If you decide to go with the railpass, which would be 1st class, 3 people in a deluxe (shower and toilet included) T3 compartment would be a supplement of 171€ (no advance purchase required for that price, but book in advance for availability).

@sue,

with regards to overnight trains.

dont forget you won't be "spending" a night in a hotel if you take an overnight train.

happy trails.