I was under the impression that you could buy the passes online and print the ticket out but it appears that they have to ship them. I leave too soon to have them shipped. Is it a problem to purchase them at the station?
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
84 posts
I was just looking on the TrenItalia site myself and found this:
"Through the Online ticket desk you can buy your train ticket; you can pay by credit card and the tickets can be sent directly to your home by recorded delivery (for a 3.25 euro charge) or you can collect them from any self-service machine using your reservation number (PNR) provided by the system. "
So I assume you can purchase online and then go to a ticket machine and enter a reservation number to print the ticket? Has anyone had experience with this?
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/area_clienti/con_trasp/viaggio2.html
Posted by
Monroe, WA, USA
151 posts
Hi Cynthia-
There is a difference between Rail passes and individual tickets. Passes need to be shipped to you to have in hand before you arrive in Europe.
I understand that the individual tickets are more flexible.
My family has decided on individual point to point tickets for our trip this summer. We purchased a rail pass last time and did not find it to be a better value on our route (Italy mostly).
Best of luck.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Cynthia,
Here is a condensed quote quote from the FAQs at eurail.com: "If you are already in Europe you can buy a Eurail Pass at one of the main train stations. Please note that prices in Europe are about 20% higher than outside, and not all Passes are available for sale in Europe."
Note, however, that depending upon your routes and which countries you'll be visiting, point-to-point tickets are often cheaper than a pass, particularly if most of your rides are short ones. For trains that require reservations it's good to buy tickets a day or two ahead of time.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Jen, you are correct....you can pay for them on line and then use the PNR that comes with your e-mail confirmation to use one of the self-service machines...make sure to validate the ticket once the machine spits it out. Even better, many of the trains offer the "ticketless" option..bring along your e-mail confirmation (coach and seat numbers assigned), then just show it to the conductor. They'll check your PNR on a PDA and run off a receipt on a tiny little printer.