Frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of people on this site constantly discouraging travellers from using a train pass in Italy and recommending point-to-point tickets. Italian trains may be cheaper than in some other nation, but are not that cheap! There are times when a pass can get you to your destinations for much less that a P-to-P ticket. You just have to do the math, and not just relay on the Rick Steves price map. Calculate the cost of your itinerary, especially if you plan long-distance trips, and use the pass for those, as the pass may well be cheaper. For example, a couple using a 2nd.class three-day Pass Saver gets three train trips at $60 day, per person. All you have to find (from Trenitalia.com) is a ticket for less than $75 a trip, including the 5-to-10 Euro reservation cost. a pass requires, except on regional trains. Examples? Based on 1.37 exhange rate, a Rome-Palermo ticket goes for between $89-139; a return Palermo-Napoli (to visit the Amalfi Coast) is $65-73; Napoli-Venice is $78-166; Venice to the Cinque Terre is $88-120, and so on. It seems to me that the pass can pay for itself if you use it right! Just don't use it for a Florence-Pisa trip, or Roma-Orvieto. You can buy those tickets on the go, yes.
Posted by
Boulder, CO, USA
719 posts
Wow!, Donna, well said, that's impressive...
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, USA
306 posts
I will agree with you on one point, people should do the math before making a decision. From my personal experience, however, every time I have done the math point to point is cheaper. Sure, you can cherry pick a few examples to make it work but I think the reality is when people do the math for their own itinerary point to point will come out the winner nearly every time.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7569 posts
I have done the math a number of times for Italy, and agree that you should take the time to investigate. However, for the trips I take, it is difficult to make a pass work, and most would find that the case as well. I agree that by taking long cross country hops that a pass can be better, but the vast majority of people on this board do shorter hops (Rome to Florence to Venice to Verona to Milan/Lake Como to the CT) in Northern Italy, where a pass usually comes up to be more. If I were to do Palermo to Rome to Venice to CT to Naples, yeah a pass works, just not an itinerary I would normally do, I like shorter train rides.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Just for the sake of making things a little easier I'm going to use the costs in euros which is what is used in Italy. Saver pass is 41 euros per day. Rome-Palermo= $89-$139 = 61-95 euros. Palermo- Naples = $65-$73 = 44-50 euros
Naples- Venice= $78-166 = 53-114 euros With a rail pass you must pay a reservation fee of up to 10 euros per leg. For the Rome to Palermo leg that's an additional 20 euros on top of the 41 euro fee you've quoted. That's 61 euros plus the time to make the reservations at the train station. If you take the same train and book the mini fare it is only 65 euros with no extra time needed at the station to make the seat reservation. For the Naples to Palermo it's 32 euros for the mini fare. For the rail pass you'll need to add 10 euros to the 41 making that cost 51 euros. For the Naples to Venice leg you can get a mini fare for as low as 59 euros. With your pass it's going to cost 61 euros. I didn't look up the Cinque terre leg because you don't mention which town you're using as an example. So my math works out to 156 euros. Your math works out to (including reservation fee) 173 euros. I used the mini fares for comparison which are available with advanced purchase. If you use the base fare most of the time you'll still save money with PTP tickets over a pass. You're right, you must do the math but most of the time a pass won't save you money. Donna
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
The standard line I've seen here (and one that I've repeated) is that travelers should not assume that rail passes will save them money. In fact, in most cases, p2p tickets are less expensive. That's why everyone should do the math based on their own situation. That remains rock solid advice.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16338 posts
In my mind, a good trip avoids long one-day trips like Naples to Venice. Break it up with stops enroute, or plan a more compact trip to begin with. A trip with shorter train hops, some on regional trains (like going to Cinque Terre) uses inexpensive p2p tickets and will rarely be cost effective with a pass. But yes, always do the math!