If I have a Eurail Global Pass, do I need to make a train reservation to ride the highspeed train from Monterosso to Sorrento? Also, are reservations needed for other highspeed trips like Lucerne to Como, or Seville to Madrid? Is there a web page that explains when reservations are required and when an additional fee is charged.
Thanks.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5649 posts
Some of your questions were answered earlier.I know, it's easy to get brain overload when you're planning an extended trip. Various passes don't work in some regional trains. I'm sure folks more informed than I will jump in here. Safe travels!
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1145 posts
Hello Larry,
I don't have any insight into the current state of the Eurail Pass but I can tell you that the ends of this trip are not going to be high speed rail but will be regional rail lines and the high speed rail will run between the big cities.
Your local connections will probably be Monterosso to Florence (this will probably require changes in La Spezia and also Pisa) and then Florence to Naples is covered by high speed rail and then Naples to Sorrento is covered by the very local Circumvesuviana train.
Reservations - including seats - are required on all high speed rail but the majority of local trains are not reserved can't sell out.
Hopefully someone with knowledge of the Eurail Pass that's more current than my decades old experience can fill in the process of making reservations and booking tickets on local trains using the pass.
The Man in Seat 61 is a great resource for trains in Europe and he has some information on Eurail passes that may help:
https://www.seat61.com/how-to-use-a-eurail-pass.htm
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7229 posts
All high speed trains require a reservation
Your route from Monterosso to Naples will be partly on regional train and maybe a fast train
Rail pass not usually beneficial at all in Italy
High speed trains in Spain also require reservations
Train from Lucerne to Como probably mostly regional
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33994 posts
Luzern to Como S Giovanni usually involves a change at Arth-Goldau just outside Luzern because Luzern is a dead end station. You can then have the EuroCity (EC) train straight through to Milan which stops at Como S Giovanni just after the border or you can take a regional train through Switzerland and change at Lugano to another regional train to cross the border to Como S Giovanni.
If you do the second choice with a Eurail Global there would be no extra charge. But you have to change trains that second time in Lugano.
If you do the first choice you need a railpass seat reservation for the portion of the EC train is in Italy, probably 10€ per person or more.
If you had just bought the EC train ticket with any discounts the seat reservation would have been included at no charge,
This is the case with all Italian trains above the level of the lowest Regionale and Regionale Veloce. A fee per leg on all D, EC, IC, and higher trains.
But you cannot ride the excellent Italo trains with a Eurail pass - they don't accept it.
A rail pass isn't usually the best choice in Italy.
Posted by
Wengen
2535 posts
If you intend to reserve trains before you leave for Europe than forget about the Eurail Pass. Just book each trip individually in advance.
See the excellent seat61.com website for all the details.
An Eurail Pass is for people who want to maintain flexibility to that last moment. So the intended way for you to use it is to go to the station, make any reservations you need there, and then just travel.