EuroRail and getting specific train tickets

A rail pass usually never pays off in Italy as PTP tickets are so cheap. You can check the trenitalia site for the trains and times you want and see if eurail offers them. I would suggest buying your tickets when you get to Italy as the trains never sell out and you won't have to pay a fee for them. Donna

I bought 7 PTP train tickets for my husband and I's upcoming trip to Italy as it was less expensive than Eurail. I like to book ahead so I don't have to spend any minute of my precious time in Italy doing it :) Some trains (usually longer trips like 2+ hours) give you reserved seats on a specific train. The other, shorter train trips are just open seating and you can use on multiple local trains (you just stamp the ticket at the train station before boarding).

"You can check the trenitalia site for the trains and times you want and see if eurail offers them." . . . . ¶ In the first place, Eurail doesn't offer point-point tickets. If you are thinking of RailEurope, no, they don't offer all trains, just some of the most expensive ones at a markup over the in-Italy price. Look up the trains on Trenitalia so you will know when the run, but buy the p-p tickets in Italy.

to buy specific days/times, wait until you get to Italy. Then go to the kiosk in almost any train station (except the smallest ones like in the Cinque Terra) and use it to buy the tickets you want. The machines take credit cards, and if you can use an ATM you can use these machines; they have an english menu.

I understand the eurail doesn't offer PTP tickets but Judy can do a comparison by checking both sites to see the prices and the schedules offered. This will help her make her decision. It looks like Judy will be taking mostly regional trains which are a lot cheaper on the trenitalia site and probably not offered by eurail. My advice is to get your tickets in Italy. There is no discount for buying regional trains early so you don't lose anything by waiting. Donna

Again, reading between the lines since the question is not clear but making a couple of assumptions. If you have a Eurail three day pass AND the train you want to take REQUIRES a seat reservation then you buy that reservation from a ticket window by showing the pass and paying extra for the reservation (Which is one of the reasons that passes are not the value they once were.) That reservation will then tell you the train, car, seat, and time. IF the train does not require a reservation - common for regionals and some ICs, then you just get on and take a vacant seat. Be sure to validate your pass for that day...... For what appears to be your travel plan most of us would think that a 3 day pass would not be cheaper.

Judy, I've sent you a Private Message; to get it, just look to the upper right of this page and click on "My Profile"...

Hi Judy[INVALID]-I don't think you want a railpass for your trip. You have a couple of journeys on the nice fast ES trains (Rome to Florence, and down to Naples for Sorrento), and if you use a pass on those you have to pay a supplement and pay for a seat reservation in addition. The rest of your trains are short hops on regional trains and not worth covering with a railpass. Here are some representative prices from Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.com). Rome to Florence, 1.5 hours, 42 euro in 2d class (including the seat reservatio); 66 in first class. Florence to Lucca, all of 5,20 euro for this journey of an hour and 20 minutes. Lucca to Pisa, 30 minutes and 2,40 euro. And so on. You can buy your tickets for the ES train from Rome to Florence a day or so ahead. For the regional trains, you can buy your ticket at the station just before of your journey. The machines are in Engish and very easy to use. Make sure you stamp it (validate) before boarding the train, as these tickets are not for any specific train. Do you have the Rick Steves Italy book? It is very good about explaining trains, schedules, buying tickets, and any little tricks you might like to know.