I am confused about whether or not to buy the Italy Pass. I plan to travel from Rome to Venice, verona, pisa, cinque terre, florence then back to rome. If I buy the pass can you ride the fast trains Frecciarossa still?
or is it better to just buy each leg of the long trips, i.e. rome to venice, verona to pisa, florence to rome separately then the shorter legs point-to-point?
Posted by
California 🦋
5222 posts
6Nixons,
You may be better off buying point-to-point tickets in advance at considerable savings.
You can check train schedules at trenitalia.com
When using the trenitalia website, you'll need the names of the stations in Italian:
- Rome = Rome Termini
- Florence = Firenze S. M. Novella
- Venice = Venezia S. Lucia
- Verona = Verona Porta Nuova
You may want to refer to this informative website:www.seat61.com/Italy-trains
When are you planning to travel to Italy?
You may buy freccia train tickets 120 days in advance for best savings! (Rome >> Venice & Florence >> Rome)
For the Venice to Verona journey, you may take the Regionale Veloce which is a fast train but less expensive than the Freccia trains.
Some of the tickets you'll need are for Regionale trains and there is no advantage to buying in advance as the price does not change.
Posted by
Chicago
7879 posts
no need for a pass just buy point to point for the longer distances as early as possible.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
You might save a bit of back-tracking by visiting Florence earlier: Rome to Venice, Verona, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, then back to Rome.
You've used the terms "separately" and "point-to-point" but they mean the same thing to me. They main difference is that tickets for the longer trips and faster trains are naturally more expensive at full fare, and therefore offer greater savings if you book further ahead at discounted, nonrefundable rates.
You can use a Eurail Italy Pass on the fast Frecce trains, but they require a €10 seat reservation fee. Similarly, InterCity trains require a slightly cheaper reservation fee. Only Regional trains don't require or accept reservations. If you had a 4-day pass with group discount, plus seat reservations for your longest trips, the cost would just break even with buying the 4 longest full-fare, 2nd class tickets on the route above. The shorter tickets are very cheap. So no savings or added convenience on this route.