How does a eurail pass work in Italy

http://www.trenitalia.com/ At the center top of the page, click on the British flag... Not knowing your exact dates, I've picked a date in May and found 4 fares for you that TOTAL €79,00 including reservations (approx. $120). And I'm not talking about the pokey trains. Compare that to a 2nd class 3 day/2 month pass that costs $212. Plus reservations. Trenitalia won't show their summer schedules until sometime in June, so you can't look too far ahead yet. Those fares are MINI fares - advance purchase, with restrictions, and 2nd class. (when you're looking at trains you'll have to choose a train then click 'continue' - For Each Train - in order to see what discount fares are available; MINI fares come in a sliding scale - the cheaper ones sell out first)

Alex, To begin with, you've listed at least four different rail trips, to be covered by a "three day in two month" Railpass. Whether you need reservations (or not) will depend on which train you choose. The "fast" trains such as the EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita always require a reservation, so you'll have to pay separately for that. You can determine which trains require a reservation by checking the schedules on the Trenitalia website. One important point to note - DO NOT travel on a train that has a compulsory reservation unless you have a reservation for that particular train, as you will be fined on the spot and it wont' be cheap! When the Conductor comes along, present both your Railpass and the reservation card. Regarding "how to use the Pass", you'll need to get it validated prior to first use by presenting the Pass and your Passport to the agent at the first station you use. You may find it very helpful to have a look at the "Railpasses" section on this website, and download the free PDF Rail Guide (click the tab at the top of this page). Cheers!

Due to time and some other issues, we are only going to have a day in Florence. So the Venice to Florence and Florence to Venice trip will be on the same day. This is another thing that was confusing. Do we have all day to use trains on the pass or only one trip.

Each leg will require a separate reservation and reservation fee. And, of course, reservations lock you into a schedule. Only the Regional trains do not require reservations which means that you can simple get on and off all day long. You do need to more homework. For what you are suggesting I doubt if a rail pass will save money. Italian trains are very reasonable, if not cheap, and if you take advantage of the early purchase discounts, the p2p will beat the pass.

A day is a day. If you have the pass, as long as you buy reservations as needed you could do nothing all day but ride between A and B and B and A as many times as you wanted on one pass day, if you wanted. Or take all the trains around in a circle around Bologna. But as Frank said, unless you do a lark like that, well planned P2P will save you $$$. Where passes may save you money is when you take many long trips in a short period of time.

Alex while readin your plans I was also struck with the idea that point-to-points tickets would be a more reasonable and less expensive option. Visit www.trenitalia.com and do various scenarios with routes to determine your trip options and costs. Do not put in your real dates: do dates closer to the current date because otherwise all the options won't show up. Keep us posted!

I have looked at the point to point tickets, and that was what I was originally going to go with. But I was told that trenitalia does not take non european credit cards, and the australian site charges a commission, which makes it more expensive then the pass. If I can book through trenitalia, then I will definitely be going with point to point.

Is there a reason why you wouldn't feel comfortable getting the tickets the day you arrive? You can either purchase them at the ticket booth or at the self-serve kiosks. You wouldnt get the advance purchase discount for the ticket you use that day but if you buy them all when you arrive, you should be able to save on the ones for later in the trip.

You might want to give trenitalia a try. there been quite a few recent success stories on the travel sites about booking with non-EU cards.

Thanks. When the new timetable comes out, I'll try with Trenitalia. It will hopefully work. If not, I think I'll still get pp tickets. I wasn't sure about buying them on the day, because due to some unforeseen circumstances, we only have a limited time and want to make sure we get the trains which are earliest and quickest. We're going to be in Italy around the beginning of July, so its going to be fairly busy, and while it might not be a problem, I was hoping to make we got the right trains. Does anyone know when in June the new timetable comes out?

June 12 is when the schudle changes. It will probably be loaded around the middle to the end of May. Try after May 18

Italian train tickets are very reasonably priced. I would think point to point would be the way to go. I returned from a two week trip to Italy in late April. We had no problems buying our tickets with American debit or credit cards in any station...small or large....we even used the ticket machine in Milan and it took my debit card.
What I like to do it when I get to a town for a three day stay before I take the taxi to my hotel I go to the ticket window and buy my ticket for the next town that I am visiting in three days time. that way I am all "set." If you miss the train out of town or decide to stay longer, the tickets are good for several weeks (it says so on the top of the ticket....how long it can be used for). Just make sure you validate your ticket in the yellow box at the train station before you board.

Well, to answer/respond to a couple of posters... I'd rather spend €79 than potentially €209...and not even have to bother with ticket machines or agents. You can buy a lot of wine and pasta with the savings ;-)