Responding to the purveyors of point-to-point tickets, let me point out that the so-called mini fares bought in advance disappear rather quickly, and Trenitalia doesn't always accept American credit cards. On top of that, advance tickets tie you to that departure only, and if you can't make it, your money is gone! What happens if you decide to stay one more day in a place you like? What if you or your companion are sick one morning and can't stomach a train ride? What if you run into a strike? Again, your money is gone! But with a pass, you are free to take any train any day, and need only to buy a seat reservation - if required - at the station. No big deal. No more difficult than buying a ticket there. The Trenitalia pass I previously mentioned, a second-class Pass Saver for two or more people, is valid two months and start at $60 a day for three days -$180 per person - declining in price for the next seven days to $330 for 10 days, which is a bargain at $33 a day even if you add a few euros for a reservation. The pass is also great for one-day return trips. Look at how many people ask on this site about Rome-Pompei day-trips! They need fast Rome-Naples and Naples-Rome rides, which would cost them 90 euros or, at today's 1.45 exchange rate, $130. With a pass at $33 a day, valid 24 hours, even adding 20 euros ($29) for a return reservation makes the total return trip $62 - half what you'd pay if you bought a ticket at the station. Saving $132 for a couple would buy them a nice dinner! Even better if you are a family, as the pass can be used by up to five people. More examples? A short Rome-Florence ride costs 45 euros, equal to $62. A pass day at $33 plus a 10-euro reservation comes to $47.50. It doesn't seem to me that passes are, as someone recently called them on this site, always "a waste of money. To repeat: do the math!
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
People should make their own decision based on prices. There are many advantages to PTP tickets, one being they are usually cheaper than a rail pass. If you wish to buy a pass for yourself, you should. I think most of the users of this site have found that a pass is not cost effective for the travel that we do and will continue to by PTP tickets for the convenience and savings. When you add in the fact that the mini fares are available and that trenitalia is now taking most North American credit cards it makes it a better value. If people are set in their plans and know the days they will travel they can buy the tickets they need, not worry about getting to the station early enough to book a seat and save some money in the process. As for the mini fares selling out quickly, I just looked at the trenitalia site and there are mini fares still available for this coming Tuesday on both the trains from Rome to Napes and Rome to Venice. People still looking to save some money can do it if they look around. The amount of the discount is dependent on the time of travel but you can certainly save a lot of money this way. Everyone should do the math before they decide on PTP tickets or a pass to see which is more cost effective for them. Donna
Posted by
California USA
4210 posts
We occasionally buy a second class Saver Pass (about once in every 3 trips) when we travel to Europe. We have been doing for years what Guy proposes. We do the math ahead of time, carefully check ptp train fares, and then see if we can save $$ by buying a rail pass. We will not be buying one this year even though one of our distances is fairly long b/c none of our other trips within one country will be that great a distance.
Posted by
Texan in CA
4424 posts
IF you want complete spontaneity, then yes, perhaps a pass is the way to go, but sometimes point-to-point would be better - depends on the routes and the countries involved. Until very recently, Italian passes WERE a waste of money for most people...the price structure changed, making the passes more attractive...BUT now with the MINI fares that are available - those are a GREAT deal for many routes. Before I leave home, I know where I'm going so I can save tons of money with advance-purchase tickets; my itinerary would be thrown off if I loitered in one place extra days, but I'm familiar enough with where I'm going that I've never had a problem with wanting to stay longer. I'm not 'trapped' in my itinerary. Our advance purchase tickets are usually so cheap that if, for some reason, we couldn't use them, we still come out FAR AHEAD in the long run than having never bought them. In 13 years of traveling we've never lost that bet. MOST of us respond to first-timers, or to creatures of habit, who purchase passes because they were the automatic thing to do years ago...but not now. We didn't use to have access to €49 tickets from London to Berlin. There didn't use to be such fast trains running up and down Italy that charge for every ride (meaning standing in lines, or heading for the ticket machines for reservations when before you just hopped on the train...). For most people here, passes ARE a bad idea. When they realize they can spend half the money on online tickets, they do that instead with many thanks! As most of us ALWAYS say...Do the Math! An FYI - use THIS site for your Italian train tickets...