P to P vs PASS based on my itinerary

Wow! That's a lot of traveling.

Without knowing which stop you're using in Cinque terre it's hard to make a comparison.

Without the last two stops I get a total on the trenitalia site of 268.25 US. dollars which is about 278 CDN each. With your rail pass you'll have to pay 10 euros each for at least 4 legs of your journey and possibly 6 depending on your last two stops.

In my experience it never pays to get a rail pass while in Italy. It looks like you'll be there for 18 days so you'll qualify for some discounts if you purchase all your tickets when you arrive. There are discounts for 7 and 15 day advance purchase. If you push back going from Florence to Sorrento by 1 day you can save 11 euros each. By the way, to get to Sorrento you take the train to Naples and change to the commuter line. To get back to Rome from Sorrento you'll take the commuter back to Naples. You'll save 7 euros each on that leg. Just on those two legs you save 18 euros. Check the trenitalia site and really do the math before committing to a pass. Buying all of your big tickets at the start of your trip will save you some money and you won't have to worry about finding a travel agency while on your trip. You can get tickets at the train station or any travel agency displaying the trenitalia logo. They shouldn't charge you anything for the service.

Donna

Thanks Donna.

Yes it is a lot of traveling but I think it should be ok as we have some days where we will be relaxing. Most of our train trips will be in the morning if that makes any difference to cost?!?!

We will be staying in Vernazza while in Cinque Terre.

I didn't include the smaller trains from La Spezia to Vernazza nor the Naples to Sorrento in this list. My guess is they will not be very expensive.

I tried to look up everything on trenitalia using the "base" cost but I came up with a much higher figure of about 829 euros total (2 people).

My friend who I will be meeting in Brescia said we can buy all the tickets with her when we get there but I didn't know if it would make sense to do it or not.

Maybe my calculations on trenitalia were way off because the pass seems like a much better deal at approx $670 compared to the $1,000 I get from point to point.

I agree with Donna, that it is near impossible to beat P to P with a rail pass.

I use to plug in all the fares into a spreadsheet. The rail pass never wins for me. The main problem being that there are so many different types of trains and fares. And some legs are better by Bus, your Sorrento to Rome for instance, is better by Bus.

The rail pass also locks you into a "use it or lose it" set up, and nothing ever goes according to plan in Italy. One of those friends might just be driving to one of your destinations while you are there.

Italy is very different in its mass transportation system than what we are use to. We are use to buying tickets way ahead of time because trains sell out or there is a deep discount for buying early.
We've never had a problem with sold out trains in Italy. Our only problem is figuring out Which Train, and What Track, we just bought a ticket for when we are there at the station. Knowing a little Italian here goes a long way.

Thanks for the info.

When you say the bus from Sorrento to Rome is better, do you mean it is cheaper, faster, easier or??

I guess I should look into the bus system a little more as I have only been look at trains.

I used the base fare too and got a lot less than 1000 dollars. this was including the slower trains like the circumvesuviana.

Here are the prices I got.
Venice to Brescia= 10.35 slower train, half hour difference

Brescia- Florence- 48.50

Florence- Pisa 5.70 one way 11.40 RT

Florence- Naples- 71.00

Naples - Sorrento- 10.00ish each way

Naples - Rome 44.oo

Rome- Pescara 11.70 slower train, half hour difference.

Pescara-Brescia- 51.30

Brescua- Varnazza- 13.60

Varnazza- Milan- 22.30

I used the slower cheaper trains when the travel time was 30 minutes or less difference. With the last two cities it comes to 304.15 each. That's not including the discounts for 7 or 15 day advance purchase.

Donna

"When you say the bus from Sorrento to Rome is better, do you mean it is cheaper, faster, easier or"

All of those reasons.
So the day you get into Sorrento, you buy this bus ticket to Rome. Everyone else also knows its the best deal. The buses are always full.

Thanks Donna and Francis. I appreciate the info on the bus...I will check that out for sure.

Donna, I used the Venice to Brescia trip as a test to see if I could get the same figures.

I see the regional trains that you mention which is about 30 mins slower but it doesn't give me a price. It says N/A.

It is quite possible I am entering something wrong but I am not sure. Most of them say 27 euros for one person.

Also Donna, are your figures in euros or in US/CDN dollars?

US/CDN....? Like they are the same currency?

Hey! We're still three cents ahead of you. And better at Hockey.

-diabolical laughter in the background.

Haha better at hockey?!? ;)

I will let you think that!! :p

For the slower trains you'll only be able to enter a date within the next week in order to see the prices. If you put in a date for June 16th you should be able to see the prices for the slower trains.

the trenitalia site gives the prices in euros. 304 euros is equal to about 368 U.S. dollars.

Do the math before deciding on either option. Eurail is a reseller and puts a mark up on all tickets so check the prices carefully and don't forget to add 10 euros for each seat reservation that you'll need. This is not included in the pass price but is included in the price listed on the trenitalia site. There are no additional markups for the tickets bought through trenitalia or at the train station. Right now it looks like you'll need at least 4 seat reservations, more if you opt for some of the faster trains instead of the regional ones.

With the calculations I did it looks like P-T-P tickets are still cheaper. Don't forget, if you buy all your tickets on the first day of travel you'll qualify for discounts which will save you even more money so factor this in when considering which tickets to get.

donna

Thank you so much Donna.

Your help and explanations are greatly appreciated.

I think we will stick to our orginal plan of buying point to point for our whole trip once we get there.

As I said this is my first trip to Europe so I am being a little anxious/paranoid about everything right now hoping I don't spend a bunch more money than I need to.

:)