Rail pass vs. Train Tickets... NEED HELP!

jenny,

As you've probably seen in numerous posts, using a Railpass in Italy is rarely cost effective. Each of the places you're going are well served by trains and other public transit. This is all actually very easy, so not to worry....

Here are some thoughts on each of your routes.....

• Milan to Venice: I assume you're flying inbound to MXP? Buy your tickets when you arrive there, at the airport rail station. You'll need two tickets, one for the Malpensa Express to Milano Centrale and another from there to Venezia Santa Lucia.
• Venice to Florence: super easy! If you're wiling to commit to a specific train and departure time, you can buy tickets online up to 120 days before your travel date at considerable savings. I'd suggest buying from www.captaintrain.com as it's very user friendly, and they sell tickets both for Trenitalia and Italo trains. Note that your destination station will be Firenze S.M. Novella. Also note that the discounted tickets are usually non-refundable and non-changeable, so choose carefully before you hit the "Buy" button!
• Florence to the Cinque Terre: you'll first have to determine which of the five towns you're staying in. Again the trip is very easy, but it will involve one or two changes, depending on which trains you choose. It will be easier to offer more detailed advice when you've decided on which town you'll be staying in.
• Cinque Terre to Sorrento: this will be a slightly longer trip (but not excessive). Time your departure from your Cinque Terre town to connect with one of the direct trains from La Spezia Centrale to Roma Termini, and then onward to Napoli Centrale. There are several of the direct trains each day. Again, it will be easier to provide more detailed suggestions when the C.T. town is decided.
• Naples to Sorrento: the only rail option on that route is the Circumvesuviana commuter train which takes about an hour. Note that they have several routes, and Sorrento is on the same route as Pompeii. The train is a bit "rough around the edges" and has a reputation as a haven for pickpockets and scammers, but if you're vigilant and wearing a Money Belt, you shouldn't have any problems. If you have a "generous" travel budget, you could also arrange for a private transfer from Napoli Centrale to Sorrento, perhaps with the Monetti Taxi that's mentioned in the guidebook.

If you're willing to commit to specific trains, you can pre-purchase most of your tickets in advance, except for the Circumvesuviana. However it's not advisable to purchase the arrival day ticket in case your flight is delayed. If you miss the booked train for any reason, your ticket will be worthless and you'll have to buy another. On the trip from Florence to the Cinque Terre, you may be using Regionale trains on some segments, and it's easiest just to buy tickets for those locally using one of the Kiosks. DON'T forget to validate them prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines!

Good luck with your planning!

Milan --> Venice= €38.50
Venice--> Florence=€49.00
Florence --> CT (e.g. Monterosso) = from €14.50 to €21.50 (take the train in Florence SMN station)
CT (Monterosso)--> Naples = €102.20

(How do I get to Naples to Sorrento?) Circumvesuviana train (not part of the system) =€4
Sorrento--> Naples Circumvesuviana (not part of the system =€4)

Naples ---> Rome = €44

Above are the FULL BASE PRICES for Standard (or 2nd) class tickets.

If you know the exact date and time of travel, you can even save quite a bit by pre-purchasing discounted economy/super economy tickets online). However be aware that those tickets, once bought, are not refundable or exchangeable, therefore if you miss the exact train you book, you lose your money.

The total of the above FULL BASE PRICES (except for the Circumvesuviana which is a separate private rail system that would not be included in the rail pass anyhow) is €255.20 (about US$275 at today's exchange rate).

Therefore the above $275 is the maximum you will pay for all your trips (unless you want to travel 1st class, which I consider totally unnecessary since 2nd/standard class is already better than business class on an airplane).

So if your rail pass is more than $275 per person, you shouldn't bother to consider it.

Thank you for the advice!! We are landing in Milano-Linate, staying one night and then going to Venice. We are staying in Monterosso while in CT.

To compare with the ticket prices that Roberto provided (from www.trenitalia.com, the state railway operator), the cost of a 5-day Italy pass in 2nd class, with two or more traveling together, is $215 per adult plus reservation fees of approximately $50, or $265 total. Since you need seat reservations on 4 out of 5 travel days, the rail pass is not adding much convenience or much savings over buying tickets as you go. Bottom line, I would not choose it this time.

For an overview of schedules without prices attached, see the DB link at How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online. For instance, it's an easy way to view the connection options to or from Monterosso. But it does not reflect private operators such as the Naples-Sorrento Circumvesuviana or the Italo-brand of trains that Ken mentioned.

jenny,

As you're using Linate, you won't be using the Malpensa Express. Linate is relatively close to the city so you can use either Taxi or Bus to reach Milano Centrale (check the Linate website for the options), and then buy your tickets at Milano Centrale for the trip to Venice.

The Biglietteria (ticket office) is on the ground level of the station (tracks are two levels up). There's usually a LONG queue at the ticket office but there are Kiosks adjacent to the ticket office, and that would be the easiest method to buy tickets. The Kiosks have an English language option and they're very easy to use.

Thanks for the tips!!! Should I go to Milano Centrale to purchase my tickets for Venice as soon as I land, or go on to my hotel and buy them the next day?

Jenny, Ken already gave you that information in his answer to your original question.

Stop stressing over trains. They're not nearly as difficult to use as you might think.

If you are staying over night in Milan, you should buy the ticket in advance (print at home). It can take some time buying them at the station unless you are brave enough to try using one of the vending machines (actually, quite easy).

As Ken and Roberto pointed out, you can save a lot buying in advance, as well as saving vacation time doing fun things instead of standing in ticket lines at train stations. It may sound intimidating to buy nonrefundable tickets as they become worthless if you miss the train, but nobody seems to have a problem doing this with airlines. Train stations are a lot easier to get to than airports.

In addition to www.trenitalia.com and www.capitainetrain.com, you might also look at www.italiarail.com. It is probably the easiest to navigate as it is a US travel agency, although they do charge a small commission on ticket purchases.

Jenny,

It wasn't clear from your original post that you'd be staying overnight in Milan, or that you'd be arriving at Linate rather than Malpensa. That changes my previous suggestions slightly.

As you'll be staying overnight in Milan, this is one case where buying tickets in advance is a good idea as you'll save some money. I'd suggest a mid-to-late morning departure so that you arrive in Venice in early-to-mid afternoon, as your room in Venice should have been serviced by then and therefore available for immediate check-in. The tickets you buy will come with the compulsory reservations, but you must use only the train listed on the ticket, as the reservations are specific to train, date and departure time.

You might find it more convenient to choose a hotel close to Milano Centrale, and there are lots to choose from. You might have a look at Hotel Garda which is a very convenient five minute walk from the station. I've stayed there in the past and found the rooms to be very comfortable.

Jenny, I strongly advise you to buy at least your tickets from Milan to Venice now. People have stated that you can save a lot of money with the advance tickets, but did not say how much. I see there are still €9 Super Economy tickets left on many days in April. And from Venice to Florence for €17. The only downside to these Super Economy fares is that they are for a specific train---if you miss it, the ticket is not good on another. So just treat it like an airline ticket and make sure you don't miss the train you have reserved.

The tickets are very easy to buy on any of the websites mentioned above. I personally am most comfortable with Trenitalia and Italo, but my sister prefers Capitainetrain. You may need to advise your credit card company before you buy that you will be making a foreign purchase so they do not block it. And make sure you know the right stations---Venezia Santa Lucia for Venice and Firenze S.M.L ( Santa Maria Novella) for Florence.

The advantage of doing this now, before you leave home, is not just the savings. You will also be avoiding the possible stress of rail station ticket machines or standing in line to see an agent. At home, you can take all the time you need to figure it out, or come back here to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Lola makes some good points but the Trenitalia site will time you out after ten or fifteen minutes.

Thank you all so very much for the advice- this is all making it so much easier than I originally thought!

jenny,

Thanks for the clarification on which Cinque Terre town you'll be staying in. The train trip is very easy, and I'd suggest departures from Firenze S.M. Novella at either 10:28 (arr. 12:52) or 12:28 (arr. 14:52). Travel time on both those is a very quick 2H:24M, with one change at Pisa Centrale. Regarding purchase of tickets, this is what I'd suggest....

• Florence to Pisa segment - this is via Regionale Veloce so just buy your ticket from a Kiosk when you arrive in Florence. It doesn't become "usable" until it's validated on the day of travel, but DON'T forget to validate it or you'll risk hefty fines!
• Pisa to Monterosso segment - this is via InterCity train on both those departures, which has compulsory seat reservations. Buy your ticket online from Trenitalia or Captain Train.

The change time in Pisa Centrale is 14 minutes in each case, so that should allow you plenty of time for the connection.

hey jenny take at look at this site, it helped me a great deal. i live in the midwest in the usa and had no experience with trains or subways. Some of the folks that live in the bigger cities have a great advantage when it comes to mass transit travel.

http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm#.VpPUSMtIiM9 We used the trains from Pisa to CT and then while in the CT we stayed in a village outside the CT and went back and forth each day to the CT and to other areas that provided hiking trails. You quickly get good but the website was really helpful. On the days we used the train I would visit the trenitalia site the night before and would write down the trains going and coming on my route. That way if we missed a train and could not locate a schedule (i had no phone only wifi/ipad) we would know the next train to watch for. It is very helpful to have tht info in hand as keeping the train numbers straight was tuff, we used the times they passed each station as a reference. Our B&B gave us a train schedule for the area but it was small print and took me a week to realize how it worked. You'll see them around the CT. At first you will struggle knowing when to get off! The times were pretty close. Also know that the trains will use the italian names for villages and stations, so you will need to know the italian names. You will learn tht when you search the trenitalia site. The Naples Sorrento part of your trip presents different issues but the website I mentioned addresses it. good luck, we had a blast over there and the people were very helpful in the villages and on the trains.