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Rail Passes in Italy

Already have an itenary and would like to travel 1st class; What rail options would you recommend for the following:
Arrive Rome need to get to Venice,
In Venice for 3 days and off to Cince terre (Vernazzo) for 3 days. Need to get to La Spezia where we will be picking up a car and driving to Florence, in Florence for 4 days drop the car off and off to Sorrento for 4 days, leave Sorrento and Back to Rome for 4 days. Would like to travel 1st class on the rail. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Posted by
6898 posts

The intinerary looks fine. On Rome to Venice, take the Eurostar. It's a 4.5hr. trip with no train changes. From Venice to the CT, most Eurostar trips will begin in Venezia Mestre (one stop from Venezia Santa Lucia) and go through Florence and back up through Pisa and La Spezia. There are some runs that go through Milan and some that go through Prato and Viareggio. More rarely, one or two go through Bologna and Parma. La Spezia is 4 stops south of Vernazza. It looks like you will rent a car and hold onto it throughout your 4 day visit to Florence. If correct, you should be aware that a tourist car in Florence is a serious liability unless you have a surefire parking spot lined up. Parking is a big problem. You can walk around the entire historic areas a lot quicker than you can drive and park.

Posted by
8700 posts

First, do not buy a railpass. Train travel in Italy is relatively inexpensive. For the trips you'll be taking, point-to-point tickets should be cheaper than a pass. Either buy all your tickets when you get to Rome or buy tickets 1-2 days ahead of each trip. Ask for Amica fares. If seats are available, you'll get a 20% discount.

Second, the fastest way from Florence to Sorrento would be to take the train to Naples (either direct or with a change in Rome) and then the private commuter Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento. Those trains depart from the lower level of the Napoli Centrale station.