I read that there is a Rail Pass Saver. There are four of us traveling Rome/Florence/Cinque Terra/Venice/Tuscan hill towns. Many short hops. Is there rail pass saver like a hop on hop off type of thing? As many rides as you want as long as you are all traveling together??
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Rail passes are almost never a good bargain when traveling in Italy. Before you buy any type of pass do all the research. Use the official site for trenitalia: http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD to compare prices and options. If you purchase your tickets in advance you can take advantage of the mini fares which can save you up to 60% depending on when you buy them. This is a great deal if your travel dates are set, which with hotel reservations they should be. When checking the prices be sure to adjust the time and the date to within the month. Be sure to do all the math before deciding one way or the other. Also, with a rail pass be sure to add in the additional charges for seat reservations. These charges are already included in the trenitalia prices so you don't have to add them there. The fees are 10 euros for higher speed trains and 3-4 euros for slower trains. This does not include the regional trains where there are no seat reservations. Donna
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32222 posts
Jan, For travel in Italy, a "Rail Pass Saver" will NOT provide "hop on / hop off" fares unless you only travel on the slower Regionale trains. If you try that on one of the "premium" trains which have compulsory reservations, you'll be fined on the spot, and it won't be cheap! You might find it very helpful to have a look at This Excellent Website, as it has a lot of information on rail travel in Italy. You may also want to download the The free PDF Rail Guide from this website (look in the lower right corner for the link). Happy travels!
Posted by
Toledo
653 posts
Jan, there used to be a 2nd=class pass that could be used by up to five people for 20 trips or 3000 kilometers, but it hasn't been around for a while. You only needed to show it and have it stamped on the train, unless you wanted to reserve a seat. I'm very nostalgic for it.