Train from Tirano

Thanks so much for the information. No, we're not entirely sure about the Eurail passes - we just starting to research that. We just thought it would be easier than point to point tickets. You said they don't make so much sense in Italy.....can you expand on that a little. Thanks.

Sue, if you only have two nights for Switzerland before heading to Italy, I suggest you pick Luzern rather than Interlaken, which Is out of the way and would involve considerably more train time. From Luzern you can choose some fun and interesting mountain excursions like Rigi or Pilatus for panoramic views, as well as enjoy the charm of the city itself. From Tirano, you take a regional train to Milan to catch the ES train to Florence. A Eurail pass will be good on both trains, but you will need to pay for reservations on the fat ES train from amilan tomFlorence. Are you sure you want to use Eurail passes? They do not work all that well in Italy, pice-wise. You will need an overnight somewhere along the route from Luzern to Milan. Either Pontresina in Switzerland ( less expensive than St. moritz) or Varenna in Italy (1.5 hours past Tirano) would be a good choice.

Depending on where you are going in Italy, a railpass may not be a good option because: for the fast ES trains, such as between Milan and Florence, you must pay for seat reservations at 10 euros each. If you can score Super Economy tickets, you pay only 9 euros total, including seat reservation. Once the Super Economy tickets are gone, the price goes up to 19 euros, then 29 euros, either of which is still probably better than the cost of a "pass day" plus reservation fee. I hope that explanation makes sense.

I'm not Lola, but I'll try to help. The advantage of a Eurail Pass is supposed to be saving time, saving money, and having flexibility. But in Italy, the trains are relatively cheap, so you rarely save money (particularly if second class trains are fine for you; if you're over 26, you have to buy a first class Eurail Pass). Then there's the issue of reservations. For regional trains, no reservations are needed; but, these are very cheap (usually €5-10), so a pass is definitely a bad value. For faster trains, reservations are compulsory and cost €10 per train, ON TOP of the cost of your Eurail Pass. Meaning, you can't just hop on any train; you have to buy the reservation for that train, or get fined. But, when you buy a single ticket (say, Rome to Venice) you pick a specific train, and the reservation is included in the purchase price. You can get advance tickets on-line for as little as €9 (yes, cheaper than the reservation). However, these are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Or you can buy full price tickets without restrictions, at any time up to departure of the train. As I said, these are not that expensive, so unless you're taking a fast train every day, it's hard to make a Eurail Pass pay off for Italy. And since you have to get reservations for many trains anyway, this removes the time saving and flexiblity advantage of a pass However, a pass just for Switzerland (not Eurail, but a national Swiss one) is a different matter. This not only covers regular trains, but gives discounts on mountain lifts and coversmuseum admissions and some local transit. Most people seem to find that one of these (and there are different kinds, so you have to research) is a good deal.

Don't forget to check also Italo trains between Milano Centrale and Firenze SMN (the Trenitalia's competitor)