Here are my plans - arriving and leaving Italy from Milan(flights booked). Want to travel by train to Venice, Rome, Florence and back to Milan in that order(Hotels booked). Train travel is my BIG question. I have been told that you have to have a rail pass to be able to use any train - in addition to - you still have to buy a ticket to be able to ride the train from city to city. This seems to me that your paying twice to use the train. What is the difference in a railpass and ticket - or is there a differnce? Do you need to buy both or just one to get where you want to go? Do you buy before you get to Italy or afterwards. I am traveling in August 6 and need help now. Please would someone who knows the real answer help.
Posted by
Somonauk, Illinois, USA
400 posts
Hi Karen, Just returned from Italy and the best way to travel by train is to wait and buy point-to-point tickets after you arrive. Once you fly into Milan, just buy your train ticket to Venice. Then when you arrive in Venice, purchase your train tickets for your next destination (Rome), and so on. Or you can purchase all the tickets at one time for all of your destinations. Either way, don't buy the railpass for Italy. You can purchase the tickets easily from the ticket windows or the many yellow machines located in the train stations.
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
I agree with Linda that you don't need rail passes. We bought all our tickets at a local travel agent in Rome for our trip because we wanted to make sure we got reserved seats for the trains we would need them on. People on this helpline were very helpful about train schedules. Don't forget to stamp you ticket in the yellow boxes on the platform before boarding the trains.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Karen, for the travel you describe, you don't need a railpass for Italy. Linda is correct above that you can just buy these tickets in the train stations. When you arrive in Milan, take the frequent bus into the Milan Centrale train station. Once there, you can walk up to a self-service machine and buy your ticket to Venice. The machine will prompt you in English, make any necessary seat assignments and will accept your American credit card. Or, you can stand in line for the ticket windown. Trains from Milan to Venice are fequent. Venice has a wonderful train station where you can buy future tickets. Trenitalia even has a facility there that will listen to you and print out a train itinerary that you can either take to the ticket window to buy tickets or you can buy at the self-service machine.
Your confusion on railpasses and extra fares is common. First, a railpass is not required on any train in Europe. Second, many travelers think that if they do buy a railpass, it covers all rail fare costs. Definitely not true. The railpass does not cover seat reservation fees on the high-speed trains (which are mandatory) or sleeping arrangements on the night trains. Third, trains are listed in categories. For the local train categories, seat reservations are not required. In Italy, as you get up to the Eurostar, AV, CIS categories, seat reservations are mandatory. If you buy a ticket in the train station, the seat reservation is included. If you have a railpass, you pay extra for the seat reservation fee. On the Eurostars, it's a 15Euro hit.
On your runs described above, Eurostars and IC trains run these same tracks. The Eurostars are the most expensive. The IC and ICPlus trains will get you there almost as fast and are much less expensive. Learn you train categories and train schedules. It will pay off in the long run.
Posted by
Somonauk, Illinois, USA
400 posts
I'm glad Larry went into more detail for you. One thing I want to add was, one time, we purchased our next destinations train tickets at a travel agent in town and didn't realize untill it was too late that we paid an extra 3 Euros per ticket (travel agents fee). So, I would stay away from the travel agents.