I am trying to book my train reservation from
Roma Termini to Interlaken on trenitalaia for the connection below
Rome - Speiz - Interlaken
Roma Termini Mo, 18.05.09 dep 19:56 EN 314
Spiez Tu, 19.05.09 arr 05:44
Spiez Tu, 19.05.09 dep 05:56 R 5706
Interlaken Ost Tu, 19.05.09 arr 06:18 8
I get the different train options but selection option for the train is greyed out.
How can I know what the fares are and how do I make this reservation ?
Also, Do I need seat reservations for IC trains if I get a Eurail pass?
And how do I go about making seat/ Sleeper reservation once I get a Eurail pass.
Please help!!
Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Bromley, Kent,, UK
1829 posts
If you use a Eurail pass you will have to pay a supplement in Italy to travel on the trains that have compulsory seat reservations ie probably the ones you will want to travel on.
The Eurail pass site has the info on which trains in which countries require reservation/supplements. As far as I can see for Italy it is 15 Euros per person per journey for the faster/direct trains and 20 Euros if you want to use the new AV train.
The general wisdom is that you get better value buying your tickets after you get to Italy. You can buy at any main station or if you prefer, any travel shop that has a Trenitalia sticker in the window. There will be no extra booking fee if you do it that way.
With regard to your problems on the Trenitalia site (if that is what you are trying to use) you cannot do buiness on there more than three months in advance. What people usually do for planning purposes is pick the same days/time in the current timeframe and take it from there.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Interesting. Trenitalia has introduced an updated website. I see that if you put in Rome/Interlaken Ost, the "Select" button is greyed out as you describe. Before the website was updated, you could easily see and purchase this run. We did it two years ago from Venice.
One solution is to book your trip on the same 314 Luna night train from Rome to Spiez on 5/18. The "Select" button will appear. Book it if you can. At Spiez, the 5:56 train that you want will still depart. If you have a Eurail pass that covers Switzerland, just hop on. If not, it's 10.20CHF. Note that if you go from Interlaken Ost into the Lauterbrunnen Valley to visit Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Gimmelwald, Muerren as well as the two mountain tops, your Eurail pass will only get you a 25% discount. It's expensive in there.
You don't need a seat reservation on an IC train or a regional train. In fact, they are not permitted. You can buy one on the IC train for 3Euro in Italy.
Big Hint: You don't need a railpass in Italy. P2P is less expensive. If you use a railpass on the night train, you will pay a supplemental fee of 35Euro on top of the cost of your pass. P2P with the seat reservation is 115Euro. The SMART2 fare, if you buy from Trenitalia now is 58Euro. I see that seats are available at this price.
If you want to use your Visa on Trenitalia, CLICK HERE to see my post on how to do it.