I am looking for information on train travel specifically wondering if it would be best to buy a rail pass or individual tickets. We are starting in Venice, traveling to Cinque Terre for 3 days, Florence for 5 days (using as home base for day trips to Sienna, Lucca and Orvieto) Positano for 5 days (day trips to Capri and Amalfi) and ending up in Rome for 3 days (with day trips to Tivoli and Hadrians Villa).I've heard various positives and negatives about purchasing a rail pass as it would cover the destination to destination travel as well as day trips. Also heard it may cover ferry travel but I can't find anything to confirm this. Any help would be appreciated.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I've never seen a scenario where a rail pass really pays off for Italy. One benefit is that you can choose the expensive express trains last minute (if they aren't sold out), if you won't have fixed plans and want some flexibility, because those tend to be expensive last minute to buy as individual tickets. Regional train tickets in Italy aren't cheaper if purchased in advance, and some of those places you'll go are going to be regional trains.
Remember that rail passes are good only for the specific days you choose; if you buy a five day rail pass, you can use it only on five chosen days. Will you want to burn one of those days on a day trip where you'll be taking cheap regional trains, anyway?
(And to some destinations e.g. Florence to Siena, you may want to take buses not trains anyway.)
You can buy individual tickets on the Trenitalia website (print them out), on your phone with the Trenit app, or at train stations from ticket machines (cash only unless you have a chip and PIN credit card) or from agents at the stations. As I said, the express train tickets (InterCity, etc. with reservations) tend to be cheaper if purchased in advance but not changeable without a fee. If you are planning a pretty fixed schedule, buy the train tickets early to save money.
Posted by
OP
38 posts
Thanks so much for the reply. I thought I had read that its no bargain to get the pass. I'm going to take a look on Trentalia.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
One benefit is that you can choose the expensive express trains last minute (
If you mean Freccias and Intercity trains, those have only reseved seats.
You can't freely get on with a pass, you must book a seat paying the reservation fee. It's 10 € per person, per travel on Freccia trains and 3 € on the slower Intercity.
Bear in mind that in Italy there are 2 competing railway companies running high speed trains: trenitalia and www.italotreno.it/en
Italotreno's discounted tickets come with restrictions, like those sold by trenitalia; italo's tickets are often cheaper.
The cheapest tickets sold by both companies are strictly "no changes, no refunds".
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
There are no ferries covered by a rail pass for just Italy, although the pass offers a 20% discount on some ferry lines that you're probably not using, e.g. not Amalfi-Capri-Sorrento-Salerno-Naples. See the bonus list at https://ricksteves.raileurope.com/rail-tickets-passes/eurail-italy-pass/index.html.