We want to travel from Venice to- Cinque Terre (via Florence I believe it is a little faster) La Spezia Pisa to Florence and then Orvieto. From there down to Rome for a few days then on to Pompeii. After this to Messina and then we will hire a car for travelling around Sicily after spending 2 days on Lapari. My question. Would the Eurail Italy Pass be the best way to go instead of buying tickets for each separate leg. Have done my maths from your map with costing the Pass for 6 days would be slightly better than buying sep. tickets. Would the booking fee for each leg be additional to the Pass? I gather getting a seat is always a problem even if you book First Class. Is this true? I am looking at second class.
Posted by
Carbondale, IL, USA
1201 posts
when calculating prices don't forget that the railpass requires a mandatory additional seat reservation fee for each trip on a Eurostar or IC train. Only Regional "R" trains do not require a seat reservation. You should always have a seat on a train that requires seat reservations. Regional trains can have standing room only but even then you'll probably have a seat at some point. The trains in the CT are all regional trains and always crowded. The fee is 10 euro per person on the fast trains and 3 euro on the IC trains. Trenitalia also has some discount fares called Mini on some routes that can give you an additonal 40 to 60 per cent discount. If you are looking at the trenitalia site, click through to the next step after selecting a train to see if they are available. Many folks find that the point to point tickets are a better deal than a railpass.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23273 posts
It rare for a rail pass work if traveling a lot of short trips as you are. You need to go to trenitalia.com and price each leg. If you are willing to lock in to a schedule then the mini fares will save even more. Not sure what you mean by "getting a seat is always a problem" when the reverse is true - getting a seat is almost never a problem and never a problem in first class. Trains rarely fill up in second class and I think it is safe to say never in first class. All trains in Italy require a seat reservation except for the slowest, Regional trains. Therefore you will have surcharge on top of the pass for all of the other trains.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
I took several long train trips in Italy last fall. I bought an Italy Railpass and used it for: Ventimiglia-Venice, Venice-Naples, Naples-Cefalu, and Cefalu-Rome. With two days left on the pass I used them for a Cefalu-Palermo daytrip and Rome-Anzio. I assumed I was saving money, but didn't do all the math. It cost a few Euros to make reservations on the four long trips; I made reservations a little in advance at the train stations as I travelled, usually when I arrived in the new city.
Posted by
OP
Sydney, Australia
8 posts
Hi All, Thank you for your quick responses. The more I do the Math the more I am realizing that "buy as need" is probably the go. Interesting comment about finding seats. I have had several friends book first class and unable to get a seat. Maybe they were just very unlucky . Toni
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
203 posts
Toni, what do you mean when you say that your friends booked first class but could not get a seat? First class is assigned seating. When you buy the ticket, your coach and seat is printed on the ticket.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23273 posts
I agree. Her comments about seating does not make much sense. Needs some clarification for sure.
Posted by
Bellevue, WA
257 posts
Except for Regional R trains, all seats in ES, IC are assigned. If you bought a first class ticket for the Regional R trains. Your seat are not assigned and you may end up with no seat. Your friends may have a first class ticket for the R trains.