My wife and I are traveling to Germany and Italy in September with several train rides: Munich to Venice (direct); Venice to Monterosso (3 trains); and Monterosso to Florence (3 trains). Total cost with Rail Europe is $409.
They offer full refunds for any reason (change of plans, sickness, missed trains, etc) for $51. Your thoughts on this insurance coverage. Worth it or not? Thank you.
Ted
I wouldn't book with Rail Europe unless you've already done so. It's almost certainly going to be cheaper to book directly with the rail companies themselves, if you can. (e.g. with Bahn.com for the German train, with Trenitalia for the Italian trains).
Only you an say whether you need that insurance - I've booked lots of trains in Europe and never felt the need for it. If one of those Italian trains is late (not your fault) and you miss a connection, you can take the next one, but if it's not a regional train (if it has assigned seats) you'll need to speak with a Trenitalia agent at the connection station. But if you miss the train because you arrived late at the station or get sick? That's your fault but something insurance would cover.
You might look into travel insurance in general for your trip that includes more than just trains. Some people always get it for a trip. I've never bothered.
My thoughts are why on earth are you buying tickets from RailEurope? They are just a ticket reseller...a middleman.
Munich Hbf -> Venice Santa Lucia
You can purchase this ticket directly from the German Train website https://www.bahn.com/en for 39Euro
Venice Santa Lucia -> Monterosso
You can purchase this ticket directly from Italian Train website http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en for as little as 29Euro (1 change in Milan)
Monterosso -> Florence SMN
You can purchase this ticket directly from Italian Train website http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en for as little as 17Euro (1 change in Pisa)
Your total price for the above route for 2 travelers is 170Euro or about $191
Alternately - just show up at the ticket counter and buy your tickets.
No, I wouldn't buy the Rail Protection Plan on most train tickets. I would not pay $50 to insure against a possible loss of $400. If you don't actually go on your trip, some tickets are partly refundable if returned within a certain period before the scheduled travel date. If you do go, just try not to miss reserved trains, particularly the first and most expensive one, departing Munich.
While I expected Rail Europe to offer the German advance-discount fares, I see that's not currently the case on the Munich-Venice route, so you would get a better price through DeutcheBahn.
If you don't feel ready to commit now to specific dates and times for each leg of the trip, you don't have to. It's easy enough to buy train tickets on short notice, both in stations and on the German and Italian web sites.
Thanks for this information. However, the super low prices are not for when I want to travel. But, still better than on Rail Europe.
However, what is Sparpreis Europa Italien. Seems like a cheaper fare but with more restrictions. And DB website says this is a "linked train route." Not sure what that is.
For the Munich to Venice route using DB website a Sparpreis Europa Italien first class is 69 Euros and Flexpreis (fully flexible) is 95 Euros for second class.
Too many options that I don't understand. Any thoughts? Thanks.
As it says on the DB website: "Sparpreis Europa Italien: This is a linked train route. This means your ticket is only valid for the exact trains printed on your ticket. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase up to one day before date of travel. Exchanges and refunds have an additional charge of 19 euros up to one day before date of travel. Exchanges and refunds from the date the ticket becomes valid are not permitted."
If you're pretty sure you'll take that train, book the cheapest one. The most you risk is 69 Euros per ticket, but even then you might be able to change them for that fee up to one day before departure. If you have any doubts, maybe book the more expensive one. FYI, the fares will probably keep going up closer to departure.
Just a note, fares do not "go up", but the limited number of cheaper, restricted tickets may sell out.
A distinction without a difference, Zoe, but thanks for the clarification.
There is a difference: whenever you buy, you can be sure that you can't pay more than the BASE price displayed now on Trenitalia or than the Flex fare on Italotreno.it .
That's the top price and it cannot change before the next timetable change.
Those arriving at the train station after a long flight know how much they will pay at the counter months in advance. Those who want to risk purchasing on line the discounted-but-restricted tickets can see the actual savings and decide if the price difference is worth the risk.
Those who are tempted by RailEurope's passes can understand by themselves why in Italy even a Base/Flex full price ticket is often cheaper than a pass when you add the 10 € per person reservafion fee.
