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Train travel in Italy and England

My husband and I are putting the final touches on our European trip. We will be flying to Rome, spending a few days, taking a train to Florence, again spending a few days, taking a train to Naples, spending a few days. From Naples we will fly to London, spend a few days, take a train to Manchester, spend a few days, maybe take a day trip to Liverpool, after which we will come back to Manchester and fly back home. My question is about all these train tickets. Are we better off getting all separate one-way tickets or is there a universal pass that would be cheaper?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Posted by
11613 posts

Point-to-point tickets in Italy are generally cheaper than passes. If you have your itinerary settled, you can buy tickets for your routes up to 120 days in advance on the Trenitalia website: Roma Termini-Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Firenze SMN-Napoli Centrale. Some fares start at 19 euro second class, but are restricted to a specific train and time (seat reservation included) and no changes can be made (super-economy). Economy tickets allow some changes, and base fare tickets can be changed quite liberally, but there is no need to buy base fare tickets in advance.

Posted by
16893 posts

There's no one pass for both countries. A BritRail England pass could be a convenient option, starting at $186 for 3 consecutive travel days or $227 for three days spread out; this price does not cover Wales or Scotland. But if you're not committed to that much travel, you can lock in a cheap Advance-rate ticket for your one longer trip (from London to Manchester) at www.nationalrail.co.uk a couple of months ahead. Then, if you take side trips in addition to that, try to buy tickets as a roundtrip and/or at least a day ahead for some discounts.