We are planning our in October this year, and wondering which is best train line to take.. We have to take trips from Venice to Florence, Florence to Naples, Naples to Sorrento, Sorrento to Naples, Naples to Rome. I found ItaliaRail, Trenitalia...and then there is grand eurorail. I cant quite which one is the preferred line ? Any suggestions ?
Posted by
Austin, TX, USA
492 posts
Trenitalia is the official web site, the other two are resellers. Two of my favorite sites for info on train travel are: http://www.roninrome.com/site-search and
http://www.seat61.com/
Posted by
OP
Philadelphia, PA, USA
2 posts
Thank you for your response. Whats confusing is that most tickets I am finding are cheaper on Italiarail's site compared to Trenitalia.. Is it safe to buy tickets from ItaliaRail ?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16338 posts
ItaliaRail appears to be cheaper at first, but to see the cheaper "mini" prices on Trenitalia you have to a train and click"continue" to the next page. Thee you will see the mini prices if available. they are comparabel to Italia Rail but IR adds a handling fee, to Trenitalia is actually cheaper. For example, from Venice to Florence on October 3, at 9:27 am, ItaliaRail says $39 + $5 fee so $44. Trenitalia shows a mini fare for that train of 26,00 euros, or $37.44, with no handling fee. However, if your credit card charges a Foreign Transaction Fee on euro purchases, that can add 3% or more. That makes the Trenitalia purchase a bit more than the $37.44, but still less than $44.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Don't forget to add a 10 euros seat reservation fee for all high speed trains. This would include your trips from Venice-Florence, Florence-Naples and Naples-Rome. That's 30 more euros on top of the pass price. You really should do the math to see if the pass is worth it or not. Most of the time you'll find that a pass will cost more money than point to point tickets. Donna
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16338 posts
I believe Arpi is talking about tickets, not passes. Tickets have the seat reservation fee included, so no need to add 10 euros to the price. That is for passholders.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
If she's just talking about tickets the best site is still the trenitalia site and not any of the resellers as you say above. Donna
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
Arpi, I've found that the Trenitalia website is the best one to use for planning rail trips in Italy. That's the official site for Ferrovie dello Stato, the Italian national rail system. There are some smaller independent rail lines in Italy, and you'll be using one of them, the Circumvesuviana to travel from Naples to Sorrento and back. Have a close look at Ron's Website for more details on the Mini fares. If you're buying P-P tickets, the reservation fees will be included (where applicable). Happy travels!