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Rail Pass Question

Posted by (Canberra, ACT, Australia) on

I will be travelling from Munich, Germany to Mantova, Italy in September this year, and I will be staying adn travelling with friends who live in these countries, so I was thinking about getting a 3 country youth rail pass 5 or 6 days in 2 months. I dont really know much about rail passes, but I was wondering what happens if I do a day trip somewhere, like a return trip. does it still count as 1 day? or can i only go on 1 train in one day? Does this make sense??

To give you a better idea of what I will be doing, these are the rail trips that I will be taking

Bielefeld, Germany - Munich
(possibly also go to the Black forest)
Munich - Mantova
Mantova - Naples
Naples - Rome

Is it worth it for me to get a rail pass? or to just buy my tickets over there??

Thanks in advance

Posted by
267 posts

Q. What happens if I do a day trip somewhere, like a return trip. does it still count as 1 day? or can i only go on 1 train in one day?

A. Days on a rail pass are just that - 24 hour periods spanning from midnight to 23:59/11:59pm. You may take an unlimited amount of trains in that day. It does not matter if you take the train 1 time or 20 times, it still counts as ONE DAY.

Q. Is it worth it for me to get a rail pass? or to just buy my tickets over there??

A. First of all, you forgot an option. You can also buy tickets in advance via the web. You can buy German rail tickets from your living room. Now, which option is more economical? Let's check:

Bielefeld-Munich - as low as 29E


Munich-Mantova (I broke this up into two segments to find a price) Munich-Verona - 33E - Takes 5.5 hours


Verona-Mantova - I only found the price for an 8E train around 11:00, which you wouldn't be able to catch, because the earliest Munich-Verona train arrives at 13:01. The rest of the trains did not disclose their fares.

cont'd

Posted by
267 posts

CONTD

Mantova-Naples - as low as 66.90E - Takes 6.5 long w/ one transfer in Bologna

Naples-Rome - 28.90E Amica Fare

Now, your pass options:
I would consider a single country Italy Pass ($AUD279/161E) and pay out of pocket for the segments of the trip just beyond Germany (up to Verona). If you choose this option, purchase tickets on Die Bahn, the German railway site. Passes offer more flexibility with dates and the opportunity to save money on higher priced routes.

If you decide to purchase tickets individually, visit Trentialia for the trips in Italy. You will spend less money because of discounts.

Posted by
8700 posts

I'll make a couple of comments on Martine's excellent comments.

  1. To get the 33€ fare for Munich-Verona one must book well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) at www.bahn.de. The same is true to get the 29€ fare for the Bielefeld-Munich route.

  2. If you price point-to-point tickets for your routes within Italy on the Trenitalia site and compare the total to that of an Italy pass, you will see that point-to-point tickets are cheaper than a pass.

  3. For complete information about how passes work, click on the Railpasses tab at the top of the page you're reading now.

Posted by
115 posts

Thank you for all of your help!!

I will check those websites out!

Cheers
Leeana

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