Hello, We're a family of five traveling from Italy to France by train. I plan on purchasing eurorail saverpass tickets. My question is, after purchasing the saverpass tickets, are reservations an additional charge or are resevations built into the price of the saverpass ticket? Also, How far in advance would you suggest in making reservations?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
If reservation is required, then it is include in the p2p ticket price. All trains in Italy except for Regional require a reservation.
Posted by
OP
Wayne, New Jersey, USA
19 posts
So if I know my exact travel dates and purchase point to point tickets 6 months in advance, I don't need to make reservations? When purchasing eurorail passes is the only time when you need to make resevations? Since I'm only traveling between a couple of cities, it would make better financial sense to purchase point to point tickets.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Eurail Saver Pass is not a ticket, it's a pass, giving you unlimited rides on the slowest, cheapest trains for the time period specified. Some countries (Germany) allow you to ride most trains, including the ICEs, without paying extra; most countries charge an extra surcharge for faster trains. Often these extra charge trains include a seat reservation with the ticket, so you get a reservation when you pay the surcharge, but it isn't just a reservation. Usually, a simple seat reservation costs a few Euro extra (ex €4 in Germany) and is not required (you can always stand), but it might be advised. Sometimes a country might limit the number of passholder "reservations" on popular trains, even when full fare tickets are still available.
Posted by
OP
Wayne, New Jersey, USA
19 posts
Thank you everyone for the input. It all makes better sense now. I will most likely be purchasing point to point tickets since it seems like to best option for my travels.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you have railpasses, you will have to buy seat reservations on every train that requires them. They cost €10.00 for every leg on high-speed EuroStar Italia trains, no matter how short the leg is. For travel within Italy, you can wait and buy any needed reservations at the station. SNCF (French National Rail) limits the number of seats it allocates for passholders. If you don't buy seat reservations for TGVs in advance, you could find youself in the position of having to buy full fare tickets. For detailed information about how railpasses work, click on the "Railpasses" link at the top of the page you're reading now. What is your specific itinerary (travel dates and routes)? If you book well in advance on the appropriate national rail sites and get discount fares, point-to-point tickets are likely to be cheaper than railpasses.
Posted by
OP
Wayne, New Jersey, USA
19 posts
My dates aren't set yet. I'm at the very early stages of putting things together. Is the resevation price included when purchasing point to point tickets? I'm travelling from Venice - Nice, Nice - Lyon & Lyon - Paris.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Venice-Nice: It's an 8-hour train ride with a minimum of two connections (Milan and Ventimiglia). Unless you would enjoy a relaxing day on the train, I suggest that you fly. You can do it non-stop on Air France, Alitalia, or easyJet for under $100 US. The longer you wait to book, the higher the fare. Nice-Lyon: The standard 2nd class fare is €86.00. Booked well in advance (up to three months allowed) on tgv-europe.com, you can get a Prem's fare as low as €30.00. Lyon-Paris: The standard 2nd class fare is €94.00. Booked well in advance on tgv-europe.com, you can get a Prem's fare as low as €30.00. When you log onto the tgv-europe site, there are some specific steps you need to take to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares. If you want to know what those steps are, just ask.