Hello,
I'm flying in to Paris for a couple of days, then I need to get to Milan to start my Italy tour for 12 more days. I want to take an overnight sleeper to start frash in Milan, but can someone please tell me what rail pass should I get to get the best deal for my dollor...
It's likely that the answer is NO railpass! If you book well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) at www.voyages-sncf.com, you can get a discount fare of €40 for a bunk in a six-person couchette or €55 for a bunk in a four-person couchette on the Paris-Milano night train.
Train travel within Italy is relatively inexpensive so a railpass for that country alone is usually not cost effective. Amica fares (20% discount) are sold for many routes on faster trains. If you buy tickets a few days ahead of time, you should be able to get that fare. If any allotted seats are available, Amica fares are sold up until midnight of the day before departure. Fares on regional trains are very cheap.
To see timetables and fares, go to www.trenitalia.com. Enter an arbitrary date before 14 December. New timetables will go into effect on the 14th and they haven't been loaded on the Web site yet.
Steve,
An overnight sleeper is certainly one option, but you could also travel during the day and still arrive in Milano fairly early.
For example, I found one listing for a TGV/ICE train leaving Paris at 07:08, arriving Milano at 14:16 (travel time 7H08M).
If you do decide to use the sleeper, be sure to choose a train that has no changes during the night!
Thank You Tim & Ken, your info. is really helpful to me.
Steve