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Confused about train tickets

Posted by on

I have been reading the topics on transportation and I need some help figuring out what is the best deal if traveling this Itinerary.

We will be visiting 2 countries Spain & Italy, while in Madrid we will do a day trip to Toledo and spend several days in Madrid afterwards, from Madrid we travel to Barcelona (by Train) and spend several days there. We will then fly to Rome where we will stay a few days, from there to Florence then Venice.

So my question is what kind of pass do I need? Is it a 3 day 2 countries or do I buy separate one destination between cities?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
20986 posts

I know little of Spain, but in Italy a rail pass makes no sense. Rome to Florence and Florence to Venice have frequent fast trains, and if you can commit to buying advance nonrefundable tickets, they can be very cheap. Even bought spur of the moment they are not expensive, 44 EUR Rome to Florence and 49 EUR Florence to Venice. Advance purchase Super Economy tickets are as low as 19 EUR each.

Posted by
365 posts

Railpass don't make sense for Spain. AVE fast train have reserved seating & great discounts for advance purchase. Spanish rail system is renfe.com.

Posted by
11294 posts

For this trip you will do much better buying advance online tickets at substantial discounts. These tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable (or have significant restriction on these actions), but will save you a fortune.

To learn about buying tickets for Spain, use this invaluable TripAdvisor tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/cu48wk5. Note that Renfe's website isn't the most user-friendly, but as long as you use PayPal rather than a credit card, it does work.

To learn about buying tickets for Italy, look at The Man In Seat 61's Italy page: http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm#.Vy513-QnLU0

Posted by
1425 posts

Train sites for Italy

CaptainTrain: https://www.captaintrain.com/search/, Third Party, I have used them for France

Trenitalia: http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en, Government Company.

Italo: http://www.italotreno.it/?sc_lang=en, Private Company. I have used from Rome (Tiburtino) to Florence to Venice. I have traveled in their 1st (Club) & 2nd class (Prima), very nice, my 25 inch wheeled suitcase fit perfectly above me on the overhead rack.

Enjoy your trip.

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