I was looking at the different schedules for my Rome -> Venice, Venice -> Geneva trips next week and noticed there are several different options for fares. Some were significantly cheaper than others. I'm wondering if anyone (without a rail pass) can reserve tickets at these cheaper rates? Or do I need a pass for those? For the VIA rail service here, the difference in fares are usually just computed by how far in advance you buy the tickets or if they are a 'supersaver' type fare (those usually sell out pretty quickly). Thanks!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
The reason for the fare differences is that the classes of trains in Italy are different. The faster you can go and the fewer stops you make, the more the fare. The Eurostar-class trains are the fastest and they make the fewest stops. Thus, they are the most expensive to ride. The less expensive trains make more stops and they take longer to make the run. These are not Eurostar-class trains.
Turning to the discount comment, the problem we have here in the USA is that www.trenitalia.com will not accept USA credit cards. Thus, we can see these discounts but we can't purchase them. I have read that some Canadians are getting through with their credit cards so you might try it. If you can't, these discounts will not be available to you either. If you can, look for the SMART fare from Venice to Geneva. Bookings begin 90 days out and the discounts are limited so you have to go for them as quickly as you can. Good luck on the credit card issue.