We are looking at the 15 day global pass for two people vs. p2p. Please help me figure out the best way to do this, I am very confused. Dates are 9/29 - 10/12. What would be the best value? Which should we reserve seats or sleepers for in advance? thanks!!!!
Iteniary is as follows - overnight from Barcelona to Nice; day trip to Canne (so roundtrip); Nice to Monaco; Monaco to Cinque Terre; Cinque Terre to Florence; overnight Florence to Munich; Munich to Bamberg); Bamberg to Paris
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Amanda, one thing you might consider is flying to Nice from Barcelona. Vueling (www.vueling.com) makes this 65min flight in the evening. I see a cost of 50Euro for 9/28 at this time. Sure beats 15-17hrs on the night train. Yes, it will most likely cost you a extra night in a hotel but you might save this expense by the low airfare over the cost of the night train. Going this way, you might not even need the global pass.
Nice to Monaco takes 20 minutes. 3.30Euro per person. No pass needed here. Monaco to the CT (i.e. Monterosso) takes about 5.5hrs and will cost 26Euro per person on the Eurocity train and slightly less on the Regionale train.
CT to Florence takes about 3hrs and will cost 15.10Euro per person on the ICPlus train. Florence to Munich will take 8.5hrs on the 234 Allegro Tosca night train and will cost about 89Euro for the train and an additional 56Euro for one bed in a 2-bed compartment. If you buy early, you can possibly get a Smart2 fare of 49Euro. All costs are per person.
Bamberg to Paris takes about 9.0hrs with 3-4 train changes along the way. I can't see the fare on www.bahn.de
Are we anywhere near the cost of two global passes yet?
Posted by
OP
Orlando, FL, US
20 posts
Larry, are the fares you mentioned all found on bahn.de? These are much better than the fares I was finding on a different site. Which be booked in advance? Where would I purchase them in advance?
What is the Smart 2 fare?
thanks so much!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Amanda, I found the fares on 1) the French train site (http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/home/) and the Italian train site (www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html). The airfare, I found on www.vueling.com You can find the Barcelona/Nice run on www.bahn.de but you won't see the price. As above, I recommend flying but it's your choice. I can't find the fare.
For any night train runs, you will need to buy them as early as you can. Unlike the day trains, they do fill up early. You might be able to buy the Barcelona/Nice tickets on the French site. You'll need to list Great Britain as the place to receive your tickets and then proceed to register and buy the tickets in English. I believe that you can print out the ticket. You can do the same on the Italian train site but it seems to be much tougher to register and make a purchase. I've done it but others have problems.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I enjoy traveling by train; but, like Larry, I think flying from Barcelona to Nice on Vueling is your best option.
If you book far enough in advance (up to 90 days allowed) at www.bahn.de, you can get Spar-Night fares of €69 for a bunk in a six-person couchette and €79 for a bunk in a four-person couchette on the direct Venezia-Muenchen night train. Pay the extra €10 for the space and comfort you'll gain.
Booking in advance at www.bahn.de can get you a Dauer-Spezial fare of €29 for Muenchen-Bamberg and a Europa-Spezial Frankreich fare of €39 for Bamberg-Paris.
Buy Nice-Cannes, Nice-Monaco, Monaco-Cinque Terre, and Cinque Terre-Firenze at the stations.