Multi-Day Pass for Italy

I suggest reading the Ron in Rome site, especially the posts about booking on Trenitalia, and about the "familia" rates if your child is under 12. We saved a lot using the familia rates when we took my son to Italy. Now this was back before it was easier to use US credit cards on the website to buy mini fares, and mini fares may save you more money, but it is worth checking out if you don't want to buy tickets in advance.

The probability of finding a train sold out is so low that we never consider it. The exception might be Easter week or maybe Christmas but still pretty low. Even if you had a pass that would not prevent that problem because you would need the seat reservation. And, if it is a regional train you just get on. If no seats available your stand.

For each "pass day" you can ride as many trains as you wish all day long. However, you will have to buy seat reservations for each leg on trains that require them. You'll pay €10.00 for high-speed EuroStar Italia trains and €3.00 for IC trains. There is open seating on Regionale trains and no reservations are possible. You can jump on and off Regionale trains at will. Since you will be traveling on five different days, your passes will cover those five days.

If you haven't bought the pass, you need to do a little math to make sure the pass will save you money. Because the Italian rail is relatively cheap compared to other countries' trains, it is difficult to make a pass work especially if using Regional trains. So check it out first.

Thank you for the information. I'll do the math soon. I think we would like to ride in first class and I noticed on Rick's web site that first class passes were only 22% more than second class as long as you had at lead two travelers. I also priced Rome to Pisa to Camoglia (just above the Cinque Terre and where we are staying there, and it was $168 for just that leg alone, for three of us. The five days in two months was a little over $700 for two adults and one child. The reservation part confuses me a little. If I do by a pass, do I revere ahead of time on-line? And do they "know" I have a pass so I only pay the reservation fee?

All trains in Italy except Regional require advance reservation. For pass holders you can purchase a reservation the hour before or the day before. On the automated ticket machines I think you punch in your pass number. Personally I think there is little advantage to first class over second for most trips. And on regional trains, not much more than a small area in front. On a long trip - six, seven hours, first class would provide a little more comfort with wider seats. And, of course, first class is far less crowd. In fact, you could be the only one these or the other passengers are American tourists. Where were you getting your ticket prices?

The just over $700 price was on Rick's web site, the $168 was a link off his site to Rail Italia, I think. The main thing is, I want to pretty much stay on a tight schedule, so would like very much to avoid arriving for a train and it's sold out, and having to wait for the next one.

@Becki - he is eleven, so yes, we just barely qualify for the family rate. @Frank - that good to know about selling out being a non-issue. I'll do more in-depth planning with this helpful information in mind.