We are still in the planning stage of our trip for November. I'm trying to decide if we need a France - Italy rail pass or if P2P is cheaper. We would only be traveling one day in France (Paris to Italy). We want to take the night train from Paris to Florence or Rome. We will use the Italian city as a base for seeing that city and doing day trips to the surrounding areas. I'm leaning toward staying in Florence and taking day trips to Rome and the coastal area (not sure exactly where yet). Our stay in Italy is 4 days. My confusion is with the cost of the supplement for the Night Train. I'm not sure I understand. The supplement for the rail pass is $192 for two in a T3 sleeper or $134 for two in a T4 in second class. BUT the P2P ticket is $199 each. I assume that includes the supplement/reservation. Would we be better off purchasing the P2P Paris to Italy then the Italy Pass (2nd class saver since we will be doing day trips only)?
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Kris....your assumptions are absolutely correct. That supplement for the sleeper is above what you'd pay for a railpass....as you've already seen, P2P will be better. Once you get to Italy, train fares are relatively inexpensive, so you will likely not need a pass for Italy....just go P2P again.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I expect that you are getting your fares on the Rail Europe site. That site doesn't offer discounts.
Go to www.tgv-europe.com. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site, choose Great Britain as both your country of residence and the country in which you will retrieve your tickets. You will be able to pick up your tickets at any SNCF station or boutique (ticket shop) in France, even though you originally chose Great Britain. You can get a fare as low as €65 for a bunk in a 4-person couchette. Book ASAP (up to three months in advance) to get the best fare.
If you are traveling with only one other person and that person is not the same sex as you, you will not be able to book beds in a 3-person sleeper. Couchettes can be either mixed gender or women only.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Kris, as Norm suggests, you don't need a railpass in Italy. For one thing, there's a reservation fee of 15E-20E for each run with a Eurostar-class train.
Posted by
OP
Hixson (Chattanooga), TN
4 posts
Dear Norm, Tim and Larry,
Thank you so much for all your helpful advise. We are looking forward to a wonderful time in Europe this fall.
Happy Travels,
Kris