P2P tix or Pass? for this train itinerary PLEASE HELP!

The first thing I see is the day between Köln (Cologne) and Koblenz. That doesn't need a day of the railpass. Least expensive way from Köln to Koblenz is by regional train, €16,10 ($25) per person. Even by Express train (EC/IC, 17 min faster) it is only €19,50 ($30.40) pP.

So, after that you have 6 days of travel in 5 countries. A 5c6d saver pass is $536 pP. One day less is $493 pP, a difference of $43 (~€27). If you use that day for Venice to Florence, on an Italian EuroStar, you will have at least a €15 surcharge (reservation fee), so you will be "paying" about €42. The Amica ES* 1st cl fare is €38,80, so using the 6th day of the pass for ES* won't pay. With an IC you won't have the reservation fee, but first class is €22, still less than the €27 6th day.

Since the minimum days on a 5 country rail pass is 5 days at $493 (€316), your travel for the first 5 days has to add up to €316 (€63/day pP). Florence to Rome on a ES*, 1st cl, is €41. You can get Amsterdam to Köln for €39 on a Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare. Munich to Venice is only €63 or less on a Europa-Spezial Italien fare (you didn't say night train for that leg).

So, that leave €173 out of €316 for the Paris-Brugge-Amsterdam leg, which I haven't figure out yet, but I don't think it will be that much. Remember, Paris-Brugge is on Thalys, which requires a large "passholder reservation fee". Of course this all depends on being able to get the Amst-Köln and Mun-Ven fares online for those prices.

yes it is a night train (Munich-Venice). Another questions:
Doesn't this pass(select pass saver)are for bordering countries? Germany doesn't border Italy. Also, If I buy this pass, I will also have to pay for reservation...correct?

Would P2P 2nd class buying thru train websites be cheaper?

Is reservation included when you buy P2P?

I'm sorry about all these question, but I want to make the right decision. Thanks

You're correct. Germany does not border Italy. Going from Munich to Italy, you must pass through Austria (Innsbruck), so you must either have a railpass that includes Austria or ticket coverage from Kufstein to Brennero. Adding one more country to your select saver pass adds about €30 to the cost. The EuroCity fare from Kufstein to Brennero is only about €21, but there is some question about filling a pass gap that way for a night train. I think RailEurope and this website say no; I was told by a DB agent at the Reisezentrum in Munich that you could.

The five countries I was using were France, Benelux (these countries are small, therefore packaged as one "country"), Germany, Austria, and Italy.

As for reservations, from Amsterdam to Köln, purchased online, along with the Europa-Spezial fare, reservations are about $3 (€2). To get them separately, from DB costs $6 (€4), I think, but you would have to call DB in Europe. Reservations for that train can be made with RailEurope for $12 each.

The EuroStar tickets in Italy comes with a reservation for the price I quoted.

As for the night train to Venice, where are you going to get reservations? RailEurope does not sell accommodation (reservations) for this train. You can get reservations through Euraide at the "in Europe" price of €60 per person in a double, but you have to add $50 (€32)to that for the service, so the reservations would be €76 pP. You can buy full tickets (rail and reservation) for €153 pP online from DB.

P2P
Paris-Brugges €59 Thalys Smily
Brugges-Brussels €12 local
Brussels-Amsterdam €33 Thaly Smily
Amsterdam-Köln €41 DB w/ reserv
Munich-Venice €153 DB dbl sleeper
Florence-Rome €41 ES* overnt adv purch
Total €339
w/ pass ($493=€316)
Paris-Brugges €15 Thalys
Brugges-Brussels -
Brussels-Amsterdam €15 Thaly
Amsterdam-Köln €4 DB reserv
Munich-Venice €76 Euraide dbl sleeper
Florence-Rome €15 reserv sub-total €125
cost of pass €316
Total w/ pass €441

Lee's notes are excellent! I'll add a couple of details.

Smilys fares on Thalys trains can only be booked as returns (roundtrip), but they're cheaper than standard single (one-way) fares. Book an arbitrary return date and throw away the unused portion. Smilys fares sell out fast so it's best to book well in advance (up to 90 days allowed). However, if you take an IC train from Brussels to Amsterdam, the standard single fare is 34.80€. No advance booking is needed and no reservations are possible. The IC trains are just as fast as the Thalys trains on this route.

If you book far enough in advance at thalys.com, you can get a Mini fare of 25€ for Paris-Brussels. Like Smilys fares, they sell out fast. Buy a ticket in Brussels for a local train to Bruges.

Question about DB Bahn.

Can DB Bahn mail ticket to the US?
I am having problem buying our tickets from Brussels to Cologne. I noticed that there are 2 high speed train for this trip (Thalys & ICE)

ICE has a saving fare if I buy tickets in advance(19 euros)compare to Thalys (42 euros)
here is where I have the problem:

there are 2 delivery ticket options 1)Online-Ticket(self printing)and 2)Ticket per mail.
I want the "online-ticket", but only allow me to choose "ticket per mail" option. an extra charge of 3.5 euros will be apply for mailing. So, can the tickets be mail to US address? has anyone done this?
On the other hand, I just purchased my tickets from Munich to Venice(same website) and I did not have any problems, I was allowed to choose "online ticket" Please advise. Thank you

Brussels to Cologne?

I thought you were going from Brussels (Brugges?) to Amsterdam, then to Cologne. Which is it?

For some reason, sometimes German Rail does not sell ticket including outside Germany online.

However, I do think they will mail them to the US. Somewhere I remember reading that it takes up to 8 business days.

we have decided to cut Amsterdam. Base on your experience tips we want to explore Germany more.

Go to this page of the Bahn website, to "No self-print Online-Ticket for your journey?", at bottom of page. It doesn't specifically include the US for tickets mailed to "outside Germany", but it doesn't exclude them either.