I am traveling with my husband this Sept 5-18. We will be in Hotel Leveque in Paris for 3 nights (5-9) and then take the train to Nice (I have a conference to attend). Stay in Nice 9-14. Ride the night train from Nice to Rome. Stay in Rome from 15-17 adn then take the train again from Rome to Paris to catch our plane to Houston. I need to go back to Paris because its a business trip (cannot be re-routed). Is it better to get the 5-day France-Italy pass or point by point? Also, should I get my pass now and then reserve the night train when we are in Europe? Its our first time in Europe. Sorry for the ignorance. I am trying to read the posts but can't find anything similar. Thanks!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
You are probably looking at the 369 Montecarlo departing from Nice City at 21:50 and arriving in Rome 12.0hrs later at 9:45am. For this night train, I suggest that you purchase the tickets as soon as they become available as the night trains fill up early. For your time in Italy, I don't think that you will need a pass. Besides, the pass only covers your base fare. You will still have to pay additional supplemental fees for the sleeping arrangements. A P2P ticket will include all of those extra charges.
Hopefully, Tim from Minot, N.D. will drop by and will add to my comments. He is sooo good with the night trains.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Tess (and Larry), I'll chime in.
The Nice-Rome night train doesn't appear on the Trenitalia, SNCF, or Bahn timetables beyond 15 June. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to be discontinued. Until all the new summer-fall timetables which will go into effect after 15 June are loaded, not all routes will appear.
Using currently valid dates, I found very good discount fares for the Nice-Rome night train and the Rome-Paris night train. There are also discount fares for the Paris-Nice night train and Paris-Nice daytime TGVs. You can book all of these up to 90 days in advance at www.voyages-sncf.com. Note: While you can get discount fares on the SNCF site for Rome-Paris, the fares can be even cheaper on the Trenitalia site. However, registering and booking can be problematic on that site.
If you book well in advance, you'll certainly do better with point-to-point tickets than with a pass, particularly when you factor in the supplement for accommodations on night trains.
Posted by
OP
Houston, TX, USA
8 posts
Thanks for all the info. I think point-to-point is really a lot cheaper since this includes the couchette already (rome to paris). So, it is possible that there will be no train from Nice to Rome if nothing is posted after June 15?