Rail Pass or Individual train tickets?

Brenda gave you great advice. It is a matter of knowing how to find the discount tickets. Going to Verbier, a Eurail pass probably won't cover the last part which is by Postbus. You can get a mini fare from Florence to Milan, probably 19 euros ar the 9 euros are mostly gone. Then, you can get a Srart fare of 19 euro from Milano Centrale to Sion, specifically on the 12:25 train from Milan. At Sion younwould just purchase Swiss tickets for the rest of the journey. Then you look on the Swiss rail site SBB for discount tickets to Paris, looking from Martigny to Paris.

So I just checked and on July 18 there are still at least two Special Offer tickets from Martigny to Paris, departing at 10:20 arrive Paris 15:49. 108 CHF each. To compare to pass prices, you would need the 5 country 5 day pass, for $505 and then you have to add reservation fees. You have only 4 trips so a pass will cost you $126 plus Rez fee per use. You can see that even the expensive Verbier to Paris leg is less than that with discount tickets.

Wow thanks Brenda and Sasha! You both offered such helpful responses! It looks like we will probably opt for the individual tickets rather than a pass, I just have to sit down and take the time and do it carefully. Brenda, we have purchased the flights in and out already, but if we were to remove one of the destinations, which would you suggest? Thanks again! Travis

Hi Travis,
Individual tickets is almost always cheaper these days than the rail pass, but it does require a bit of 'sweat equity' in making the advance purchases. For example, for your Munich to Florence leg, I went to Bahn.de (the German site) and put in those destinations. I get back an assortment of train schedules, with a message saying they can't price that trip. That means to me that it is probably because part is in Germany and part in Italy. I click on the red arrow for the shortest route, departing Munich at 9:30, and it shows me a change of trains in Bologna. So then I do a search on Bahn.de for Munich to Bologna and I get a 39 euro fare. Next, I do a search on Trenitalia (the Italian site) and find a Mini fare of 9 euros from Bologna to Florence. So, 48 Euro Munich to Florence and I can buy these online and print the tickets at home. There is definitely a learning curve to doing the advance purchase of train tickets, but it can result in significant savings. I recommend going to the Tripadvisor and Fodors sights and doing a search. You will find step by step instructions on navigating the train websights. Also, the websight, Man In Seat 61, is invaluable for getting you up to speed on European train travel. I will ask you, however, if you are certain that want to spend 4 days of your trip on the train? That leaves you with only 2 weeks to enjoy the destinations. Can you leave out one or two destinations? I am guesing that the plane tickets have already been purchased and so Munich and Barcelona are absolutes?

You could substitute Nice or someplace else on the French Riviera for Paris, and shorten the travel time considerably. Plus, Nice is nice! Or maybe Aix.

Travis, just so you know, the discount fares mentioned by Brenda and Sasha (9, 19, 39 euros) are for advance purchase and they are limited in number. Once they are sold out, the price goes up, for mini fares in Italy it goes up in 10euro increments. Also, they are for reserved seats on a particular train, not exchangeable ( with minor exceptions) and non-refundable. If you miss your train you are out of luck. But if you are committed to a particular itinerary they are a great deal, and we've never had a problem making the trains we booked. Now is the time to look for those fares for July travel, and some may already be gone on the popular routes like Florence to Milan. One trip we saved almost $500 (496 CHF) on one RT journey alone, buying the tickets 2 months in advance. It is well worth the effort to learn about these and take advantage. Also, for Munich to Florence, you could take a night train. That is one of the routes where a night train makes sense. We did that a few years ago, in a first-class 2-person private cabin, and got a good jig ht's rest. But I will say that night trains are not for everyone. (I can sleep on the plane too, one of the lucky few it seems).

Well, Travis, asking me to choose what to eliminate is a tough question! You obviously chose those destinations because they each were interesting to you. I love Florence, and although I also love mountains and the Swiss Alps, if I were to put together an itinerary based on less train travel, I would maybe eliminate those two stops. Munich to Paris is about 6 hours by fast train. You want plenty of time to explore Paris, maybe 5 days. Then, take the fast train to Provence, staying about 4 days. From Avignon to Barcelona is half the time as Paris to Barcelona (I think 7 vs. 13 1/2 hours) I can think of a couple of stops or day trips in Germany you can easily fit in if you don't want to be Munich the whole time. Sasha's idea of stopping along the French Riviera is also good. If you eliminate Paris and Verbiers, you could easily stop in Cinque Terre after Florence for 2 nights, then onto Nice to explore that area. I really like those areas also. But then you miss out on Paris! You are spoiled for choice---but either of those loops make good sense and will result in a wonderful trip.