Rail Pass or Point to Point

With this much time to plan you would have no reason, if you are willing to do a bit of work and commit to specific trains, you can do all those trips for not much money. You do need to plan your trips and buy the cheapest tickets when they are released. There is a wealth of knowledge here on the Helpline who will help you with specifics. It is very unlikely that a pass would pay off, especially since on your high speed trains you will need a passholder reservation fee of €10 per segment; on Intercity trains the reservation fees are €3 per segment. If you buy the very inexpensive tickets (not involving a pass) those extra fees are not payable. Are you cruising from Trieste or Genoa?

Nigel thank you for the input, excellent advice. I have plenty of time to plan, just trying to finalize my cost. We are actually starting our trip in Paris. We will travel from SFO to Paris and staying 3 nights. I plan on using Easyjet or similar to get from Paris to Venice. After that it's all about the train. Here is my tentative Itinerary 10/1/2014 Fly from Paris to Venice Stay 4 nights 10/1 -10/5 10/2/2014 Visit Venice 10/3/2014 Train to Florence- Day Trip 10/4/2014 Treste- Day Trip 10/5/2014 Venice to Genoa via Train- Stop In Milan 10/5/2014 Stay in Genoa Area 3 nights 10/5 - 10/8 10/6/2014 Tour Genoa Area 10/7/2014 Day trip to Cinque Terra 10/8/2014 Train to Rome 3 nights 10/8- 10/11 10/9/2014 Tour Vatican 10/10/2014 Tour Rome 10/11/2014 Fly Rome to San Francisco

Lisa, if you can plan well enough to establish your precise day and time of travel, you can non-refundable tickets at a very reasonable discount. You can book the fast trains 119 days in advance. Here's what you can expect. 1. R/T Venice to Florence 38Euro. Regular fare is 90Euro 2. R/T Venice to Trieste 24,20Euro. This is a Regionale train 3. Venice to Milan 9Euro. Regular fare is 37,50Euro 4. Milan to Genoa 9Euro. Regular fare is 26Euro 5. Genoa to Vernazza 6,80Euro. Mostly Regionale trains.
6. Genoa to Rome 19Euro. Regular fare is 60,50Euro If you have a pass, add 50Euro to the cost of your pass to cover the seat reservation fees on the fast trains you will be riding on this journey.

lisa, As Nigel mentioned, using a Railpass in Italy is not cost effective as tickets are relatively cheap, especially when purchased well in advance. Have you considered staying in the Cinque Terre for a few days rather than visiting as a day trip from Genoa? Time will be required for travel back and forth, so that doesn't leave much time to see the five towns. You can research your rail journeys at www.trenitalia.com. The dates for 2014 won't be posted yet, but you'll get a reasonably accurate idea by looking at trains on the same day that you'll be travelling. I'd suggest buying tickets for the premium trains you'll be using as soon as available (120 days in advance?), and hopefully you'll be able to get the Super Economy tickets. Some of your trips will be on Regionale trains. Buy tickets for those in Italy at a Kiosk or ticket office, a day or two before you'll be travelling. A FEW IMPORTANT POINTS: > Tickets for premium trains are specific to a train, date and departure time, so be VERY sure when you book as you'll be "locked into" travelling on ONLY that train. Be sure to ONLY board the train specified on your ticket or you'll be subject to a hefty fine which will be collected on the spot! > Tickets for the Regionale trains MUST be validated prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. The same is true with Buses, etc. Failure to validate tickets will again result in hefty fines! > If travelling with a Railpass, reservations are not included and must be purchased separately. You may find it helpful to have a look at these videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n8rITO1Eek www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-WuW_-NIlQ You could also have a look at the excellent www.roninrome.com website for LOTS of great information. Cheers!

I just returned from a trip to Europe with a railpass so I was in a similar position as you about a year ago. We were in several different countries with our pass, one of which was Italy. I would agree with the others that for Italy it is better to reserve in advance. Sounds like you have your schedule nailed down and with day trips you have a better chance of sticking to your timed tickets. For us, flexibility was a determining factor which made the pass more convienent, especially in Germany where there weren't too many reservations required. However, for your routes, you will need to add on the reservation fees and that will drive your costs up. I would also agree with previous poster to stay in the Cinque Terre instead of Genoa. Have fun!!

Thank you everyone for your input. Looks like I will have to wait to purchase tickets vs the pass. Can I purchase the tickets at the lower cost then make the reservations as it gets closer to the actual travel dates? As far as the Cinque Terra, I need to spend at least one day in Genoa. Would it be better to stay closer to the CT and go to Genoa vs staying in Genoa? Any thoughts on Portofino? Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to provide excellent information. Very Much appreciated Lisa

>Can I purchase the tickets at the lower cost then make the reservations as it gets closer to the actual travel dates? < When you buy a ticket for an Italian train that requires reservations, whether online or at the station, whether discounted or full fare, the reservation is included in the ticket purchase (you get an assigned seat). So, since you know your routes and dates, get familiar with the Trenitalia website now. As soon as tickets are released, buy them, so you can snag the cheapest ones. Then you print these out, and the printouts act as your tickets. The cheapest tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. So, if you don't take the exact train your have your ticket for, for any reason, you forfeit that ticket and have to buy a new one. If you don't want this restriction, don't buy the cheapest tickets. The second-cheapest fares have some exchangeability and refundability. The full fares are fully refundable and exchangeable, but as they're not discounted, there's no reason to buy them ahead; just buy them as needed on or before your day of travel. They are still cheaper than using a pass.

Lisa, if you wait to purchase your tickets, you will pay the full fare that I listed above. The discounted tickets are only for advance purchase. And yes, they are non-refundable so have to be sure of your dates and time of travel. It's not hard. We do it all the time. If you can plan this well for your flight to Europe and your EasyJet flight, you can do it for the trains as well. It's just a bit more organization to your planning.