Help! I feel so confused. I want to purchase a rail pass for my husband and I for Oct and want to know when and if I need reservation for usage between Paris, Spain and Italy? I think Select Pass is our best bet.Thanks!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
By a reservation, you must mean a SEAT reservation. Seat reservations can be obtained at a nominal price in Europe. If you want to get seat reservations online from the national railroads of Europe, they will still be at a nominal price, but they will be harder to get. You can easily get seat reservations from a stateside agency, like RailEurope, but the charge a premium to do it.
Some trains are considered premium trains, not fully covered by a railpass, and you must pay a supplement to ride them. Along with this supplement you do get a seat reservation, but the price is higher than just a seat would justify.
Finally, if you use night trains, the railpass covers only the cost of the rails. The sleeping accommodations on these trains is extra. Of course they reserve these accommodations for you, so they call them "reservations", but they are really supplements.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
In general you don't need a railpass for Italy. Plus, as Lee mentions above, you will pay a seat reservation fee for riding the ICPlus and Eurostar-class trains in Italy. For the Eurostar, its 10E.
The only trains you can ride in Italy without paying extra are the slower Regionale and IC trains. If you are going to Sorrento from Naples, the private Circumvesuviana train system won't accept your pass.
Yes you will be in a few more train stations buying P2P tickets. But, if you are intending to ride the Eurostars, you will be there anyway buying the seat reservations.
It all depends on where you intend to travel but almost always, P2P tickets are less expensive than a Eurail pass. You will also pay extra if you ride the TGV out of Paris but it's not nearly as bad as the Eurostar in Italy.