I am planning a trip starting in Rome and ending in Paris. We will be going to florence, turin, provence france and then on to paris. Should I buy a pass ahead of time, or wait and buy once there? Which would be the most econmical?
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
tami,
If you're planning to travel with a Railpass, note that these are not normally available for sale in Europe. You'll have to purchase before departing the U.S.
One important point to note is that Railpasses do NOT include the reservation fees that are compulsory with some trains. You'll have to pay those separately.
If you decide to travel with a Pass, ETBD is one of the largest vendors of these in the U.S. Check the Railpass pages here for further information. There's also lots of great rail planning information in that section of this website.
Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
tyler, usa
3 posts
Thank you I will look into the railpasses section.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Tami, I think you should also price out the trip without a pass. You might be pleasantly surprised!
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
52 posts
I agree, I was all set to buy a select pass until I priced out the journey point-to-point. It was well worth the effort for the money I'm going to save by not buying the pass.
Posted by
OP
tyler, usa
3 posts
Thanks everyone, the post have been helpful..We are going point to point :) Another question though, where do I look for rail passage from Liguria area in Italy to Arles, France? French or italian railway?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
While you can find timetables for train travel within a country on that country's national rail site, the best site for timetables for routes that include more than one country (in this case both Italy and France) and might require several connections is the German Rail site. After you get summary timetables for point A to point B, click on the arrow to the left of the departure time(s) of your choice to see the connecting points, if any.
Be aware that new timetables will go into effect throughout much of Europe on 13 June and Trenitalia (Italian national rail) hasn't uploaded theirs yet. Until they do so, the German Rail site can't show them. Enter a date prior to 13 June for the day of the week you wish to travel. The timetables you will get should be virtually identical to the ones that will take effect on 13 June.
Buy point-to-point tickets as you go in Italy and for your ride from Italy into France. To get a very good discount fare for Arles-Paris, book well in advance (up to three months allowed) at www.tgv-europe.com. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as your country of residence. If you get a Prem's fare, you can print the ticket yourself. For all other fares you can pick up your ticket at any SNCF (French national rail) station in France.