Rethinking Railpasses

I'm not following why exchange rate makes a difference. If a railpass consumes more Euros than point to point tickets, the exchange rate doesn't make a difference.........................Are you thinking in terms of prepaying your transportation because the Euro may go higher? If so, it's the same gamble as buying your Euros ahead of time - could turn out to be a good decision or could turn out the other way.

The railpasses are sold in USD, and the price has not risen as the value of the dollar has risen. As the Euro rises, buying p-p tix in Euros becomes more expensive in dollars. The railpass cost/day goes down when prepaid in USD vs. paying in Euros while traveling this fall......Anyway, that's the logic I used when deciding to buy a railpass for Italy for this fall. For the 6 days in 2 months pass, I will be paying about $45 per day.

You are right, Brad. But the Euro has been rising steadily for several months now. I bought a bunch of Euros when the exchange rate was about 1.26 and paid 1.35 thru my bank, gambling that the Euro would rise. The railpass price in USD hasn't changed all year, as far as I know. I'll be traveling soon, so I am gambling on the Euro staying high. Besides that, I like using passes because I can prepay that part of my trip. And I love those rail schedules and RS discounts that come with the passes....I'll still be paying for some reservation fees....I have several long train trips planned for my Italian trip...That's when the railpasses pay off....The downside is the darn pass adds bulk to my money belt....I may have to start wearing two moneybelts.

Leaving the exchange rate out of the equation, there are other reasons why an Italian railpass can be a better deal today than it was a year or so ago. Trenitalia has raised its fares on long distance, high speed trains but has lowered the passholder reservation fee on those trains. While advance purchase discount fare tickets for those same trains are an even better deal, the Trenitalia site rejects 99% of transactions using a US credit card. (US cards will work just fine in the ticket machines at Italian stations.)

I don't think the price in US$ for Eurail passes is set for a certain time span. I.e., they can, and I believe have, adjust the prices to the new Exch. rate at any time. So, it's certainly worth rethinking, but as always, you have to do the math. Know where you want to go, get the fares from Trenitalia.com, add them up for the trip and remember the €10 passholder surcharge for fast trains. Then compare them with the Eurail pass, whatever it is at the time.

Swan: While we all like to get a good deal, is chasing an advantage of a few dollars in a trip that will cost thousands really that important? I can understand worrying over airfares which can save large chunks of money, but I can't imagine that railpass plus reservation fees versus p to p tickets bought in Italy would be a huge amount of money either way. Lee or Tim may of course provide reasons why I am dead wrong, but I can't see that you could lose much either way and whatever the exchange rate is (unless some cataclysm drops or raises the dollar more than anyone expects).

Thanks for the info, Tim. My husband and I are planning an Italian trip next spring with his parents, and it would be nice (and easier with THIS group LOL) if a railpass could be made to work for us. Now, if they would just tell me where they want to go...arrggggghh LOL!

You're welcome, Eileen. Regional train tickets in Italy are dirt cheap. On any days you only take regional trains, buy point-to-point tickets and save your pass days for longer rides on high speed trains. Happy planning!

Roe, until you figure it out, you don't know if it's really a savings of only a few dollars, or a few hundred dollars, or more. I'd rather figure it out and know I only saved a few dollars than always wonder if I lost hundreds. I always figure it out, and, for my last trip entirely in Germany, I saved $143 over a four day pass.

There are variables and unknowns involved in predicting how much a train trip will cost. In France, early internet purchase yields inexpensive TGV tix.......I've gotten some real bargains pre-purchasing on iDTGV......In Italy, lacking the ability to buy tix in advance via internet, I sometimes can find prices on Trenitalia but will not know for sure until I'm in Italy buying my ticket.....This trip I will not be planning far ahead since where and when I go will depend on my mood and the weather.....I like the flexibility of using the Italy Pass and will use the faster trains mostly.....I know, I know. I still have to make reservations.

It is a tendency for railpass prices to be set in USD in the Spring (Feb/Mar) and barring any hugely significant events, they tend to hold for the year. So in a case of steadily rising exchange rates, you can, especially later in the year, see an advantage due to exchange rate. However, typically point to point would need to be significantly less then Pass (or even vice versa) so it takes a big shift to make a difference in the decision.

Ok, here's my math. I paid $267, including $15 shipping, for 6 days (in two months) 2nd class Italy Rail Pass. That comes out to 3 days at $67 each with the shipping cost included, and 3 days at $22 each. I will be taking 3-4 long train trips...Florence to Venice daytrip...Florence to Salerno or Naples...Naples or Salerno to Palermo....Cefalu to Naples. Short trips Ventimiglia to La Spezia and La Spezia to Florence will use up the remaining days. Or, I may decide to pay cash for those trips. Reservation fees for those long trips add about $15/trip. I think the short trips won't involve reservation fees, or only small amounts....I do the math this way, separating the cost of the original 3-day pass from the 3 added on days.....This makes some of the trips cost only $22 or 16 Eu each.....BTW, I don't find the cost analysis in the RS little maps to be very accurate or helpful.....I was able to look up some train costs on Trenitalia....Of course, the faster the train the more expensive the tix, and I'm thinking the more I save????.......I'm enjoying this discussion, because I debate with myself every trip whether to buy a pass or not. I've done it both ways; one trip I got sick and didn't use all the days on the pass...I'm sorry about all the dots; I'd prefer paragraph breaks.

I received my Italy Railpass (Flexi) from ETBD for 6 days in 2 months. The price printed on the pass is 204 Eu. I paid $252 plus $15 shipping, for a total of $267. That comes to $44.50 per day. The pass price was at an exchange rate of about $1.24 per Euro. The Euro is now about $1.39.

Last spring, when the Euro had fallen, someone discovered that a railpass was far less expensive in Euro, and that you could order it from Eurail in Euro with a credit card (of course the bank would charge you for currency conversion).