Hi I will be traveling (between 9th Aug - 26th Aug) on following trains, which require reservations: 1. Paris to Bellegarde (TGV 9781) 2. Berninar Express (Chur to Tirano) 3. Milan to Venice (Eurostar Italia) 4. Venice to Florence (Eurostar Italia) 5. La Spezia to Naples (Eurostar Italia) 6. Naples to Rome. (Eurostar Italia) Are reservations recommended for these trains or Should I do them on the fly? If I were to reserve them from US (through raileurope website), in how many days would I get my reservation passes? Any Idea? Thanks in advance
Sam
Posted by
Minneapolis
1274 posts
Hi Sam. For the Italy trains, suggest you use official web site trenitalia.com. You can buy in advance for discounts shown if you are OK to lock in your date and time. You will be given a boarding code and seat assignments online / via email. Or if you don't wish to lock in date and time, you can just wait and buy when in Italy; you would then pay the 'Base' price shown. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3299 posts
Are you using a rail pass? If so, reservations are required on all those trains except the Bernina Express. If you are buying tickets, the seat reservation is included in the price, except on the Bernina Express. You might be able to find some discounted tickets on Trenitalia if you book now. Otherwise, you can wait and buy the tickets for the train you want when you get to Italy.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Sam, you will need reservations on the Milan to Venice, Venice to Florence, parts of La Spezia to Naples and Naples to Rome runs. You may need to pay a supplemental fee on the Bernina Express. Most likely not on your trip to the CT from Florence. The seat reservation comes with the purchase of the ticket - even when you buy online. If you are willing to lock into a firm travel date and time on these runs, you can get some nice economy and super economy fares. Just register on the www.trenitalia.com website and take a look. Note that with only 30 days or less before travel, a lot of the best super economy fares will most likely be gone. But, you can still get some good fares. Once you buy your ticket online, you can print out your ticket at home. Yes, you can buy any or all of these tickets as you travel. It's best to buy 2-3 days in advance if you can. You will have full flexibility on your selection of travel but you will pay the full fare on the tickets.
Posted by
OP
San Jose
12 posts
Thanks for the reply guys. I will have a EUrail pass with me. So I wont be buying point to point tickets. Sorry I did not make myself clear.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32398 posts
Sam, You will of course need to buy reservations for the premium trains in Italy, which you can do when you arrive there. AFAIK, there are no discounts on just the reservations, for those using Railpasses. DON'T be caught without valid reservations for the train you're riding on, as you may be fined on the spot, and it won't be cheap (about €40-50 PP as I recall)! You can check the Trenitalia website to determine which trains require reservations. Be sure to verify that you're boarding the train number as specified on the reservation card. Happy travels!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
SNCF (French National Rail) limits the number of seats allocated to passholders on TGVs. It might be wise to buy a seat reservation for Paris-Bellegarde today from Rail Europe. If you wait until you get to Paris, you might have to buy a full fare ticket for your departure time or pick a different departure time. Trenitalia doesn't have limits on passholder seat reservations. You'll save money by buying seat reservations for EuroStar Italia trains when you get to Italy. A reservation costs €10.00.