Trains and the EURO RAIL Pass

Posted by Nate (Houston, Tx, USA) on 12/30/13 07:01 PM

Greetings! My wife and I are taking the Italy tour in April, after out tour we would like to take the Train from Florence to Paris (Day time Travel)

Can anyone help with one question? If we get the Two country Rail pass, do we still have to by tickets? Or does the Rail pass act as a ticket once we validate it at the Train station?

Thanks
Nate

Posted by Larry

Elk Grove, CA, USA

12/30/13 08:31 PM

6898 posts

Nate, this question was answered on your other post. Fares as low as 54Euro if you are willing to buy non-refundable tickets. This would require that you lock in your travel dates. A Euro pass for this journey would not be cost effective. Italy and France both add supplemental fees onto top of your pass to ride their better trains. You would be on these trains. You don't have seat reservations in either country until you pay these supplemental fees. Then, you can get on the trains. Also, I described one routing through Switzerland. With a 2-country pass, you would have to pay extra to ride through Switzerland. Only the TGV from Milano-Porta Garibaldi would keep you in two countries.

Posted by Ken

Vernon, Canada

12/30/13 09:33 PM

32330 posts

Nate,

Rail Passes are no longer the "deal" they used to be. In most cases, it's far more cost effective to pre-purchase tickets online, although doing so will "lock" you into a specific departure time.

Keep in mind that Rail Passes DO NOT include the reservation charges which are compulsory for the high speed trains in both Italy and France. Especially in Italy, if you're caught without a valid reservation for the train you're riding on (Rail Pass or not) you'll likely be fined on the spot, with fines starting at about €60 PP! Pass holder reservations are limited in France, so if they're sold out for the day you plan to travel, you'd have to buy tickets at full price.

The method I'd choose in the same circumstances......

Florence to Milan: Travel via the new Italo high speed service from Firenze SMN directly to Milano Porta Garibaldi (departures about hourly). Trip will be about 2 hours and they currently have tickets listed at €20 PP. You can buy your tickets online.
Milan to Paris: Travel via TGV high speed (~300 kmH) from Milano P.G. to Paris Gare de Lyon. There are numerous departures each day, but only a few DIRECT trains. Your best bet is probably a departure at 08:50, arriving Paris at 16:11. You'll have to check the SNCF website for prices.

Happy travels!

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

12/31/13 12:53 AM

19240 posts

Note also: most train connections from Florence to Paris go through Switzerland, and that means a three country pass which is more expensive (or at least additional pt-pt tickets through Switzerland). I'm not sure if it is possible to go to the south, through Turin, avoiding Switzerland. (It looks like that route might go through Geneva, so you might still need Switzerland.) No matter, that is still a route that takes longer.