I am planning a night train journey from Rome To Spiez on the Euronight Train. I was planning to buy point-to-point tickets in Italy, and a swiss pass for Switzerland.
Would the pass be of any help on the night train? Since I would purchase the pass only once I am in Europe, should I actually wait for the night train reservation till then?
Also, is there a possibility of getting better fares once you are in europe, or are the online fares generally the best anyways?
According to this page, the passholder fare for international night trains will apply for you if you have either a consecutive day Swiss Pass or a Swiss Flexipass.
You should NOT wait until you get to Europe to buy a pass. First, it's sold at only a few select places (see page listed above). Second, popular night trains can sell out weeks in advance.
Online fares generally are the best, particularly if bookng well in advance gets you a discount fare. Standard fares are the same whether you book them in advance or at a station on the day of travel.
Buy point-to-point tickets in Italy. They're relatively inexpensive. Book the Rome-Spiez night train ASAP (up to 90 days allowed) on the Swiss Rail site.
Thanks for pointing that out Tim, will take that into account. I see that the journey from Rome to Florence takes almost 4 hours by Regional Train while it takes only around 1.5 hours by EuroStar. Thats quite some time saved for the 15-20 Euros passholder reservation fee on Eurostar.
Hey Vini, were you able to find out the exact fare for your trip?
Thanks for the pointer Tim!
I'm trying to figure out the exact fare for a Couchette reservation (for four people in the 4-person Couchette cabin) on the EuroNight train from Geneva to Rome. We will have the Swiss Pass and the Eurail Italy Pass as well. I could not find out the exact fare for this trip at sbb.ch or trenitalia.com, any idea where I can?
Would appreciate any info/pointers.
Thanks!
keychey,
Here are the fares offered by Trenitalia for a bunk in a 4-person couchette on the Geneva-Rome night train: standard is 115 EUR, Smart 2 is 58 EUR, Smart is 45 EUR, and passholder is 35 EUR.
The Trenitalia site doesn't accept US credit cards and Trenitalia doesn't mail tickets to other countries. You can book the night train on the Swiss Rail site, but you have to ask for a fare quote to be sent to you by e-mail.
The 35 EUR passholder fare (reservation/accommodation supplement) is the bought-in-Europe price. If you buy it from Rail Europe, you'll pay more. However, since popular night trains can sell out weeks in advance, it's wise to book ASAP.
Train travel within Italy is relatively inexpensive so a railpass for Italy alone is rarely cost effective. You will need to check prices yourself, but you might find it cheaper to use your Swiss pass for travel in Switzerland and buy point-to-point tickets for the Geneva-Rome night train and for all your rides in Italy.
Thanks a lot Tim for the detailed info and for checking the prices out, appreciate that! I was planning on getting a 4-day Eurail Italy-only pass, but from your comments, it looks like it may not necessarily be cost effective. I will check the individual fares for the trips I plan to take within Italy (Geneva-Rome-Florence-Pisa-Florence-Venice-Rome over a period of 4 days is the plan for now) and see which option is better.
You're welcome, keychey.
When you're comparing prices for travel in Italy both with and without a railpass, don't forget that seat reservations are required on high-speed trains. The reservation is included for p2p tickets, but passholders will pay 15-20 EUR for the reservation on each leg on EuroStar Italia trains and around 5 EUR for each leg on InterCity trains. (No reservations are possible on regional trains so passholders get a "free" ride on them.)
