Railpass vs Tickets

This section of the board is reserved for descriptions of people's own experiences. If you want answers, I'd suggest asking in the "Transportation" or "To the Boot" pages.

Buy the pass. You will pay for seats on top of the pass, but overall cheaper. We did our research and board our 1st train from Paris to Nice tomorrow. The rest of the 3week trip by train. Mark

I disagree. In taly the Point-To-Point tickets are cheaper than a Rail Pass. Dee, post this exact question in "The Boot" section and you will get many correct responses. See above "Travelers Helpline"...click on it....the go down and click on the Boot which is specifically for questions regarding Italy.

Since you haven't asked your question on either the "Transportation" board or the "To the Boot" board, I'll answer it here. Trenitalia doesn't limit the number of seats for passholders so you can buy a seat reservation literally up to the last minute, giving you great flexibility. With a railpass you will pay €10.00 for a seat reservation for each leg on a high-speed train and €3.00 for each leg on an IC train. No reservations are possible on regional trains. You have waited way too long to get the lowest discount fares for trains that offer them, but even at this late date you may be able to save a little money on some of your routes. However, if you book a discount fare ticket, it will be good only for a specific departure date and time so your flexibility will be gone. Venice-Milan: The standard 2nd class fare on a high-speed train is €36.00. Discount fares, if available, start at €9.00, then go to €19.00, and finally to €29.00. Milan-Cinque Terre: Fares differ depending upon whether you take a combination of an IC train and a regional train or all regional trains. They range from around €15.00 to around €25.00. Cinque Terre-Florence: Fares range from around €13.00 to around €20.00. Florence-Siena: You will travel on regional trains and the fare is €7.70. However, since the Siena train station is 1.5 km from the center of town, you might be better off taking the SITA bus which will drop you off in the center of town.

Siena-Sorrento: Your train route will be Siena-Florence-Rome-Naples on Trenitalia trains and Naples-Sorrento on a Circumvesuviana commuter train. (A railpass is not valid on Circumvesuviana trains.) If you want to take a high-speed train to Naples, you will have to backtrack and go via Florence. The standard fare for a regional train from Siena to Florence plus a high-speed train from there to Napoli Centrale is €75.70. Discount fares for Florence-Naples start at €9.00 and go up in ten-euro increments as I noted above. Or take a SITA bus directly from Siena to Rome, a high-speed train from Rome to Naples, and finally the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. The bus arrives outside the Tiburtina train station in Rome. Take the Metro from Tiburtina to Termini from where trains depart to Naples. The standard fare for Rome-Naples is €43.00. Discount fare tickets start at €9.00 and go up in ten-euro increments as I noted above. Circumvesuviana trains depart from the lower level of Napoli Centrale. If you take SITA buses from Florence to Siena and Siena to Rome, even buying full fare tickets for your other routes certainly will be cheaper than a railpass.