BWhit86

Hi all,

Myself and three others are travelling around Europe later this month, and are looking at fares from Rome to Zurich.

Currently the best price I've been able to find online is AU$225 per person which is roughly €152 through italiarail for the 4th of May. Just wondering if this is a reasonable price, or whether it would be cheaper to buy tickets on the day.

Thanks in advance for your help.

PalenQ

What other rail travel are you doing? If several then look at some kind of Eurailpass if that is the lowest fare available - well over $200 for that train alone then it could go a long way towards a pass if you are taking several other trains as well.

That price seems like full fare - discounted fares are much cheaper but could be sold out as they are sold in limited numbers and often sell out weeks in advance.

Check these sites for lots of info on European trains: www.seat61.com (good info on discounted tickets); www.ricksteves.com and www. budgeteuropetravel.com. Of course check flying as well: www.whichbudget.com or www.skyscanner.net tell you about cheap tickets between any two airports - so check Zurich and Geneva for flights to Rome's two major airports.

Have you also check www.sbb.ch - the official Swiss Railways site for fares. You could also try from Domodossola to Rome for fares on trenitalia.com or itliarail as there are many more trains from that Italian border station to Milan where you would change for Rome - the price you have is for probably one of the relatively few direct Switzerland to Milan trains.

Of course you'd have to buy a Swiss ticket to Domodossola but all in all it could be cheaper.

kybourbon

I would not use Italiarail to book this as they are a reseller. I'm pretty sure they can't even sell tickets from Italy to Switzerland anyway.

For best prices, use Trenitalia (which is the actual Italian train company) for Rome/Milan (look for supereconomy fares) and cheapest fares sell out (they start selling 4 months in advance). If you wait, they are gone and you end up paying regular fare so it's not cheaper to wait or walk up and purchase.

For Milan/Zurich, look for Smart Fares. I'm not seeing any Smart Fares left for your date and regular price is 71€ (discount Smart Fare is 28€).

I'm seeing Rome/Milan discounts only in premium and business class for 79€ so it appears the cheapest fares are already gone. The total for both tickets on Trenitalia is 150€ with the first leg in premium and the 2nd train in 2nd class.

Full fare 2nd class Rome/Milan is 86€.
Full fare 2nd class Milan/Zurich is 71€.
The most you would pay is 157€ unless 2nd class gets sold out and you have to buy a higher class.

You must use the Italian spelling for cities. It should start to autofill as you are typing the name in. In Rome, you want Termini. In Milan, you want Centrale.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD

PalenQ

Great info as usual from kybourbon! Point is the early bird gets the worm on discounts - you are too late for most!

Man_in_seat_61

Simple:

1) Zurich to Milan from €22 euros (full-price on-the-day €71) book at www.sbb.ch

Allow at least an hour in Milan between trains, then book:

2) Milan to Rome from €29 (full-price on-the-day €86) at www.trenitalia.com

In both cases you print your own ticket.

You do not need a truckload of railpass unlimited travel just to do one specific journey easily-pre-booked with cheap tickets 2-3 months ahead.

PalenQ

Man are you saying that on May 4 -the OP's travel date - there are those super low fares - kybourbon I believe must have it right as she usually does!

Too late for those low low fares. Or did you find them on May 4?

kybourbon

No, those fares aren't left on Trenitalia for those dates. There is a discount fare of 59€ still available on Italo at 6:50 am (not Italiarail the reseller, Italo the other train company in Italy). That would mean changing train stations in Milan though as Italia uses Milano P. Garibaldi and the train to Switzerland departs Milano Centrale. Both are on the subway, but you would have the hassle and need to allow time.

http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx

PalenQ

Why did Man in Seat 61 say "simple then to the OP's situation and give those 29 euro fares? As usual kybourbon is the Italian rail fare expert, not Man in Seat 61 who always says 'from ' bugt never reads the details of what the OP is asking.