Traveling by train for my specific itinerary?
Apr 30th, 2013, 04:43 PM
#1
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Traveling by train for my specific itinerary?
Hey guys,
I know the topic of Eurail Pass is brought up a lot, but after spending hours on the Internet I still couldn't figure out all the answers to my specific travel plan. Here's all the train trips that I need to take:
Paris CDG - Aix-en-Provence (TGV)
Marseille - Milan
Milan - Venice
Venice - Florence
Florence - Rome
Rome - Paris (night train)
And here are my questions,
1. If I buy a French-Italy Eurail Pass, does that pass work for all the above-mentioned trips?
2. How do I figure out which trips require reservation and which ones don't?
3. For those that require reservation, how do I make reservation in advance?
4. For my specific itinerary, would you recommend me buy a French-Italy Eurail Pass? Or which part I should buy a pass and which part I should buy point-to-point tickets?
Thank you so much!
I know the topic of Eurail Pass is brought up a lot, but after spending hours on the Internet I still couldn't figure out all the answers to my specific travel plan. Here's all the train trips that I need to take:
Paris CDG - Aix-en-Provence (TGV)
Marseille - Milan
Milan - Venice
Venice - Florence
Florence - Rome
Rome - Paris (night train)
And here are my questions,
1. If I buy a French-Italy Eurail Pass, does that pass work for all the above-mentioned trips?
2. How do I figure out which trips require reservation and which ones don't?
3. For those that require reservation, how do I make reservation in advance?
4. For my specific itinerary, would you recommend me buy a French-Italy Eurail Pass? Or which part I should buy a pass and which part I should buy point-to-point tickets?
Thank you so much!
Apr 30th, 2013, 05:17 PM
#3
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2. The high speed trains require reservations, the regional trains do not.
3. Make the reservation when you buy point to point tickets; if purchasing a pass make the reservations when you buy the pass.
4. You need to price the point to point tickets against the price of a pass and figure which has the financial advantage. I don't think it makes sense to buy a pass and then buy point to point tickets as well.
How are you getting from Aix to Marseille?
3. Make the reservation when you buy point to point tickets; if purchasing a pass make the reservations when you buy the pass.
4. You need to price the point to point tickets against the price of a pass and figure which has the financial advantage. I don't think it makes sense to buy a pass and then buy point to point tickets as well.
How are you getting from Aix to Marseille?
Apr 30th, 2013, 06:21 PM
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sarge56 - It's 39 days in between
adrienne - From where I'm staying in Aix, a friend should be able to drive me to Marseille. If not I think i assume it won't be an issue to buy a train ticket on the spot?
jgg - My traveling plans are in June and July. I did look up EasyJet and Ryanair but right now all the cheap tickets seem to have sold out.
Thanks for all your responses! As of now I'm thinking, I'll buy Paris - Aix and Marseille - Milan on SNCF; For Milan - Venice, Venice - Florence, Florence - Rome I'll buy a Eurail Italy Pass 3 days (since they are short-distance regional trains I suppose I don't need to make reservations?) And for Rome - Paris night train, I'll book it on Thello. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
adrienne - From where I'm staying in Aix, a friend should be able to drive me to Marseille. If not I think i assume it won't be an issue to buy a train ticket on the spot?
jgg - My traveling plans are in June and July. I did look up EasyJet and Ryanair but right now all the cheap tickets seem to have sold out.
Thanks for all your responses! As of now I'm thinking, I'll buy Paris - Aix and Marseille - Milan on SNCF; For Milan - Venice, Venice - Florence, Florence - Rome I'll buy a Eurail Italy Pass 3 days (since they are short-distance regional trains I suppose I don't need to make reservations?) And for Rome - Paris night train, I'll book it on Thello. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
Apr 30th, 2013, 07:29 PM
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No, no, don't buy an Ialian railpass! They are so cheap point-to-point! Good idea to use the SNCF for the French ones - and buy 3 months out from your dates of travel to get the cheapest fares.
Stay OFF Rail Europe for this trip!
Stay OFF Rail Europe for this trip!
Apr 30th, 2013, 08:30 PM
#7
>>>1. If I buy a French-Italy Eurail Pass, does that pass work for all the above-mentioned trips?<<<
No. Thello is not covered by a pass. Some trains in France restrict the number of passholders and there are supplements you must pay in addition to the cost of the pass.
I don't imagine a pass will be cost effective for your Italy travel. Passes don't include seat reservations which are mandatory on all the faster trains in Italy so yes, you need to make seat reservations.
>>>Italy Pass 3 days (since they are short-distance regional trains I suppose I don't need to make reservations?) <<<
These would not be regional trains, they would be fast AV trains.
A 3 day pass for Italy would cost $237 plus 10€ (current exchange is $13.10) for each seat so you would spend $276.30 with a pass. A random date late May shows plenty of advance purchase discount tickets on Trenitalia for each leg of your Italy trip for 19€ (includes your seat).
Walk up prices at the station for these will be:
Milan/Venice - 37.50€
Venice/Florence - 45€
Florence/Rome - 43€
Total walk up price for all three is 125.50€ or $163.87
You would save $112.43 by not buying the pass.
Are you actually staying in Milan? If not, I would route this differently.
No. Thello is not covered by a pass. Some trains in France restrict the number of passholders and there are supplements you must pay in addition to the cost of the pass.
I don't imagine a pass will be cost effective for your Italy travel. Passes don't include seat reservations which are mandatory on all the faster trains in Italy so yes, you need to make seat reservations.
>>>Italy Pass 3 days (since they are short-distance regional trains I suppose I don't need to make reservations?) <<<
These would not be regional trains, they would be fast AV trains.
A 3 day pass for Italy would cost $237 plus 10€ (current exchange is $13.10) for each seat so you would spend $276.30 with a pass. A random date late May shows plenty of advance purchase discount tickets on Trenitalia for each leg of your Italy trip for 19€ (includes your seat).
Walk up prices at the station for these will be:
Milan/Venice - 37.50€
Venice/Florence - 45€
Florence/Rome - 43€
Total walk up price for all three is 125.50€ or $163.87
You would save $112.43 by not buying the pass.
Are you actually staying in Milan? If not, I would route this differently.
Apr 30th, 2013, 09:42 PM
#8
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In January we travelled easily from Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome with tickets through Trenitalia, even getting some for 9EUR.
As StCirq stated - avoid RailEurope who are inefficient, expensive & inadequate.
Enjoy planning
As StCirq stated - avoid RailEurope who are inefficient, expensive & inadequate.
Enjoy planning
Apr 30th, 2013, 09:52 PM
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May 1st, 2013, 12:54 AM
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As if you need any more confirmation, I definitely agree with other posters here, so long as you book your tickets in advance (which seems fine seeing as you know your itinerary) point to point is the way to go. You can do all those routes by high speed train which booked 3 months our are superb value for money. Ditto the Thello which doesn't offer discounts with a railpass but is very economical when booking opens (4 months for the Thello). And you're absolutely right on Aix-en-Provence to Marseille - it's only about a 15min journey so it will cost you £5-6 maximum.
May 1st, 2013, 05:50 AM
#11
>>>>You can do all those routes by high speed train which booked 3 months our are superb value for money. Ditto the Thello which doesn't offer discounts with a railpass but is very economical when booking opens (4 months for the Thello).<<<
Trenitalia books 120 days in advance.
Trenitalia books 120 days in advance.
