? about train passes for italy
 

We went on rail saver and it said we need a rail pass for italy.This is for trips to towns in Italy and then to Paris.

Where do we buy these passes?...we went on Trentalia and can't read it because it's all in italian....and on this board they say Rail Europe is a no no...

Thanks

We say "NO" when buying point-to-point ticket on RailEurope, but passes cost the same everywhere. You can buy from RailEurope or other agents in the US. Some charges for shipping, some don't. That's the difference in price.

You can't buy a pass from Trenitalia, though their website does have an English option - on their front page, look it's the last link on the very top.

Thank you very much...we are ordering from Rick Steves. more questions please..

Once we get the pass, do we just go to Rail Europe site and make our reservations? Or can we make the reservations before we get the pass?

Do we get an actual ticket..???...

sorry for the questions.

Thanks again

Railsaver.com compares the cost of a pass to full fare point-to-point tickets. Train fares within Italy are cheap enough to not warrant a pass, even cheaper if you book discount fares in advance online (using the English version of trenitalia.com). If you book your Italy-Paris ticket on trenitalia.com, you may be able to get a discount fare for that trip also.

Where will you be going within Italy? What city will you be leaving from when you go to Paris?

Rail saver said we should get a flexi pass..so we bought the pass they recommended. 5 days in a 2 month period.

Now we don't know how to reserve the trains?..we are doing trips between several Italian cities and then Turin to Paris. It's a 1st class..

Hi lois,

Your railpass allows you to board any train that doesn't require reservations.

ES* and the high speed Rome/Naples train (name escapes me) are reservation only.

You will have to make reservations for these trains - about 12E pp.

If you are taking the night train to Paris, you will have to purchase sleeping car reservations.

((I))

You can make all your reservations before you leave through Rail Europe or Euraide, but it will be expensive. It will be much cheaper if you wait until you get to Italy. If you know exactly which dates and times you wish to travel, you could make them all at once at any major train station. For more fexibility, make them one at a time the night before you plan to ride the train. Exception: It would be good to make your Turin-Paris reservation as soon as you get to Italy, particularly if part of your route includes the night train from Milan to Paris. Popular night trains often sell out and train companies are allowed to limit the number of seats they allot to passholders.

Thank you for all your help. I hope I don't have more ??. You know because we did France trains so well, I figured I had it made...