Eurail Pass vs. Trenitalia (Italy) Pass
 

I will be traveling through Italy for 3 weeks and am trying to decide which option, if either, suits my travel plans. My understanding is Italy requires a seat reservation on all Frecce trains, but not regional trains. And, Eurail Pass does not include seat reservations for which you pay extra but the Trenitalia pass does at no extra cost.

As example, Rome to Rimini with a change in Bologna:

Point to Point Standard Economy second class (Freccerossa both legs) is 66.8 Euro. Does this price on the Trenitalia site include a seat reservation and the cost for it?

Eurail Pass: trip is covered but a seat reservation is required and you pay an additional fee each leg at booking (estimate 33 Euro for 2 legs)

Trenitalia Pass: trip is covered as 2 journeys, includes seat reservation on each at no additional fee.

Is my understanding correct?

I think we can rule out the Eurail pass right away. It would almost never be cost effective.

Trenitalia tickets always include the reservation cost if it's a reserved train, as are all Freccia and Intercity trains.

I can't see the details of the Trenitalia pass, because I'm an Italian citizen residing in Italy. However, I find it hard to imagine that any pass would be worth buying. The main page says that the passes cost "as little as" €139, which must be for three trips in seven days, using the "Easy" option (2nd class). It could only pay off if you took three longish trips in one week, on Frecciarossa trains. If you did this for three weeks in a row, you'd be spending altogether too much time on trains.

Rome to Rimini, for example, is nearly a four-hour trip, even on the Frecciarossa. I don't think you would want to take three such long trips in one week. It would mean spending only two nights in each place. If this counts as two trips, your next trip would have to cost €71 to make the pass worthwhile.

Other shorter trips cost a lot less. Rome to Naples, for example costs about €39 on a Frecciarossa, and takes just a little over an hour. Rome to Florence costs €42 and takes about an hour and a half. Three trips like those in a week would cost less than the pass. Furthermore, many routes in Italy have no high-speed trains. Regional trains cost very little: Bologna to Ferrara, €5; Florence to Siena, €10.

If you can give us an idea of the places you want to visit, I could evaluate better the value of the pass for you. However, I doubt if any pass will save you money.

The only way I've ever figured out you can save money with the TrenItalia pass is if you refuse to book in advance. EVEN then only if you have a long ride like Rome to Venice.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en/offers...alia-pass.html

That's the pass page in English.

Where are you looking for prices and for what dates? I just picked a random day in March and price start at €13 Roma to Rimini. That's one afternoon train. Plenty of better options at €19. Both of those are from Rome to Rimini.

NB those are special prices. Every so often TrenItalia runs sales.

What the others are saying is don’t bother with a pass of any kind. You are probably / likely better off just buying point to point tickets. If you know your travel dates in advance you can save more money by buying ahead.

Sorry that should be

Those AREN'T special prices.

Eurorail is just a system designed to take money off North Americans

Thanks, everyone. Your advice is well received and I plan on buying tickets as we go as it makes more sense for this trip.

We had a monthly global Eurail pass one year that we treated like a hop on hop off bus through countries that didn’t require reservations. Easy, convenient and well worth the cost. Not this time

Happy travels to all.

Good morning,
I am sorry to jump into this forum. It would be great if you can reply.
Here is the itinerary.
Rome to Florence 17 th February afternoon
18th Feb AM (5:30 AM or 6) to PISA and back in the afternoon Florence to Venice 19th feb early morning
Venice to Rome 21st early AM (6:00 AM)
We are flying out from Rome 23rd AM.
Also, we have to take the train to Roma Centrini.
Thank you in advance

Ticket prices for your days are - per person

Rome to Florence is 25 euros
Florence to Pisa round trip is 20
Florence to Venice is 22
Venice to Rome 50

you can do the maths but it seems that buying point to point tickets is cheaper that any pass.

I’ve never heard of Rome Centrini so cant help you there.

Thank you so much. Appreciate your input.It made sense to me too.
Kind regards

There is no Roma Centrini. A centrino usually refers to a crocheted doily or centerpiece.

I suspect Centrini is an error combining Centrale and Termini. Roma Termini is the main station in Rome.

I was curious about this, so I googled it. It came up with a place east of Central Rome where you can buy doilies. I put Piazza Navona in for directions and it showed that it's over an hour from there.
Not trying to be rude, but VanitaG's whole itinerary is sort of crazy, travelling from Rome to Florence, Pisa, Venice, and back to Rome with almost no time anywhere. I would hope she would forget about the doilies with her very short time in Rome.

I’ve traveled extensively throughout Italy by train and never once did I think about buying a Eurail pass. In 30 years of traveling to Europe I’ve never found them to be affordable or cost effective. It’s always easier, and cheaper,buying tickets from Trenitalia website than a ripoff third party site intended to price gouge unknowing tourists.