Ami

I plan on getting the Italian Rail Flexipass. <BR>I have never used the trains. Is first class worth it? If you have a flexipass do you still have to always make a seat reservation before boarding in order to assure that you have a seat?

Chris

Ami, <BR> <BR>I lived in Italy when I was in High School and did quite a bit of rail travel. At first I travelled exclusively 2nd class to save money. At that time the Italian rail system was notorious for being crowded and late, and my experience was no exception. I soon learned that First Class made a real difference. It's much roomier, and not nearly as crowded, which made the delays much more bearable. That being said, I love Italy. I've been back to Europe several times and it is by far my favorite place to spend any amount of time. The people, the pace, the architecture, the countryside and the food all make up for any of it's quirks. Have a great time.

scigirl

For certain, generally 'long haul' trains you must make a reservation in advance. This only costs a few dollars and can be done at the train station a day or so ahead of time. For other trains you do not have to make a reservation - you just get on and go. However, some routes can be busy and it can be nice to have a seat or a reservation. First class is nicer, with more room, and generally cleaner cars. Given that there is more room, you also have a greater chance of avoiding cigarette smoke, if that is important to you. On a recent trip we had a first class eurorail pass, and discovered that on some routes there were no first class cars - so despite paying for a first class pass, we traveled second class at times. So, you do not always need a reservation, particularly for short trips. And, yes, I thought first class was worth the relatively small additional cost. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip!

Walter

Ami: Have you checked the prices of point-to-point tickets vs. the Flexipass? If you want to take the Eurostar & InterCity (ES,IC) trains you will still have to pay more, this is from the FS website regarding the Flexipass "on all FS trains except on ES*, for which the payment of service change IC/ES* is compulsory". By service charge I assume? they mean the "suppliment" charge and possibly the seat reservation charge (5,800L) on an IC train. <BR> Just curious, what cities are you going to by train and which Flexipass (# of days) and what is the cost? Regards, Walter <BR>

tina

Ami: <BR> <BR>In order to evaluate whether to opt for point-to-point purchases or go for the Flexipass, check out 'FS Online' website to see what it costs to go from (which cities are you planning to visit?). <BR>http://www.fs-on-line.com/ <BR> <BR>And as to the 'first' vs. 'second' class issue, I've travelled both; in the instance of the EuroStar ('ES') train, the second class seating is fine. 'ES' and 'IC' (Intercity) are nicer trains, make fewer stops and it's worth the money to select these trains if possible. By the way the 'Diretto' is not as direct as you may think. If you have to travel on a local or 'diretto', then you may not be a choice of first or second; some only carry 2nd class cars.

Paulo

Ami, Walter put it mildly :-&gt; I would guess that 19 times out of 20 it doesn't pay to get any kind of Italian passes. In the case one does save some, the savings are so little that it doesn't pay. Train travel in Italy is very cheap. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>