Italy Railpass vs. pt-to-pt tix?
 

For self, husband & 10 yo son: Pros & Cons of point-to-point tix vs. 4-day flexipass? Is there anything, in your opinion, that outweighs the cost savings of buying indiv tix? <BR>

Hi!! I have a 3-day French railpass for our upcoming trip. This was $10/person cheaper than point-to point and gives me additional flexibility plus additional day.

Pam, <BR> <BR>An excellent question. I am going through the same process - having difficulty comparing the two. Trying to determine what the supplements are for both different train types (Eurostar, IC) and for reserved seats and which of these are already included in the flexipass price? If anyone knows, please advise.

thanks for your input. anyone else? <BR>

I'd go with the pass, if only for the <BR>"convenience factor." It can be time consuming and frustrating trying to buy individual tickets. With a pass, you check the schedule and hop on. My experience was that reservations weren't necessary, although recommended.

<BR> You might want to look into the "Kilometre Pass"(?) this a single pass I've *heard* that is good for a family or small group to use. I posted (jan98) on rec.travel.europe and have read other posts since about the Flexipass none were positive. My Experience for the Eurostar *only*: In 98 the 1st class Flexipass was $215 US and to take the Eurostar you still had to stand in a ticket line to pay a supplement and get your reserved tickets. So I decided on pt to pt tickets. For four days travel 1st class Eurostar Venice-Florence, Florence-Naples, Naples-Rome, and Rome-Venice. Using '99 prices this trip costs $202. Cheaper than the '98 Flexipass without the supplements. BTW I practiced my ticket requests in Italian only to find the ticket agents spoke english:). Regards, Walter

Thanks, Colleen & Walter. The cost for our flexipasses is roughly double what the pt-to-pt tix would be, because we are making a small loop (Rome-Orvieto-Florence-Pisa-Rome) USD 540 vs USD 275 per fares on raileurope.com. I heard somewhere that the Kilometric ticket involves as much queuing as buying indiv tix, so nothing gained in that dept. Will investigate further! <BR>

Just return form Italy- bought the 4 day rail pass. The train schedules are very confusing. The Euro rail train suplemental charge from Rome to Florence was about 48,000 lire. You need to arrive at the station early and make a reservation to ride the Eurostar. Be careful to board direct trains or you'll stop in every town along the way. The rail trip from Rome to Florence was 2hour the return was about five hours. Also train schedules are very limited on Sundays.