Italy - Rome to Palermo - Need a travel agent for the overnight train!
 

Hello all!,

Three of my friends and I will be traveling through Europe in July this year. We are taking the overnight train from Rome to Palermo. We all have global rail passes through Eurail and are interested in reserving a 'couchette' ahead of time. Eurail is telling me that in order to upgrade to a cabin we need to either reserve when we get to Europe or find a travel agent. Considering this is during the peak of travel season over in Europe, we desperately would like to reserve well ahead of time. Does anyone have a travel agent in mind for this type of reservation? Any help would be appreciated.

Please do not tell me that I shouldn't take the train... It's done. We are taking it. But if you have any advice on how to reserve a cabin ahead of time please share. Thanks!


ejohns10

You should book through trenitalia, the Italian rail company.

See also http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm

Does anyone have a travel agent in mind for this type of reservation?> Well if anyone will do it it would be Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - whom I've used for years buying passes and occasionally making sleeper reservations though I usually do that once I am in a country as to just make a reservation now will probably mean some mailing/handling fees since there is no inherent profit on such a purchase (if you did it when you bought your passes there may not have been one) - and normally I would tell you to make that reservation once in Italy but last time I took that train from Sicily to Rome it was packed full - lots of Sicilians working up the boot in Italy going back and forth as cheap as possible - and I wanted a couchette but was told at the station that all were sold out for days but I could get a place in a triple - not sure that train will have 4-person compartments but it will have 2 two person compartments that can be arranged to be adjoining each other and sometimes with a door between them - not nearly all night trains IME have 4-person compartments.

well yes if they can book with www.trenitalia.com that would be the best - but I thought that was not possible - just to make a reservation but yes by all means try www.trenitalia.com first to see with a pass you can make a booking and not have to buy a train ticket as well.

The easy way to make any seat or sleeper reservation in italy to go with a railpass is to use www.italiarail.com

Tick the 'I have a rail pass' box, then book as for a normal booking, and you'll get the rail pass reservation. Easy!

There's a €3.50 fee, but if you choose to book in euros the price is exactly the same as Trenitalia.com as they link directly to trenitalia's system and for passholder reservations it is so much easier to use than Trenitalia.

If you can stretch to a 3-bed sleeper you'll get more privacy and comfier beds plus a washbasin, nicer than a mere couchette in 4-berth.

You'll enjoy the run to Palermo by train, the train is physically shunted onto a ferry to cross the Straits of Messina, one of the few places in Europe or indeed the world where this still happens. You can stay on the train or when loaded, go up on deck. Though on the sleeper the noise of the ferry shunting could wake you up early!

Have a great trip - feel free to bring your own beer or a bottle of Chianti along to party on board!

You can book through Trenitalia and not pay the fee. Use this link:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

As you start typing the city it will start to autofill. You want to highlight Roma Termini and then Palermo Centrale. There are two night trains, select the one you want. On the next screen, select they type of service (you have a choice of all men, all women or mixed in the various compartments) In the offer box, select global pass. You will then need to enter your pass #. Make sure you select the # of people traveling at the beginning or be sure to hit refresh if you add them when you are looking at the type of service screen so the boxes will appear for each traveler (you will need each person's railpass #).

As of today, summer schedules (start the 2nd weekend in June) still aren't loaded (at least on this route). You will have to keep checking until they are.

If you can stretch to a 3-bed sleeper you'll get more privacy and comfier beds plus a washbasin, nicer than a mere couchette in 4-berth.>

Are there even 4-berth couchetes - there were only 6-berth ones a few years back when I took a night train from Taormina to Rome (this train joined the night train from Palermo after the ferry i believe and will the booking system allow 4 people to reserve a 3-berth vcompartment?

Are there even 4-berth couchettes - yes.

>>>will the booking system allow 4 people to reserve a 3-berth vcompartment?<<<

No, I think maninseat61 didn't notice there are 4 people traveling. If they want "comfier", they could book two 2-person cabins.

Are there even 4-berth couchettes - yes.>

thanks for answering - for my info - many overnight trains in Europe only have singles, doubles and triples, all in a Pullman or sleeping car and 6-berth couchettes though some have what is erroneously perhaps first-class couchettes as I believe France at least once called them with 4 berths per compartment.

Again thanks!

As of today, summer schedules (start the 2nd weekend in June) still aren't loaded (at least on this route). You will have to keep checking until they are.>

If past years are any template then you may have to wait a long time for them to be loaded - sometimes months for all in the past!