Rail Pass?
 

We're flying into Nice on Oct 15 and working our way through Italy (Cinque Terre, Rome, Amalfi Coast), flying back out of Nice on Oct 26. Is it better (cheaper) to buy our train tickets as we go or to buy a rail pass? Our schedule is VERY loose and unstructured, so that may lend itself to the pay as we go option. Any advice would be appreciated!

I have long had the opinion that if your itinerary would benefit from a rail pass, then you are moving around too much, too often. I suspect that your itinerary will NOT have that fault.

Point-to-point rail tickets are a bargain in their own right, especially in Italy. You can estimate your rail costs and do a comparison to rail pass costs at www.railsaver.com

Best wishes,

Rex

Or at www.railpass.com

IMO I think it is a bit presumptuous for someone to generalize that if you are going to travel enough to "benefit" from a rail pass that you are moving around too much..as if everyone has the exact same outlook and attitude and that if you don't then there is a "fault" in your plans...unfortunately this is a typical response from some of the people who frequent this board.
I definitely agree, however, that it might be a wise decision to surf to one of the aformentioned websites and put in your prospective itinerary so you can compare prices.
Rail passes have some "benefits" such as avoiding ticket lines, accommodating last-minute and spur of the moment travel decisions made once you are in Europe, but they are usually the most economical when you are making several trips or trips with long distances. And for those who prefer to keep their itineraries unstructured rather than rigid they can be ideal even if they do cost a bit more.

<<IMO I think it is a bit presumptuous for someone to generalize ...>>

I started my post with...

<<I have long had the opinion ...>>

It would be presumptuous if I said that ...

"I think YOU should share MY opinion that..."