Hello. I´m going in september to Spain, and plan to spend 12/15 days in Italy. Intend to go by train from Barcelona to south of France, and then Venice, Florence, Rome, Napoli.
1st question is: is it worthy? Or I should do part of this by plane and miss France?
2nd: those Eurail passes are the best/only way to buy tickets to the 3 countries? Must I buy it from here or wait to get there?
3rd: where can I get distances/times between cities, buy train/car? specially those I mentioned..

thank you.

I'd suggest reading some good guide books and looking at a map. Nobody else can decide whether or not you should "miss France".
If you need to know rough journey times for trains, www.bahn.de has schedules for most of Europe.

hi, Geoff,

yes, I probably didn´t say it right. The thing is Italy is my destination, and I have 12 days to see it all... maybe one could say "well, you will need at least xxx days to see south of france, so you should take a plane"...
It´s my 1st travel to Europe, and I don´t want to spend all the time in hotels and trains... But I´ll take your suggestion, thanks.

With only 12 days, I'd stick to Italy. Just fly over from Spain.

I never follow the line that anyone "needs" so many days to see a place. It depends on so many factors, like whether you've been to these countries before. If it's your first time to Europe, then flitting from one country to another isn't such a good idea. If you've explored Spain and Italy before, but never been to France, then it might be worth visiting France as well. Another factor is language: if you speak Spanish or Italian, it might be better to stay in those countries.
You can also go by sea from Barcelona to Italy: there are services to Genova, Livorno or Civitavecchia (www.gnv.it and www.grimaldi-ferries.com).

May I ask why you're going to Spain if your destination is Italy? Can you provide more information on where you will be coming from? Why not just go directly to Italy?

hi, geoff, well, it´s the 1st time. I was going on august, but for work reasons had to change... Italy is the country I want to know first, since I was a child.
Well, I speak a bit of spanish and italian, and understand it well, since my native language is portuguese.
by sea... didn´t thought of it. will look around. thanks. do you recommend one of them? (one of the 3 cities)

Hi, pavfec,

I´ll be with friends in Spain (who live there): in madrid, and then barcelona. intend to spend 10 days in these 2 cities. And then 12 days in Italy to not stay only in spain. My options were Italy or France/England... as a 1st trip..

OK, I see now! It might be worth it to fly if you only have 12 days. Iberia and Alitalia must have service between Barcelona and one of the cities you're visiting in Italy, but perhaps someone knows of a low-cost airline that also does.

Too many variables, for me fly Italy Spain don't take the train.

Or pack a large hamper (enough for a whole carriage) and take the train and make loads of new friends

two points in my opinion :
either France, and there is a lot to do or to see, putting Paris aside, either Italy.
but not both as you would be disappointed of having missed so many interesting sites. I know very well both and choosing would be, for me, a kind of a drama..
second point : should you persist on going from spain to italy by train, forget the night trains. They have a huge list of people having been stolen during their sleep (Barcelona/Ventimiglia)

10 days net is a short time to see 4 cities in Italy (12 days minus 2 travel days). I'd pick at most two of the four places in Italy that you want to see. This will give you enough time in two cities to say that you've actually seen stuff other than the train station. Doing 3 cities in 10 days yields less than 3 days/city once you factor in travel times between cities.

There are low-cost carriers that fly direct from Spain to Italy. Easyjet flies Madrid to Milan/Malpensa and to Rome (doesn't say FCO or CIA). Ryanair flies Madrid to Rome/Ciampino (CIA) and from Barcelona/Girona to lots of places in Italy. Air Berlin flies from both Madrid and Barcelona to Milan/Bergamo.

If you fly between them there is a new Spain-Italy Eurailpass - though you'd have to be traveling more than in the Barcelona area to make it pay off as trains in Italy are rather cheap. Eurailpasses cannot be used by European residents but are sold in Eurail Aid offices in a few main stations in each country for foreigners who have lost their passes but in fact sell to anyone but at about 20% higher always it seems than U.S. prices at home. Not all passes are however sold in Europe - the Spain-Italy pass may well not be but Eurailpasses are, including the 3-country Eurail Select pass. I refer folks like you - seeminly novice rail travelers contemplating railpasses, using trains, etc. to go to www.budgeteuropetravel.com and request their free and excellent European Planning & Rail Guide that is a primer for rail travel and passes that will answer questions 2, 3 and many others. I also refer folks to www.ricksteves.com as that site has lots of good info as well. There are also boats between Barcelona and Italy and the Spain-Italy pass gives some kind of discount on some of these - might be a relaxing way to go between Spain and Italy as the train thru France is a long haul, though it can be great if you break your journey in places like Avignon and or Nice - in this case you would look at the Eurail Select pass good in Spain, France and Italy. But depending on your train travel plans the pass may or may not be warranted.