Two friends and I will be traveling to Italy in June for 3 weeks. Our itinerary is Rome, Capri, Florence, Venice, Lausanne and Geneva Switz.,(from there we're flying to Paris for a few days, then flying back into Milan) Milan, Pisa, then Rome. We've never been to Europe before and am confused about the train system. I don't see a rail pass between Italy and Switzerland, even though they are bordering countries. Do we get the Italy pass and then just pay for the trip to Switzerland? We'll be in Swizerland 2 or 3 days. Do we buy a Swiss pass?

Hi scienceteacher,

Your itinerary sounds pretty jumbled to me. If you haven't already purchased your tickets, consider flying open-jaw into Rome and out of Paris to save you time & money backtracking.

Also, you don't need to fly from Geneva to Paris. The train trip only takes four hours, and it won't be any quicker flying (getting to & from the airport, going through security, etc).

Open-jaw flights are generally only about $20 or $30 more expensive than regular round-trip (if that). You find them under "multiple destination" or "other options" tags on airlines' sites.

Rail schedules are at www.rail.ch.

To see which rail pass, if any, would be best, input your itinerary and the travelers' information at www.railsaver.com. Then click on "only if it saves me money." You'll get an idea of what the point-point tickets cost, and if there's a pass that will save you money.

Good luck!

s

I would advise you to think about cutting down on destinations and travel distances, or you'll spend all your time on means of transport. Either go to Paris and Switzerland, or go to Italy. Actually plot your time every day including travel time, and you'll see how many hours are spent on a plane or train or waiting for one. Figure you'll be back some day. Less really is more!

there is good information on the Italian rail site (in english) here http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

There used to be a pass which covered Switzerland and Italy and you could also get one which covered all three countries but I'm not sure it is worth the money.

You could input your potential itinerary at www.railpass.com and check to see if a pass or passes would be more economical.

In terms of the itinerary, if you are going to be in Florence anyway you could do the Pisa excursion then. The train ride to Pisa from Florence only takes an hour.

If you are taking trains then you'll almost have to go through Milan to get to Lausanne and Geneva.

If you must leave from Rome then I would do the Milan and Pisa segments before leaving Italy; trainto Switzerland and do the Lausanne and Geneva segments; then Paris and then fly back to Rome and leave from there...although an open jaw into Rome and out of Paris is obviously a better option IMO.