Train travel in Italy
 

Hi there, we are group of students ages 19 to 23 travelling from Cape Town to Italy, Croatia and the Greek isles in June 2011.

In Italy we are thinking of traveling from Bologna to Venice, then Florence, Rome, and finally Naples. We are hoping to travel by train between these cities. In Florence we are wanting to go on a day trip to Pisa, is this trip by bus or train? and in Naples we want to go see Pompeii, once again is this by train or bus?

I was looking on the trenitalia website and found a train pass for 6 days in a month for students (traveling 2nd class) for 125 Euros. is this a good deal? or does it make more sense to book the trains seperately.
We are on a student budget and are trying to keep the costs down as much as possible.
At this stage we can change things around to whatever is most logical
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Cant really help too much on train tickets - but why are you going Bologna - Venice - Florence - Rome - Naples? Makes more sense to me to do Venice - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples...

The pass might make sense, but the only way to know is to price individual tickets and make a comparison. Keep in mind that to book the faster long-distance trains you want for most of these rides, you will have to pay an additional 10 euro or so per ticket to reserve a seat. Also you get be able to get substantial discounts on Trenitalia individual tickets if purchased well ahead.

The train is best between Florence and Pisa. it is the cheapest Regionale (R) train and costs about 6 euro each way--covered by your pass, but not worth wasting a day of your pass just for this ride.

Best between Naples and Pompeii is a local commuter train line (Circumvesuviana) that is not covered by a pass, but very inexpensive.

The pass involves a 10 euros reservation fee for every fast train, so factor that in to the pass cost.

Check normal and disocunted fares at www.trenitalia.com. Pick a date in the next 7 days to see regional fares, in the next 90 days to see long distance fares.

Then compare.

So how are you getting between Croatia and Greece? In my experience it's not easy.

>>>>was looking on the trenitalia website and found a train pass for 6 days in a month for students (traveling 2nd class) for 125 Euros.<<<

Assuming you are from Capetown, you do not qualify for this pass as it's a pass for European residents only. You will see if you try to select this pass to purchase you must give your country (yours will not be listed) and your document number.

How many of you are traveling together?

Hi everyone,

thank you for the help and advice

@jamikins- we are now arriving in Milan and then on to venice. the reason behind this order is because we cannot fly into venice and milan is just a short train ride away from venice.

@ellenem- thank you very very much. very useful information.

@Mimar- ive just spoken to our travel agent and it seems from Dubrovnik where we end there is a direct flight to athens and from athens we will ferry to the islands.

@kybourbon- does it matter that we all have dual citizen british passports? even though we are not residents?
and does each person book a pass seperately or can i get family who live in the UK to book them with their information?


Thanks for all the help

Capetownfolk, it's a bit off-topic, but could you tell me what airline you're flying between Dubrovnik and Athens. In my research all I could find was long flights with plane changes in 1 or more airports, the closest of which were Vienna and Rome.

Isn't it generally cheaper to buy the train tickets separately than to get a pass?

From Florence to Pisa, you could go bus or train. The SITA bus station is very near the SMN train station. Other posters can say which would be more convenient.

My hub and I took the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Pompeii. From Naples, you'll need to look for Circumvesuviana at the main train station. I believe that line is on a lower level.

Have a great time! When my hub and I traveled, we tried to buy our ticket for the next town/city as soon as we arrived in a place.

>>>@kybourbon- does it matter that we all have dual citizen british passports? even though we are not residents?
and does each person book a pass seperately or can i get family who live in the UK to book them with their information?<ren<<

Trenitalia states European residents only and living there at least six months. You might be able to purchase with a British passport which everyone will have to use as their travel document and show when asked. You would need to have them sent to an address in a country on the list (no PO boxes).
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

http://www.interrailnet.com/

Italian trains are fairly good and reasonably priced but look out for two problems in particular.
1. You must validate your ticket at the station before you get on the train. Failure to do so can result in a significant fine.
2. Italian railway stations are notorious for pickpockets who are very good at their job.I got a push in Pisa station and my wallet was gone.I knew the game so I had very little in it. Many other European counties have this problem too,especially in Spain and the former communist countries.

Sandylan, you don't need to validate train-specific Eurostar Italia tickets, only regional/local tickets as the latter are 'open' until validated.

Sandylan, you don't need to validate train-specific Eurostar Italia tickets, only regional/local tickets as the latter are 'open' until validated.