Yet Another PtP vs. Eurail (Budgeting)
 

I went on railsaver.com and did a search of the forums here, and the general consensus seems to be that in Italy, point-to-point will be cheaper than passes. However, we're trying to draw up a budget to see if the trip we'd like to take is feasible, and I can't seem to find pricing info on our point-to-points--trenitalia just says "no" under the Buy column. We'll be going from Rome to Cassino for a day trip (2 adults), Rome to Venice, and then an overnight train from Venice to Fussen, Germany. From there, we'll have a German rail pass. Anyone know basic prices? For now, we're just budgeting the rail pass, but if we're going to be saving a good amount, I'd like to be able to factor that in. Also, the night train goes direct Venice to Munich before we need to change trains, so should we just buy a point-to-point from Venice to the border to save us a few dollars since border-Munich is included on our pass? (We'll be using a day of the pass that evening to leave Fussen, so it won't waste a day to put the morning trip on the pass).

Thanks!

Trenitalia won't let you buy more than 60day in advance for routes like Rome/Venice, and 7d for local/regional trains.

To check prices, put in a dummy date in the next week and you should be able to then see prices.

The night train from Venezia to München crosses from Italy to Austria at Brennero/Brenner at 0356, then from Austria to Germany at Kufstein at 0525. If you have a rail pass for Germany, you need to pay from Venezia to Kufstein.
It's a City Night Line train and there's more information on
www.bahn.de/nachtzugreise/view/index.shtml

Your options/prices one way for Rome/Cassino:
R trains (seat reservations not allowed/possible)- 1st cl 11.3€, 2nd cl 7.4€
Travel time varies depending on which r train you take - from 1hr20 to 2hr30.
ICPlus train (includes seats)- 1st cl 17.5€ 2nd cl 13€ or advanced purchase Amica fare 1st cl 14.2€ or 2nd cl 10.6€ (travel time 1hr24).

Venice/Rome ES train - 1st cl 80€, 2nd cl 56.10€ or Amica discount 1st cl 64.6€, 2nd cl 44.9€. There is a slower train, but I think on this route time and comfort are more important.
http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/fer...il/inglese.jsp

Hi T,

www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
has a SmartPrice fare of 69E pp in a double sleeper from Venice to Munich.

((I))

Thanks so much for the help!! kybourbon, do you know the difference between standard, flexi, and amica fares (or anyone, for that matter)? If we can save money, I like to buy in advance, but I also like to have a little flexibility, especially for day trips, in case it's raining or something.

Look at the right side of this page and click on the icons for explanations of each fare.

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/promozi...rte/index.html

You would prefer Amica (if available) or Standard.

Your R train tickets would be for ANY R train along that route, so you could use them any day you felt like making the trip. You would have to use your ICplus and ES tickets for that particular train.

This page lists the refund policies for all trains:
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/area_cl.../viaggio5.html

Here's the pertinent info from that link :

Type of ticket
Tickets for Eurostar Italia Alta Velocità, T-Biz , ES*, ES*City , IC Plus, Couchettes, and WL trains
(Amica offer)

penalties: 20%
Restrictions and deadlines: Up until the timetabled departure of the booked train, from any ticket office or from the issuing agency.

penalties: 100%
Restrictions and deadlines: After the above mentioned term