Help...Eurail Pass or individual tickets for 9 days in Italy
we'll be going to Italy this May...Landing in florence...2 full days there...trail to cinque terre via Pisa...4 -5 days in cinque terre...then up to Milan, there maybe 2 days and then flying out from Milan to Germany.
We'll be about 9 days in Italy and I'm trying to get an idea if its a better value to buy one of the Eurail passes or buying individual tickets.
I'll be thankful for any suggestion :)
Astrid
Vail, CO USA 2/1/13
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Individual tickets will save you a bundle.
You can buy the tickets now and save money, but you are locked into that train. Or you can buy at the station and still save lots compared to a Eurail pass
You save some money by buying individual tickets. Most of them will be short trip. To use Eurail passes, you need reservation. It will cost you more money.
If you are landing in Florence and spending half of your time in the CT, most of the trains from Florence to the CT are Regionale class trains. From Florence to Pisa, where all trains to the CT will stop, almost all of the trains are Regionale-class trains. The train fare from Florence to Vernazza (example) is 13.90Euro. Trains within the CT towns are about 1.5Euro. The train fare from the CT to Milan is about 20E-33E depending on what type of train you are on. You will most likely change trains along the way.
So why do you need to spend a lot of money for a pass for Italy, when your tickets won't cost more than about 47Euro per person?
Thank you for all of your advice. Very helpful. This forum has been suh a big help for my travel plan...Thank you
Astrid, good for you for asking BEFORE you bought the pass. You just saved yourself a big chunk of dough. And FWIW, 2nd class on trains in Italy is perfectly fine.
Lots of helpful information on Italian train travel here at Ron in Rome: http://www.roninrome.com/transportation/train-travel-italy
Happy travels.