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| How Passes Work Plan Your Rail Trip Compare Ticket Costs Using Your Pass Choose and Order |
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Compare Ticket Costs: Map shows point-to-point, one-way, 2nd-class rail fares in $US. Add up fares for your itinerary to see whether a railpass will save you money. For 1st class fares, add 50%. Source: www.trenitalia.com.
Best Value: Most visitors to Italy make short hops on the Milan-Venice-Florence-Rome circuit. For these trips, it's cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets in Italy, especially in second class. Do the math with our ticket-cost map on this page. Fares shown on the map include reservations when required for the fastest trains. In summer, it's worthwhile to spring for first class for its smaller crowds and better air conditioning. First-class tickets cost 50% more than second-class tickets, but a first-class pass costs only 22% more than a second-class pass.
Reservations: A pass doesn't provide much hop-on convenience in Italy, since many trains require a seat reservation in addition to the pass (optional for InterCity trains, required €5 for EuroCity and international trains, required €10 or $15 for Eurostar Italia, Alta Velocita, or Le Frecce departures). Fast, reserved Eurostar Italia trains provide most of the service on the main lines between Milan, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, and Naples. Regional trains, such as most Florence-Pisa-Cinque Terre service, don't need reservations. You can buy tickets or passholder reservations at major travel agencies in city centers, reserving several key trains at one stop. See more details about train schedules and train reservations.
Private Trains: Railpasses do not cover the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Pompei and Sorrento ($5, see www.vesuviana.it for schedules), Milan's Malpensa Airport Express ($14, see www.lenord.it), Gargano Railways from San Severo (www.ferroviedelgargano.com), nor Bari-Matera trains ($5, www.fal-srl.it). Rome's Fiumicino Airport Express ($16) is part of the national railways, but is considered all first class, so it accepts only first-class passes.
Two-Country Passes: Options later on this page work for those traveling between Italy and one neighbor: France, Greece, or even Spain (but not Switzerland, Austria, nor Slovenia).
| Italy Pass | |||||||
| Type of Pass | 1st Class Individual | 1st Class Saver | 2nd Class Individual | 2nd Class Saver | 2nd Class Youth | ||
| 3 days in 2 months | $255 | $218 | $208 | $177 | $169 | ||
| Extra rail days (max 7) | $30-34 | $24-29 | $23-28 | $20-24 | $19-23 | ||
| Saver price per person for two or more. Youth = under 26. Kids 4-11: half adult or saver fare, under 4: free. Prices subject to change. | |||||||
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| France-Italy Pass | |||||||
| Type of Pass | 1st Class Individual | 1st Class Saver | 2nd Class Individual | 2nd Class Saver | 2nd Class Youth | ||
| 4 days in 2 months | $375 | $319 | $319 | $272 | $244 | ||
| Extra rail days (max 6) | $44-47 | $37-40 | $37-40 | $31-34 | $21-31 | ||
| Saver prices are per person for 2 or more traveling together. Youth passes are for travelers under age 26 only. Kids 4–11 pay half of adult or saver fare; under 4 free. Extra day prices approximate. Prices subject to change. | |||||||
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If your trip is focused on Italy, you may save money by buying point-to-point tickets in Europe. For instance, an open-jaw trip on the route Paris–Milan–Venice–Florence–Rome costs about $330 for reserved second-class daytime tickets. Passholders seat reservations cost $15 on each of these legs, in addition to the pass. Returning from Rome to Paris adds another $150 and makes the France-Italy pass worthwhile.
Know your route. Many daytime connections from Paris to Italy pass through Switzerland (e.g., connecting in Basel, Geneve, or Lausanne) which costs an additional $60 or more in second class if Switzerland is not covered by your pass. Direct Paris-Italy day or night trains are covered by the pass, regardless of their route. Routes via Nice, Torino, or Modane will bypass Switzerland (see train schedules for details).
| Greece-Italy Pass | |||||||
| Type of Pass | 1st Class Individual | 1st Class Saver | 2nd Class Individual | 2nd Class Saver | 2nd Class Youth | ||
| 4 days in 2 months | $357 | $303 | $285 | $242 | $232 | ||
| Extra rail days (max 6) | $36 | $31 | $29 | $25 | $23 | ||
| Saver price per person for two or more. Youth = under 26. Kids 4-11: half adult or saver fare, under 4: free. Covers deck passage on overnight Superfast Ferries between Patras, Greece and Bari or Ancona, Italy (starts use of one travel day). Or 30-50% discount on Hellenic Med. Line ferry with basic cabin Patras-Corfu-Brindisi (does not use a travel day). Prices subject to change. | |||||||
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Since it's affordable to buy tickets locally in both Italy and Greece, this pass is not a big seller.
| Italy - Spain Pass | |||||||
| Type of Pass | 1st Class Individual | 1st Class Saver | 2nd Class Individual | 2nd Class Saver | 2nd Class Youth | ||
| 4 days in 2 months | $375 | $319 | $319 | $283 | $247 | ||
| Extra rail days (max 6) | $44-47 | $36-41 | $36-41 | $31-38 | $19-38 | ||
| Does not cover travel in France! Saver price per person for two or more. Youth = under 26. Kids 4-11: half adult or saver fare, under 4: free. Prices subject to change. | |||||||
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Italy and Spain can be connected by Grimaldi ferry service (20% discount with pass), or you can fly, but if you plan to travel by land, you should include France on a Selectpass for three or more countries.
