Rail passes

I'm finding the selection of rail passes to be an extremely frustrating process simply because I don't know exactly what I will need and my travel plans both before and after Cortona just help to complicate things. I'm curious what other people who are getting them decided on, and what class you went with.

I am also confused about this. Does anyone know when it is worth it to buy them and when not? They seem pretty expensive for only 3-4 trips but i'm sure it does add up when you book them separately...???

I don't remember any numbers well enough off hand to post them but I was quite suprised at the high price of individual tickets for the couple trips I looked up. The passes are tremendous deals. There are other train schedule sites that are handy but Rail Europe seems to be the easiest to get fares from. Here's a direct link to try a couple trips you think you might want to go on. http://www.raileurope.ca/canada/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm

http://www.trenitalia.com/ is another good one for Italy but it doesn't seem to like showing fares.

Still, the sheer variety available and trying to get enough to cover what I'll be doing (without knowing exactly what that will be) without overbuying is tricky. Also, since I'm over 26 I pretty much have to buy 1st class but I would guess many people here will be riding 2nd class (it's cheaper and that's what youth passes are) so I will be paying 1st class rates to ride 2nd class with everyone which makes those prices hurt that much more.

I've heard that buying tickets individually is the best way to go while you're in Italy, since train tickets are fairly cheap compared to other countries. I took a look at the tren italia website a while ago, and it's much cheaper to buy tickets individually that get a rail pass.... unless you're going to be travelling really far distances from Cortona while you're there. As for after school I think I'm still just going to buy tickets as I go since I'm planning on staying in the Meditteranean area, so tickets won't be too expensive.

i heard that buying tickets individually are cheaper if you are staying in one country, however did you looked at charter flights? because they are pretty cheap as well, for example ryanair.com has some pretty sweet deals.
I also heard that if you do not know exact dates of travelling, then rail pass is the way to go (as opposed to charters).
I will be staying in Italy until the end of August, so I will not be buying any student pass, nor urail of some sort.
For the transportation to Paris and Madrid I will be taking charters.
(ps charters, like any airfare, are cheaper the sooner you purchase them)
Hope that made sense and was useful!

Ok, I may be reading this completely wrong, but go to this website....
http://travelocity.raileurope.com/us/specials/trenitalia_winter_promo_pass_youth.htm
...and tell me if this does not sound like a great deal? Considering the cost for individual tickets (For example-Florence is 50$ and Milan is 80$ from Rome) this seems like it would be well worth the money. It would not cover all days of travel within January and Febuary, it works out to something like $232 for 10 days of travel (once again, my math here may be way off). This would cover all but two of the weekends though, which sounds super cheap - even if it is just within Italy.

That DOES sound awesome, I hope its true because ( this seems to be my catch phrase) It would save me alot of money!! I will hav to look into that because damn that sounds like an awesome deal!!

Good sleuthing work Stephy!!

Good nancy drew skills steph!

It does sound good. ok so how many additional days do I need to buy?

http://travelcutsca.raileurope.com/canada/rail/passes/italy_index.htm


this website tells you about the rail passes that are specific for Italy only.
included is the one Stephy suggested. it also includes discounts if you are travelling with a buddy, if you are under 26 and a sale that is offered until december 31st. (for this sale, the pass must be used between nov 2006 and march 2007 -- fitting totally perfect for those weekend trips)

Because it is three days in two months (the Trenitalia Pass) we would need to buy the additional days for the rest of the weekends (say that two of those 3 days is Milan, then we'd have to purchase for Venice, Florence, (i think that is what we have so far, but if we take the ferry from Bari to Greece, then we'd need the train pass to Bari).

Assuming that each trip requires two days of travelling we'd have to purchase 6 more days (the limit is 7).

so, say that we are buying the Trenitalia pass, with the discount offer, with the discount because you are travelling in a group(min 2 people) the price would look like this:

3 days in 2 months; 2nd Class
2 adults : 1 @ CAD 510.00 each
6 additional rail days @ CAD 38.00
rail protection plan @ CAD 20.00 each
First Day of Travel: 01/12/2007

I hope that is clear.. somewhat.. because I confused myself with my math. So that information with the prices is copied/pasted from the web as if I was booking it already.

ok, so i think what i've decided to do is get the trenitalia pass youth with the 6 additional days (that's what we need right??). thanks for doing all that work guys!

Maria, is the initial 510.00 for each individual or is that the rate you would split with the 'buddy'?? I am hoping for the latter, I suppose I can look but you seem to have a firm grasp on the whole thing.

Anyhow, regardless, I am going to go with the route that saves me money and if buying a rail pass in advance will do that for me, then that will be my plan.

Everytime I think about the $ I am going to be spending I feel ill, oh well, I don't have to eat while I'm there, right!!

Maybe thursday we should compile all of the hostel, train information ( I'll bring a calculator) so as to give the people involved an idea at the costs for the trips we already have planned. It would be helpful for me because I am already so lost with all the trips I have agreed to go on, it would be good to tally and organize the info. It would also be nice to be able to square up for booking $ and so on with those present . Just a thought,

Cheers!!

See, thats where I am confused, because the discount with the "buddy" deal seems way more expensive than the youth deal - it is $122-ish for three days of travel plus $16 dollars for each additional day (up to 7 days) and $10 for the plan protection thingy. This totals just under $250 for everything - but that seems WAY too cheap to be possible...

P.S. I wonder if we have to purchase the additional days when we purchase the pass, or if we just add them as we go

Ok, so now that I am just talking to myself and answering my own questions while taking up space on this forum (I`m getting a little too excited here...) I looked at the two plans and the youth one is for sure the best deal. The group rate would work out to be about $350 per person including 7 days of travel (may as well book them all incase we make plans for the last couple weekends) while the youth pass would be $250 - an amazing, too-good-to-be-true deal! I am going to book this soon unless someone thinks I`m making aterrible mistake

Stephy I think you are right, because I was also wondering about that and decided (after talking with the nice ladies at Travelcuts , and my father) that the youth pass is the way to go. At first (and I mean before Milan, Venice, Florence, Siena, etc...) I didn't want to purchase a Country pass because I was told it was too expensive. hello?? who ever told me that is way wrong.
I will also purchase the youth pass with the 7 days

same here! and i agree with Nikki that next Thursday we should make a list or something so that we can figure out what weekends we have left to fill up and book.

ok so i was just about to purchase the railpass thingy and it came up at 346$ is that right?? i got the extra 7 days, but from what people were saying, it seems a little expensive???? maybe it's just me...it was a long day

looks like I am looking into the youth pass with 7 days extra. thanks so much guys for the work that people have been doing into research. it is absolutely awesome. lol

Elise if you go to the travelcuts website onto the link for rail, there should be another link for the promo they have on right now. A youth pass with 7 extra days and the protection = $285.
I have a question, what are you guys putting for the date when it will be first used?

whoa! thank you so much Maria. you just saved me like a hundred bucks...which means that's an extra one hundred dollars that can be spent on clothes and shoes!

i think someone said earlier that the first day was going to be Jan. 12th. which would be good, since we're going to Milan on that same day.

does anyone know whether or not travel to and from our fieldtrips is included in the tuition cost?? or if we have to cover it?

I am pretty sure that it is included in our tuition so where is everyone buying their rail passes from?

i just bought mine through Travelcuts. it came out to 304$ starting on Jan 12th.

it is covered, but for Siena and Venice we will have to pay for the return trip as we will be staying for the weekend. And yes, the first day for travel is the 12th I believe.

Man, I wish I could still get the youth pass. Those prices are great!