Should we buy point to point tickets or rail pass - travel within Italy only?

Question

we are travelling by train through Italy, our route is Rome to La Spezia - La Spezia to Venice (via Pisa-Florence) Venice to Rome. Is it cheaper/easier to buy a rail pass or point to point tickets?? Can anyone assist. thanks!

Answer 1

I am from Europe and it's much cheaper to buy a rail pass.

Answer 2

Hello,

If you were traveling all over Europe I would say to definitely get a rail pass, however, since you will only be traveling in Italy you should get point to point tickets.  Traveling in Italy is very cheap.  You can catch slower regional trains for next to nothing or you can use the high speed trains for not much more.  On the Venice to Rome leg you can pay 30-44 euros for 2nd class seats using the amica fare.  This fare must be purchased at least 24 hours in advance so just buy them when you get into Italy.  To La Spezia it will cost about 24 euros depending on the train.  Also consider that sites that sell passes usually up-charge the tickets.  You can buy your tickets at the station in Italy for the same price you see on the trenitalia website, which is the official train site for Italy, or you can buy them online.  

Donna

Answer 3

If those are the only trains you'll be taking, I would go with the point to point tickets. Depending on your age, a group Eurail pass for 3 days in 2 months in Italy (2nd class) is approximatley 121 euro. You need to know that there is a supplement on the Eurostar trains, night trains, and some intercity trains (i.e., you will have to pay a small amount in addition to the pass). Point-to-point ticket prices depend on the trains, the class of service, and the fare type you can get. On the Eurostars and intercity trains, there is the standard fare and a few seats at the discounted Amica fare. Rome to La Spezia is 32 euro at the standard fare or 26 euro Amica on the Intercity Plus trains. La Spezia to Venice is 41.20 standard or 34.70 Amica using the route you mentioned. The first two legs are on regional trains and the last is via Eurostar. The Eurostar from Venice back to rome is 56.10 euro (44.90 Amica). Therefore, the total trip price is between 105 and 130 euro per person using point-to-point tickets. The pass doesn't really save you anything and is probably slightly more expensive when you've paid the supplements for the faster trains.

The cheapest youth pass is 117 euro - again no advantage over the point-to-point tickets. You need to be doing more and/or longer trips for the rail pass to be advantageous.

Answer 4

Rail pass. If you are Youth (under 25) you can definately get the rail pass cheaper than point to point. You can but a one country pass and that should set you up for your whole trip and any last minute train rides you would want to take. Enjoy!