Which Pass?
There are 2 types of rail pass for travelling in Europe, including Italy:
Eurail Pass if you live outside Europe, in which case go to the Eurail Passes page;
InterRail Pass if you live in Europe, in which case you are on the right page.
InterRail Pass
The InterRail Pass can now be booked as long as up to 11 months in advance. You can do it in 5 simple steps:
- You can choose a pass for travelling the whole of Europe or one country, so your first step when you book is: choose a Global Pass covering 29 countries or a One Country Pass covering 1 country.
- Choose a travel period duration: 5 days, 7 days, 10 days, 15 days, 22 days or 1 month continuous.
- Choose the 1st or 2nd class.
- Choose the starting date from which your pass will be valid.
- Book it!
There are 30 participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, FRI Macedonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Holland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.
The reason why 29 and not 30 countries are covered by your pass is that you are allowed to use the InterRail Pass for travel in your own country of residence only for one out-bound journey when you leave and one in-bound journey when you return home. These two exceptions have been recently introduced, and they certainly make things smoother.
In some countries, the InterRail Pass gives additional benefits and services on top of train travel, for example bus journeys, discounts on ferry travel, discounts on accommodation, free or discounted entry to some museums. With your pass you’ll get a guide in which all these extras are listed and described.
Children under the age of 12, this year for the first time, travel free of charge. They can have an InterRail pass free when they travel with adults: up to two children for each adult go free. Children from 4 up to 11 still need to book a pass, but with zero cost. They may have to pay for a seat or sleeping berth and passholder fares, when that is required. Children under 4 years of age travel completely free of charge, not requiring pass or ticket, but don’t have their own seat and have to be seated on a parent or guardian’s lap during the journey.
There are discounted prices for both young (under 26 years) and senior (60 years and over) people. although the latter get lower prices only on Global Pass and not One Country Pass. The discounts get larger as the price of the pass increases.
To know your category, take your age on the first day you’ll use your pass.
InterRail Global Pass
The InterRail Global Pass can be one of these 2 kinds:
- Continuous Pass, allowing you to travel every day for the duration of the pass, whenever you want. You can choose among:
- 15 days continuous
- 22 days continuous
- 1 month continuous
- Flexi Pass, allowing you to travel a determined number of days within the duration of the pass. Choose among:
- 5 days of travel within a 15 day period
- 7 days of travel within a 1 month period
- 10 days of travel within a 1 month period
- 15 days of travel within a 1 month period
Your choice will obviously depend on your travel plans and preferences. if you intend to travel a lot from place to place without staying long in a particular location, or if you plan to visit nearby destinations even while staying at a specific site, the Continuous Pass is right for you, as it’ll make the continuous, everyday travel noticeably cheaper. On each travel day, you can take as many trains as you want. (And you don’t need to fill in the dates on which you travel.)
If you mean to travel less frequently and stay a few days in one or more localities to explore them better, choose the Flexi Pass, as you don’t need to use it every day. The days of travel can be consecutive if you want, but don’t have to be.
One Country Pass
You can choose a One Country Pass enabling you to travel 3,4,6 or 8 travel days within a month.
Needless to say, Italy is one of the all-time most chosen, favourite countries.
These are the countries for which you can get a One Country Pass:
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- Austria
- Benelux
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
Click on the following links to find a comprehensive list of books, DVDs, videos, CDs and other things on Italy, including auction items and web resources:
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