so upon further reading I guess it will use up 2 days. Boo I cannot believe I did not notice this before I ordered my railpass

Maybe there’s is a way to work around it? Have you investigated all the train times at bahn.de?

I have ….well, I think.

I think what I will do is pay for on of the train tickets prior to this trip (I see there is a special fare from Berlin to Munich for 44euro).

So I think I will order that soon and so that would free up a day on my pass.

Unless someone has a better idea?

My 8 train days are like this at moment:
1-Amsterdam-Berlin
2-Berlin-Munich
3-Munich-Lucerne
4-Lucerne-Rome (so I guess this would take up 2 days then)
5-Rome-Florence (with stop in Siena or Pisa)
6-Florence-Paris (direct night train)
7-Paris-Caen (for Normandy)
8-Paris-Arras (for Vimmy Ridge).

So with the Lucerne-Rome that would now be 2 days…So I have a total of 9 travel days.

Now just after writing that down, I wonder if instead of returning to Paris from Normandy and then going to Arras/Lille, I should just spend the night in Caen and take a train or bus to Arras. I would assume that would be pretty cheap.

So do you think that would be the best bet to free up a day? Ah so stressful since the pass is already ordered and I just notice this now. Dummy move on my part!

The 2 day overnight train is NOT a serious problem — it will probably actually save you money over buying an extra day on the railpass in the first place.

Buy a ticket from Lucerne to Chiasso and then use the pass for the rest of the overnight trip. Another option is to buy the Rome-Florence ticket from the kiosk at the station. Either ticket will probably be cheaper than an extra day on the railpass.

oh ok great. THANK YOU times a million

Oldlady, I have a question based on your suggestion. I think we will buy the Rome-Florence ticket at kiosk the day before we go.

I know with a eurail pass, you can get on and off a train as much as you wish as long as it’s used on that date.

What if I buy that ticket at kiosk? Can I still hop off when we get to Pisa (take some pics of leaning tower, have lunch), then continue by going on the next train to Florence? I assume I cannot, and that I should buy Rome-Pisa then Pisa-Florence (if we even end up going there…might just skip it). Siena looks more interesting as a stop

Yes, although many Italian trains require reservations and you’ll need a second reservation for the final leg. I would look for the cheapest point to point in your itinerary and plan on buying that ticket in Europe or buy it on-line if you find a cheap special. To figure out which is best:

I’d browse for this ticket on trenitalia.com> You may not be able to buy on that site, but you can at least see available prices. Prices will include reservations. Then I’d check the “italiarail” banner at the side of this page. Italiarail appears to sell tickets with reservation and also “just” reservations which would be helpful for this trip as it’s sometimes kind of a hassle to buy “just a reservation” in Italy.

I think the Swiss ticket might be cheaper: http://www.sbb.ch/en… and you might be able to buy it on-line, or it will be very easy to buy along with the reservation for the rest of the overnight trek at the station in Lucerne.

You might also be able to find a really cheap ticket for one of your German trips at http://reiseauskunft… and that should be easiest to buy on line.

Thanks! I tried to work with the Swiss one, but could not find a good train to go with.

I was trying to find one that goes to Chiasso and then leaves from there, but I cannot find one that does not stop in Milan (thus not making it direct).

I did find a Berlin-Munich for 44euro. Maybe I will just do that then and then use my pass for that Florence day…argh! I thought I had it all figured out

I will think about it, and buy the cheap Berlin-Munich ticket tomorrow perhaps.

You do not have to worry about a connection with the 7:00 PM rule if the connection is after midnight, so you can just buy a ticket from Lucerne to the 1st connection and then use your railpass after that. The trains that leave Lucerne at 20:18 or 22:18 have only 1 connection before midnight in either Chiasso or Arth Goldau.

I am using the Bahn site and also the Swiss site. I had noticed those trains, but (for example) one has a 3 hour stop in Chiasso and I do not really feel like sleeping in a train station. Unless I am doing this way wrong. Sorry for all the questions :S

You’re right, the 20:18 train has a quick connection in Chiasso, but a very long layover in Milan. The 22:18 train has a 3 hour layover in Chiasso. Perhaps you ought to rethink the Swiss part of your itinerary or find a cheap flight to Rome. This does not seem like a good route for an overnight train to me. Zurich to Rome is a better overnight route as there is a train with a single 1/2 hour connection in Milan.

Forsure. Thanks so much for the help.

I was able to find a ticket for Berlin to Munich for 29 euro so will take that out and just use 2 days on my pass for that darn Lucerne trip. Or find a flight like you said