Check bus schedules, station locales, and prices at www.eurolines.com I doubt buses will be enough cheaper than the train to be worth the loss of convenience (Generally the bus station and the train station are near each other, but sometimes the bus station is in a much less convenient place. There will be dozens of trains a day to choose from as opposed to 3 or 4 buses), speed and comfort. You can probably buy either the Florence-Venice ticket or the Venice-Milan ticket for less than the cost of a day of the railpass. Check pricing on the Italian national rail company website: http://www.ferrovied…

Is there a reason to back track to Milan on your way to Dubrovnik? Is there a specific reason you want to visit Milan?

it’s just that we need to make our way to Munich. We haven’t decided on anything yet, but I’m trying to figure out the cheapest and most convenient way to get there. If we go from Croatia to Germany, we have to travel to Zadar for 6-8 hours, then take a flight into Frankfurt and then train to Munich…
If we go back to Milan, it’s from Dubrovnik and then we found a really good deal to fly to Frankfurt for about 40 Euros each [including luggage].
Still not sure what the best thing to do is

Croatia is being a major pain in our ass, but we refuse to let it go because we know we aren’t going to have another chance to go there again.

As for making our way from Florence – Venice – Florence… I’m not sure, but if we decided to take the train, do you suggest we make a reservation for it? It’s just these reservation fees are really expensive and annoying!! I hate having to pay for a Eurail pass and STILL have to pay another $15-20 every time i get on a train. Drives me nuts!

Thanks a lot for your advice btw!

Not unless the specific train you choose to take requires a reservation — many do. Then choose trains that don’t require a reservation. There are over 10,000 train departures a day in Europe and only a very small fraction of the trains require reservations. The express trains between major cities usually do, so you’ll have to take slightly slower and less convenient (more connections) regional and local trains to avoid reservations.

It’s hard to feel sorry for you. European trains are a great bargain — but that doesn’t mean they’re dirt cheap. Would you expect to be able to travel all over North America for the prices you’re going to pay to go all over Europe?

I don’t mind paying reservation fees to go on those trains that require you to reserve your seat, I was just wondering if I had to pay those fees for other trains that don’t. I was on a raileurope website and i guess i got the impression that i had to pay reservation fees even for a 20 minute ride between nice and monaco… but i assume that was just to reserve a seat, doesnt mean you have to. idk.

honestly, i have no idea because i never did and never inquired about it. i wasn’t really comparing, i was just adding up the little fees and it seemed like a lot. didnt think much about anything else, no big deal.

so i guess i shouldnt reserve a seat if i dont need to? if they dont require it, does it mean they usually have enough place? and how does it work? i get a ticket like the day i travel? how do i know if a train requires reservation fees?

thank you!

I only buy a reservation if it’s required, or if there’s some reason I expect the train to be particularly crowded. However, the fact that a specific train does not require a reservation does not mean that there are seats available on that train.

If you get a ticket on the day of travel, it will include the reservation IF you buy a ticket for a SPECIFIC train (specific date and time) that requires a reservation. If you buy a generic ticket for the route (say Milan to Florence) you can use it on any train on that route but you will have to buy a separate reservation (just like using a railpass) if you choose to take a specific train that requires a reservation.

The train schedule usually has an “R” somewhere if a reservation is required. Also most “name” trains (Thalys, TGV, ICE, Artisia, EuroStarItalia, etc.) require a reservation. Trains that are regional, district, or local don’t require reservations. Check the individual national rail company websites.

Back to your original point. If you want to do Venice as a day trip from Florence, do not try to save money. Take the earliest (most of the trains at “peak” times require reservations) and fastest train to Venice and the latest and fastest train back. Taking the bus or waiting around for a later, slower train that doesn’t require a reservation means the entire day will be a waste as you won’t have enough time to even get a taste of Venice before you have to leave again. Venice is a doable day trip, but only if you leave very early and travel fast.

Since we’re getting the 3 country pass for 5 days, we are using the travels between: Paris – Nice, Nice-Monaco-Milan-Florence, Munich-Paris as 3 out of the 5 travel days. For the other 2 days, we might use one for Florence – Venice, is that advisable?
i agree with you about venice because we’re only gonna be there for a day, so we definitely want to make the most out of it, regardless of reservation fees, if we use one of our 5 days on this day trip.

I just booked a ticked to Zadar from Pisa, as opposed to Milan – Dubronik. Is it difficult to get from Florence to Pisa? I think I saw that trains are about $15.00, which is pretty good!
We also booked from Zadar – Stuttgart. We want to make our way to Munich, how are the train services between the 2 cities?

Thanks a bunch for all your help!! The more we book, the more realistic this trip feels!!

Just checked the trenitalia.com site. You can buy a second class ticket between florence and venice for as low as €22.50 each way.

Teg: you have to distinguish. There are trains that require reservation, trains that make reservation possible and trains without any possibility to reserve a seat. Usually the latter are the slowest. Sometimes a specific car in the train is with compulsory reservation (e.g. sleeper), while other cars do not require it (seaters).

Try to avoid trains with compulsory reservation, especially for short rides. In most European railbook timetables they are marked with a R in a square. If you board them without a reservation, you will pay a hefty penalty plus the price of reservation.

The voluntarily reservable trains are better. If you board them without reservation, and there are seats, you may sit down. Later, when someone shows up having reservation for that seat, you have to get up and offer your seat. But that might never happen. But even if you board a train which is full, and you want to go, you can still be transported standing in a corridor or sitting on your backpack at the end of the car. Without any additional fees or penalties.

The nonreservable trains are the best, but usually they stop everywhere or nearly everywhere. On the other hand, they may depart very frequently. Very suitable for rides under 100-150 km.

PS: sometimes when the train that does not require a reservation is full, and you are afraid of standing the whole journey, you may think of advancing to 1st class instead of trying to buy a reservation for 2nd class onboard. Ask the train personnel. The price difference (supplement) to the first class is usually 1/2 the price of 2nd class single point to point ticket – sometimes that may be quite cheap, especially in Central Europe. They usually sell it onboard and the 1st class even without a seat reservation is fine as it’s always emptier than the 2nd class. Plus it’s more comfy.

thank you so much for all your help guys! i very much appreciate it

Nope, easy peasy. Just go to the station and buy a ticket. The train we took was about 40% full in both directions.

Remember to pick me up a Rolex when you are there.

Adski

wow, you just answered the exact question i was currently asking my friend

thank you!!

What, about getting me a Rolex?

Adski

PS That train doesn’t require a reservation, and you can probably just buy a ticket from the machine at the station.

haha, i won’t forget your rolex