Me and my sister will be in paris on june 9-16. We wld like to go around paris for few days then italy for two days. Can someone give me an advice on what eurail shld i buy. i know im in time constraint but i will still try. Im a bit confuse on how to use the count of day trip. If i travel from paris to italy it will be counted as one trip , but while im in italy and wld like to go to florence to rome, is that another day trip counted?

Unless you really want to see the countryside between the two countries, I would fly rather than use the train. You can get really cheap flights between European cities - and when we were there last month, flights were about a third of the cost of the train. That amazed me. Check out vueling or ryanair. So you could fly from Paris to Rome or Paris to Florence and then you would just need to purchase the train trip between those two cities for one day. My suggestion. Even though it was cheaper to fly from Nice to Paris, I chose to take the train because I wanted to see the countryside. But we flew between other cities on vueling for very cheap - and they were very nice comfortable planes.

Hi Ron thanks so much for info, yeah my son suggested that ryan air too tho have not looked into that.One question tho, will i be able to use my eurail pass within italy or i have to buy another pass to go to milan, florence and rome?

Leaving next week and my flight from Marseille to Rome is $12 euro. via ryanair. A train ticket is about $80 euro per person. Be sure to read all the bag restrictions though. That's where they getcha.

thanks Jenny!

im looking now a select pass of 5 days which is $503 each ( its in the cart already) waiting for payment. But im having 2nd thoughts bec it will be mailed in our hotel and will arrive approx june 11 which is the day of our check out! im really cramming here!

Jenny did you also buy a eurail pass ( for other country) aside from flying ?

No, I didn't buy and rail passes. We are travelling with carry-ons only and travelling via ryanair. We are only in Europe for 2 weeks so decided flying was the best way to travel and see as much as possible.

Use google.ca/flights to find the best fares between places

Lili, if you fly to Italy, you can buy a rail pass just for Italy and I believe it will be cheaper than a multicountry pass.

On vueling airlines, I paid the second level of pricing, which allowed one checked bag, and it was still a lot cheaper than the train.

We also are travelling with carryons.

The ryanair carry on size restrictions are very specific in terms of measurements and weight. It took me quite awhile to find one small enough. This size must include wheels and any protruding handles. I hear they are VERY strict about this. That means I can only bring one other pair of shoes with me
haha

We have been travelling around London, Amsterdam, Paris and Switzerland and it's always been cheaper to fly then the train. Just watch weight of suitcase and they count every bag! Purse etc.

On vueling (fares certainly not as cheap as ryanair, though) we were allowed our regular carry ons as well as second personal items.

Currently in Edinburgh, flew ryanair from dublin.. Honestly the seats are a bit cramped but as long as you keep your bag within their limits (which are fine) you're safe.

I personally am a huge believer in choosing rail over flying whenever possible, especially in Europe. It's less hassle, you don't have to worry about baggage restrictions, it's 1000 times better for the environment, you get to see the countryside and get a real sense of just how big everything is, and it's somehow romantic!
If you go with the train, I highly recommend simply adding up the cost of each leg before you get all bogged down with the different types of passes and their validity. In my experience, it's usually cheaper just to buy your tickets at the stations as you go (or reserving the night before for a longer trip on a more premium train) - especially if you're only doing a couple trips. Have fun!

Oh! Note on the Florence to Rome train, too - there are lots of fancier trains that can get there in half the time, but the countryside on that route is so beautiful I would just go with the slow (4-5 hour) option which is ridiculously cheap - we're talking like $30 cheap.

Thanks Eric! Appreciate your info

No prob! Just in case you use one of those ticket machines in the Florence station (Santa Maria Novella), they only show you the fastest/most expensive options unless you hit a VERY small button on the bottom that says "all trips" - then you can choose from everything!

we ended up buying the 5 day select pass w 4 countries at $503 cad.