HI - I am looking at a 4 day pass in August to travel in Italy and then to Switzerland - I assume once I have bought the pass I then go ahead and book the trains - but how close to the time is it best to book? Also, I have noticed on some of the journeys there is a change - this is not a problem, but some of the change times are like 9 minutes - if I miss the train am I ok getting the next one. I have heard stories you could get charged extra for not being on the right train
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First Time Interailer with family
Best answer by ralderton
I guess it’s a regional train to Brescia, then a Frecciarossa? It’ll cost you €13 per person for the Frecciarossa. You can avoid this by taking a slightly slower regional train from Brescia instead.
Between Milan and Switzerland, there are ways to avoid the reservation fee too, by taking a regional train across the border. It doesn’t lose you a huge amount of time.
Good guide to reservation costs, where to book, and how to avoid them, here: https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm#Italy
in general, avoid the Interrail site where possible for checking itineraries and buying reservations
+6We need a bit more detail on your route to advise better.
Trains in Italy - you’ll need a reservation on the fast trains (Freccia) and Intercity, but not on regional trains. Availability is generally very good, and you shouldn’t have any problems making reservations the day before travel, or even 10 minutes before departure, unless you’re travelling on a busy holiday weekend.
Trains in Switzerland don’t need reservations, except for a couple of tourist routes.
Short connections - absolutely fine in Switzerland. It runs like clockwork. And if you miss the connection (unlikely), there’s no problem jumping on the next train 15 or 30 minutes later.
In Italy, if you’re connecting onto a reserved train, then a missed connection would be more problematic,.
So I am going from Iseo to Milan - two trains here, with the first one being regional - then next jouney is Milan to Kanderseg (Switzerland) - change in Italy then finally its just swiss trains - Kandersteg to Geneva.
I am happy to make reservations nearer the time, but do I do that on interail site or direct, I assume the pass is my payment - apologies if this is obvious but never bought railpass before and want to ensure this goes smoothly as will have a 10 and 12 year old with me
+6I guess it’s a regional train to Brescia, then a Frecciarossa? It’ll cost you €13 per person for the Frecciarossa. You can avoid this by taking a slightly slower regional train from Brescia instead.
Between Milan and Switzerland, there are ways to avoid the reservation fee too, by taking a regional train across the border. It doesn’t lose you a huge amount of time.
Good guide to reservation costs, where to book, and how to avoid them, here: https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm#Italy
in general, avoid the Interrail site where possible for checking itineraries and buying reservations
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