FIP to Italy and France. Any stories of your experience?

[Rab Smith]

Morning all,
Planning a trip to Italy this Summer with my FIP card and country coupons for both Italy and France. Flying into Venice then using trains to get to Sicily via Rome then gradually making my way back to the UK through France. Plenty trains between the places I want to visit but still not sure about which trains the vouchers are valid on for free travel.
Any advice would be most welcome!

 

[306024]

To start, read the appropriate guide for using any staff travel facilities:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html

In particular:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/files/Publications/services/rst/RST_Travel_Tips_For_Europe_v53.pdf

For other tips then consult:
https://www.seat61.com/

Good luck, the Italian rules particularly are quite complex.

 

[Rab Smith]

To start, read the appropriate guide for using any staff travel facilities:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html

In particular:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/files/Publications/services/rst/RST_Travel_Tips_For_Europe_v53.pdf

For other tips then consult:
https://www.seat61.com/

Good luck, the Italian rules particularly are quite complex.

Thanks for the info!

 

[92002]

To start, read the appropriate guide for using any staff travel facilities:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html

In particular:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/files/Publications/services/rst/RST_Travel_Tips_For_Europe_v53.pdf

For other tips then consult:
https://www.seat61.com/

Good luck, the Italian rules particularly are quite complex.

Long distance trains in France and Italy are globally priced trains. Meaning that free travel vouchers are not really much use. Similar to Eurostar from UK you will need to pay for a reduced rate ticket.

The option may just be to buy a public fare that may be a cheaper option than FIP tickets. Although they are only valid on the booked train and Day.

In Italy vouchers are not really much use for long distance travel with vouchers very limited. They are not even much use around some of the larger cities with trains run by the local councils.

 

[rvdborgt]

Long distance trains in France and Italy are globally priced trains. Meaning that free travel vouchers are not really much use. Similar to Eurostar from UK you will need to pay for a reduced rate ticket.

The option may just be to buy a public fare that may be a cheaper option than FIP tickets. Although they are only valid on the booked train and Day.

In Italy vouchers are not really much use for long distance travel with vouchers very limited. They are not even much use around some of the larger cities with trains run by the local councils.

In France, coupons are still of much use since a reservation in long distance trains for FIP coupons only costs € 1.50 and IIRC they're not quota controlled.
In Italy, however, you need to pay the difference between the full fares for a regional train and for the long distance train (check the RDG document for the exact name of what you need). For an IC that is usually OK but for a Frecciarossa that may be more expensive than a public advance fare, depending on what's available. Validity in local/regional trains depends on if they're run by Trenitalia or not.

 

[306024]

Yes that was my limited experience of using FIP coupons in Italy too. Like many countries a public advance ticket can be cheaper that a FIP fare if you are prepared to be restricted to a certain train, while using a free coupon brings all the supplementary requirements to work through.

 

[92002]

Yes that was my limited experience of using FIP coupons in Italy too. Like many countries a public advance ticket can be cheaper that a FIP fare if you are prepared to be restricted to a certain train, while using a free coupon brings all the supplementary requirements to work through.

Which I already eluded to you in my original reply.

In many cases a public advance fare is more cheaper than using an FIP ticket or voucher box with supplements.

The only limiting factor is you must use the allocated train and have no refund if you don't.

As I already said in France long distance trains are Globally priced so a reduced rate FIP ticket can be more expensive than a public fare. In France there are separate websites in use to get the cheaper fares. The only long distance trains that are not globally priced are Inter City which take considerably longer to get to your destination.

 

[Rab Smith]

Interesting. So, although I'll have my voucher with me, it sounds like it may not be much use for a train from say, Venice to Rome for example. Would it be prudent to start looking soon for an advanced public fare rather than wait until the day and use my FIP card?

 

[92002]

Interesting. So, although I'll have my voucher with me, it sounds like it may not be much use for a train from say, Venice to Rome for example. Would it be prudent to start looking soon for an advanced public fare rather than wait until the day and use my FIP card?

Advance fares are usually bookable 3 Months for the date of travel. The earlieer you book the cheaper they can be.

 

[Rab Smith]

Advance fares are usually bookable 3 Months for the date of travel. The earlieer you book the cheaper they can be.

Great, thanks for that.

 

[the sniper]

As I already said in France long distance trains are Globally priced so a reduced rate FIP ticket can be more expensive than a public fare. In France there are separate websites in use to get the cheaper fares. The only long distance trains that are not globally priced are Inter City which take considerably longer to get to your destination.

You may have already said that, but what @rvdborgt said is correct:

In France, coupons are still of much use since a reservation in long distance trains for FIP coupons only costs € 1.50 and IIRC they're not quota controlled.

Free coupons are valid on domestic TGVs, you just require a (often very cheap) seat reservation with them.