Nice to Venice

We will be traveling, hopefully, from Nice to Venice

on the night train. Has anyone taken this trip?

I am having a hard time here in the states, booking

the trip. The eurail office, here, tells me that this

particular segment (nice to venice) cannot be booked

through them, even though we will have eurail passes.

Something about, the Italian train system is giving

them problems. I have tried calling the trenitalia call

center, but cannot seem to get through. I have sent

an email request, but have not heard anything.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

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Try -- www.SNCF.com --, click on the small UK flag and then go to %26#39;Information schedule...%26#39;. There%26#39;s a passengers guide and you can contact SNCF.

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Depending how much is the night train you could fly from Nice with Alitalia. I just did it last weekend. Flight cost was around 225 US$. Booked throug Expedia.ca since I am Canadian but it can be booked through their other sites (they have one in France). I f you do so, I suggest you buy your water taxi from airport to Venice through their site, definitely cheaper (35 US$ compared to 60 euros...)

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I was on the new Italian Train website today and they are offering a special for only about $15.00 Euro to Nice, including reservation fee - probably cheaper than using your pass - and saves a day for other use.

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I have been looking at the same route. Unfortunately, I haven%26#39;t been able to purchase those tickets online. Not the promotional fare or the regular fare. It tells me that the tickets are only available from a Trentalia travel agent or at a station. Same with sncf site. If anyone knows the %26quot;trick%26quot; to purchasing those online, please advise. Thanks!

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From what I have found out, there is no direct train from Nice to Venice. Your best bet would be to get off at Milan and then change trains to Venice (unsure how this would work on a night train for you...)

The other thing that I have been told is that the trains from Nice-Milan are regional trains now, which means you cannot make a reservation for seating outside of France. You will have to make a reservation from Nice.

Confusing? I know. I%26#39;m having the same issues planning my trip. But this is what I%26#39;ve found out (through many many emails enquiring travel agencies and rail companies!!)

Hope this helps.

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I am just learning, but I would be happy to share what I%26#39;ve found out so far... knowing there%26#39;s proably a lot yet to be learned.

Travel agents, at least those in the U.S., sometimes seem to have good info on this and sometimes not. There is no one-train-only route from Nice to Venice. A person in the U.S. can sometimes buy a French train ticket online - PREMs, for example, but don%26#39;t forget to change the configuration of the pdf for printing unless you keep a supply of A4 paper at home -- and print them out. However, there are particular time parameters on those options, and I haven%26#39;t seen them available at all when it involves crossing (Italy) boundaries. So the travel agents may be right about that part, though I keep hoping they%26#39;re not.

You very well may need to make your reservation when you get to France, as has been suggested, kind of. Doesn%26#39;t have to be Nice, thogh, unless that%26#39;s where you%26#39;re first landing. Can be wherever you first arrive, Nice or not. You can, however, get some ideas as to when trains run. Check www.sncf.com and www.trenitalia.com. Also, the deutsch bahn site. I%26#39;m told it doesn%26#39;t hurt ot print the schedule out at home before you go, as a kind of comfort blanket, just in case you need to just point to what what you%26#39;re trying to explain. Or so I%26#39;ve been told.

Worth noting: Trenitia has some kind of special Milan to Nice for an unbelievably cheap price. I have no ideas how many seats there are available, and it doesn%26#39;t allow purchases online. However, that train has got to go back once at some point, so maybe you%26#39;ll get a great deal. Then Milan to Venice should be a snap. For what it%26#39;s worth, the Trenitalia site hasn%26#39;t been very reliable lately. Don%26#39;t get discouraged. I had that happen before and then it worked like a charm, before it started acting up again.

Best advice I%26#39;ve had on this pre-travel adventure: If an opportunity opens up before your eyes, seize it.

Best of luck.

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I checked on the SNCF site. For the dates I chose there was no direct train Nice/Venice but there is one direct Venice/Nice on Sunday nights or you can ride on a Venice/Vintimille (Ventimiglia) then Vintimille/Nice, a short ride for the latter. But only you absolutely want the train, I had more or less the same prices for flights to Venice from Nice 3weeks ago on Alitalia. I went through Rome on Friday and came back through Milan early on Sunday AM, all for 178 euros and I booked from Canada through expedia.ca (and I managed to book a direct water taxi ride at 35 US$ instead of 80 euros when i booked my flights)

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I do believe there is a night train from Nice to Venice which does not involve changing trains. There certainly was until a couple of years ago.

The problem is that booking it online may be impossible. But the way round that is to go to www.trenitalia.it and book from Ventimiglia to Venice. Then all you have to do is get from Nice to Ventimiglia which is easy.

Should be around 40 Euros in second class plus the cost of whatever you want in the way of sleeping accommodations, I think.

Hope this helps!

Bon voyage!