Booking my swiss rail pass

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    12 March 2012 at 11:04:58 #805038

    Hello,
    I will be visiting Germany and Switzerland in April for 9 days.
    My itinerary includes 3 days in Konstanz,Travel from KOnstanz to Munich for two days and then travel from Munich to Lucerne for 5 days and 4 nights and then fly out from Zurich to the US.

    Few questions
    1.We are a family of 5,2 kids 12 and 14 , Grandmother(76) and 2 adults.
    I see you have the deal where 1 adult travels free with another adult during that time period and my kids travel free because they are under 15.
    How do I go about getting my mothers ticket so that she cn get her senior discount as well as the dicount because she is travelling with adults.
    Also the offer is for 4 days ,the 5th day we will only be travelling from Lucerne to Zurich.
    So what kind of pass do I take.

    2.We will be travelling from Konstanz to Munich and then 2 days later From Munich to Lucerne.
    Is there a combined pass for both countries that will work out cheaper or should I buy the German tickets seperately.
    Will 2 swiss family fexi pass work for the 8 days?

    3.We plan to base ourselves in Lucerne and travel around ,but return everyday to our apartment while in Switzerland.
    We would like to do the Bernina express on one day and then return back the same day.
    On another day , we would like to go to Interlaken and then head up to Jaungfrau and then return bak
    On another day we would like to go to interlaken and ski .
    On the last day we would just go to Zurich to return home.

    Please recommend what would be the best option in terms of rail pass.
    Is the swiss part of my trip doable and does making my base Lucerne make sense?
    Thank You
    Jayashree

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    Annika
    Moderator
    7124 posts
    14 March 2012 at 12:28:51 #835212

    Hello jayashree, and welcome! You should use the 2 for 1 offer on the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. If your trips Konstanz-Munich-Swiss border are the only ones you plan to make in Germany, it’s best to buy regular tickets for these German trips instead of a rail pass.
    The 4 free travel days of your Swiss Saver Flexi Pass don’t have to be consecutive and can be spread over your 5 day stay. You should use free travel days on your first and last day in Switzerland and on two other days. On the remaining day, a 50% discount will apply.

    It depends on your country of residence (I assume this is the US?) and the reseller you choose whether a 3rd person can be added to the 2 for 1 offer. Some resellers grant a discount for this 3rd person too, others don’t. In that case you can buy your grandmother a regular 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. Just enter your country of residence in the upper right corner of the Swiss Flexi Pass page or use the direct link for your country in the 2 for 1 topic, select a reseller and add a 3d person during the order process. By the way, there are no senior discounts.

    Both Lucerne and Interlaken would be good options for your base. The timetable will help you to plan your trips. Most of them are doable, but you won’t manage to take the Bernina Express trip and return the same day. There are lots of alternatives for shorter scenic trains trips though, such as Lucerne-Interlaken via Meiringen, Interlaken-Gstaad via Zweisimmen, Interlaken-Brig/Zermatt via Kandersteg and Goppenstein, and so on.

    Please note that you won’t be able to ski from Interlaken. You’ll have to get up at least to Wengen, Mürren or Grindelwald and maybe take one of the cable cars or mountain trains there.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    19 March 2012 at 11:48:54 #835213

    [quote]Annika said: Hello jayashree, and welcome! You should use the 2 for 1 offer on the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. If your trips Konstanz-Munich-Swiss border are the only ones you plan to make in Germany, it’s best to buy regular tickets for these German trips instead of a rail pass.
    The 4 free travel days of your Swiss Saver Flexi Pass don’t have to be consecutive and can be spread over your 5 day stay. You should use free travel days on your first and last day in Switzerland and on two other days. On the remaining day, a 50% discount will apply.

    It depends on your country of residence (I assume this is the US?) and the reseller you choose whether a 3rd person can be added to the 2 for 1 offer. Some resellers grant a discount for this 3rd person too, others don’t. In that case you can buy your grandmother a regular 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. Just enter your country of residence in the upper right corner of the Swiss Flexi Pass page or use the direct link for your country in the 2 for 1 topic, select a reseller and add a 3d person during the order process. By the way, there are no senior discounts.

    Both Lucerne and Interlaken would be good options for your base. The timetable will help you to plan your trips. Most of them are doable, but you won’t manage to take the Bernina Express trip and return the same day. There are lots of alternatives for shorter scenic trains trips though, such as Lucerne-Interlaken via Meiringen, Interlaken-Gstaad via Zweisimmen, Interlaken-Brig/Zermatt via Kandersteg and Goppenstein, and so on.

    Please note that you won’t be able to ski from Interlaken. You’ll have to get up at least to Wengen, Mürren or Grindelwald and maybe take one of the cable cars or mountain trains there.[/quote]

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    19 March 2012 at 11:54:01 #835214

    Hi Arno,
    thank you for your reply,
    You definitely made it a lot clearer.
    Reading your point of view ,we have now decided to only spend time in Switzerland for 8 days instead of only four days .
    I have one question,we are going to be in Switzerland for 8 days now, can we buy 2 sets of, 4 day 2in 1 swiss pass.
    IWhen you say discounted rates on the flexi pass is it 50 percent of each persons price, how much does it work out for 5 people.
    thank you again for your response.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    19 March 2012 at 12:28:19 #835215

    [quote]jayashree said: Hi Arno,
    thank you for your reply,
    You definitely made it a lot clearer.
    Reading your point of view ,we have now decided to only spend time in Switzerland for 8 days instead of only four days .
    I have one question,we are going to be in Switzerland for 8 days now, can we buy 2 sets of, 4 day 2in 1 swiss pass.
    IWhen you say discounted rates on the flexi pass is it 50 percent of each persons price, how much does it work out for 5 people.
    thank you again for your response.[/quote]
    Hello Arno,
    I thought I should get your opinion on my new schedule too.
    We will be arriving from Zurich to Montreux for4 days 3 nights and then we will travel to interlaken for the next three nights and then leave for Zurich to return home.
    we would like to see Zermatt in one day and the return back to Montreux.
    Can it be done, what other places do you suggest we do from Montreux.
    we have 2 full days in Montreux.
    Thanks
    Jayahree

    Annika
    Moderator
    7124 posts
    19 March 2012 at 16:03:21 #835216

    [quote]jayashree said: Hi Arno,
    thank you for your reply,
    You definitely made it a lot clearer.
    Reading your point of view ,we have now decided to only spend time in Switzerland for 8 days instead of only four days .
    I have one question,we are going to be in Switzerland for 8 days now, can we buy 2 sets of, 4 day 2in 1 swiss pass.
    IWhen you say discounted rates on the flexi pass is it 50 percent of each persons price, how much does it work out for 5 people.
    thank you again for your response.[/quote]

    Hi jayashree. If you’re in Switzerland for 8 days, you should indeed buy 2 sets of the 2 for 1 offer on the 4 day Swiss Saver Pass for all travelers (not the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass: that’s more expensive than you need for stay of 8 consecutive days). Ordering through STC is best for delivery to the US. Just enter 5 people in the order form. 4 of them pay half the saver price, the 5th person pays the regular saver price (-15%).

    I’ll get back to you on your other question in the next few days.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    19 March 2012 at 16:43:10 #835217

    thank you

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