15483 posts
Hi Jodes, welcome to MySwissAlps,
- The 8-day Swiss Travel Pass is for sure more convenient as you don’t need tickets in most cases. Even the boats and Mount Rigi are included, so no tickets to buy there either. Whether the Swiss Half Fare Card works out cheaper for you can be calculated as explained here.
- I don’t know all details for traveling in Italy. Having said that, I think the easiest option is to travel to Como by train and take a boat or bus from there. Or travel to Menaggio and take a boat from there. You can find schedules in the timetable.
- The Swiss Card does not exist anymore. I think you mean the Swiss Travel Pass. You can review the “Where it’s valid” tab of the Swiss Travel Pass page and Swiss Half Fare Card page: myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass and myswissalps.com/ swisshalffarecard.
- Booking seats is not required and quite uncommon in Switzerland. Seats are never included in tickets or passes and need to be arranged for separately, if you need or want them. Please see myswissalps.com/ train/reservations. The train into Italy may require reservations. If so, the timetable will indicate so, and such a ticket can best be purchased in advance here. As for the pass for Switzerland: you can print it at home, which is recommended. All options are in the Price tab.
Did this help you out?
72625 posts
Hi Arno
Thanks for the info. We think we have decided on the Swiss Travel Pass. I have seen on a forum where these passes can be purchased with a discount at the moment with Rail Europe. Do you know if this applies to Australians or only those in America/Canada. When I looked at purchasing it appears more expensive than paying full price! Am I overlooking something here?
15483 posts
Hi Jodes,
All the details are here:
Everything shown there applies to the country you’re from (see the “Your country of residence” drop down list).
Print at home products on the US website http://www.raileurope.com/rai l-tickets-passes/swiss-pass/index.html can usually be purchased by everyone, regardless of where you live.
If somehow a promotion still not gets you a good enough discount (it depends on what you order and which promotion you take advantage of), you can simply order through the Swiss Railways web shop: visit http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick “Online Ticket” from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the pass (no delivery fees), so you can print it at home.
72625 posts
Hi Arno
Thank you for your help so far, it is very much appreciated.
1. Another question on the passes before we purchase them, as to whether it is worth paying extra for 1st class? Not sure if there is any extra room in 1st class as we will be travelling with large cases.
2. If we purchase 2nd class tickets do you have the option of upgrading at the stations for example on our long leg between Grindelwald to Bellagio?
3. Also have heard there is the option of paying to reserve a seat on the trains. I’m not looking at doing this (unless you think we need to) but how does one know when getting on the train which seats are and aren’t reserved!
Thanks Arno 🙂
15483 posts
Hi Jodes,
Glad to help!
1. There is indeed more room in 1st class: myswissalps.com/train/ practical/2nd1stclass.
2. You can always upgrade individual trips if you have a 2nd class pass.
3. The link under point 4 explains about seat reservations, and this page is useful too: myswissalps.com/train/ practical/howtotravel.