[Anonymous]

3 April 2019 at 6:47:53 #820755

We are a family of 5 (4 adults+1 child 15 years) travelling from Venice to Lucerne in May. We are planning to buy a Swiss Pass for adults + 1 family card for the child. So I have a few queries:

1. Which website do I book the ticket from and from which starting station to which ending station. Which train should I take in the morning so as to reach in afternoon.

2. I understand that travel from Swiss border till Lucerne will be free and I have to show the Swiss Pass only. Does that mean that I have to book ticket from Venice till Swiss border? And the rest of the journey will be free? If yes, then which is the station?

3. While booking do I have to select Venice to Lucerne and will the booking site ask me if I have swiss pass and will automatically not charge the cost for swiss part of journey?

4. OR Should I book ticket for Venice till last station of Italy? Can I continue to sit in the same train and continue my journey and just show the pass to the ticket inspector OR I have to get down at last station in Italy and get the swiss pass validated first and take next train?

5. If I have to book ticket till last station in Italy then how can I reserve my seat for swiss part of the journey.

Thanks,

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[rockoyster]

Reply 1 of 10 • 3 April 2019 at 10:03:22 #908300

Hello Anjanakhera and Welcome to MySwissAlps

A good place to start would be http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/italy.

Come back if you still have questions after reading that page.

[User]

Reply 2 of 10 • 3 April 2019 at 10:25:12 #908301

Sorry, but none of the above helps. RailEurope provides only direct trains, and they clearly told me that the complete journey from Venice to Lucerne needs to be paid in full. There is nothing like buying a tickt from Venice till Italy/Swiss border and travelling rest of the journey till Lucerne for free.

Could you please be more specific and guide me through the exact website from where I can book the tickets, the exact sector (point to point) for which I need to pay and on which train. BTW, I will book from India. For more details, please refer to my queries posted in the first message.

thank you so much,

[User]

Reply 3 of 10 • 3 April 2019 at 13:18:42 #908302

Hi Anjanakhera and welcome again to MySwissAlps,

Well done on your choice to get a Swiss Travel Pass, that should definitely provide you with a lot of flexibility. To answer your questions:

1. Rockoyster already pointed you to the right link for points of purchase – you need to buy the ticket from Italy to the edge of the Swiss Travel Pass coverage: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity

2. To choose the route, you will need to use the timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Trains seem to either go via Chiasso or Domodossola, so you should buy your ticket to one of those stops and then use your Swiss Travel Pass. For tickets and promotions go to http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/italy

3. No, the Swiss Travel Pass acts as ticketless travel, so you need to buy the ticket to the border station as above.

4. No need.

5. No need, please read: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/reservations

All the best for your trip!

Maria.

[User]

Reply 4 of 10 • 3 April 2019 at 14:02:27 #908303

Thank you Maria for detailed information. It’s very helpful.

One more query please :

In the forums it is mentioned that seat needs to be reserved from the border station till Swiss destination. It is mentioned that priority is given only to those with reserved seats.

Please suggest how to reserve seats on Swiss part of the travel.

If there is a direct train from Venice to Lucerne of any rail service, in that case also my Swiss part of the travel would be free on Swiss pass. Or is it applicable on specific rail company only?

Thanks

[User]

Reply 5 of 10 • 3 April 2019 at 16:31:21 #908304

Hi Anjanakhera

Glad we could help 🙂

Without seeing the thread, I cannot comment, can you copy paste it?

In any case the official info on our site is that you do not need reservations in Switzerland, only under certain circumstances, as you can read on the links I gave you. The information on reservations (if you really feel you must have one) is also under the same link, please have a read, and then get back to us if you still have questions.

There are no direct trains (please have a look at the timetable I gave you and you will see that for yourself). Again, you just need to buy the ticket to the border station covered by the pass. This applies on any rail company, you just need to make a choice of your route.

Please read the link Rockoyster gave you, http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/italy, it is explained clearly on there.

Maria.

[rockoyster]

Reply 6 of 10 • 3 April 2019 at 21:19:22 #908305

Hi Maria,

Perhaps this extract from the Italy page is confusing Anjanakhera?

An alternative to booking a ticket to the Swiss border station, is to book a ticket for the “passholder fare”. That’s a ticket for the entire route for people who own a rail pass for Switzerland or Italy. The ticket is cheaper than a regular ticket because the leg covered by the rail pass is free. An advantage of this fare is that it includes a seat reservation for the entire route, not just to the border. Passholder fares are not always available.

[rockoyster]

Reply 7 of 10 • 4 April 2019 at 1:46:25 #908306

Hi Maria

I know the official line is to reserve seats only to the border. But I tested that theory for Italian connections some time ago with the following result. Quote:

• Me – “Also when selecting the appropriate price reduction there is no option to select Swiss Travel Pass. GA 2cl gives the correct price. Is it OK to use that option for travel with a Swiss Travel Pass?”.
• SBB – “Yes, you can choose “GA 2cl” to book a ticket with the right condition for your Swiss Travel Pass.”

See sbbcffffs-community.sbb.ch/t5/Tr avelcards-and-tickets/International-Reservation-Problem/td-p/8497.

[User]

Reply 8 of 10 • 4 April 2019 at 5:53:12 #908307

Hello,

I could not find passholder fare on any website!

thx, Anjana

[Arno]

Reply 9 of 10 • 4 April 2019 at 9:23:05 #908308

Hi Anajana,

The Indian Rail Europe website offers passholder tickets if you click “I have a rail pass”: http://www.raileurope. co.in/train/italian-international-trains. However, do compare prices as these tickets are not necessarily the cheapest option. I know that does not make sense, but there are often promotional fares for main routes, which do not require a Swiss Travel Pass or any other pass. So make sure to check the options without selecting “I have a rail pass” too! The earlier you book, the cheaper it will be mostly.

Also, check the other websites listed in the Price section of Rockoyster’s link. Tickets for the entire journey Venezia to Luzern via https://loco2.com/en/d estinations/trains-italy start at € 57 when I searched for a random date in May, and you can select your seat type (windows, aisle, etc.).

[rockoyster]

Reply 10 of 10 • 4 April 2019 at 10:35:32 #908309

Hello Anjana,

A passholder ticket is just a ticket purchased by someone holding a Travel Pass for either or both of the countries traversed. If you use the SBB site you can get from Venice to Luzern with an STP for CHF78. Good luck making sense of Loco2.