[Anonymous]

29 April 2018 at 6:31:57 #815591

Hello,

We are travelling in Switzerland in July (2 adults, 2 children – aged 10 and 13). We are travelling on trains from Zurich – Lucerne, Lucerne – Lauterbrunnen, trip to Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen – Milan over 6 days.

Is it best to buy point to point tickets with no travel passes or should we consider a travel pass? I looked at the Junior Card (which I thought gave free travel to children travelling with an adult). Would I still have to actually purchase a point to point ticket for my childreor just show the Junior travel card (eg: on the Lauterbrunnen-Milan train). Would I still have to buy a reserved seat?

Is it best to just wait until we get to Switzerland to buy the ticket to Schilthorn as I believe that the trip is very weather dependent?

Thanks for your advice – I have done lots of research but can’t decide what is best. Appreciate any help.

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[User]

Reply 1 of 6 • 29 April 2018 at 8:55:41 #883531

Hi Dee and welcome to MySwissAlps!

You may want to look at a Swiss Travel Pass (3, 4 or 8 days) to cover your Swiss trips. Even the trip up to the Schilthorn would be free. You can then add on the free Swiss Family Card to cover the kids for free as well. All the trips/routes you mention are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass but I would guess you will be on other trips as well? See what is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass here.

The only way to know if that or another rail pass is economically beneficial over point to point tickets is to download out spreadsheet and do the math here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/train/ticketspas ses/practical/choosera ilpass

[User]

Reply 2 of 6 • 29 April 2018 at 9:55:42 #883532

Hi Dee,

>> Is it best to just wait until we get to Switzerland to buy the ticket to Schilthorn as I believe that the trip is very weather dependent?

You can check visibility on top of the Schilthorn before buying a ticket (if you don’t have a Swiss Travel Pass) and going up:

schilthorn.ch/en/Infos /Live

Alpenrose

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 6 May 2018 at 0:43:42 #883533

Thanks so much for your responses. This has been very helpful. Having spent hours making calculations, it seems that the Swiss Travel Pass + the swiss family card seem best value. I am wondering how I go about booking the train though, from Interlaken Ost – Milan with the travel pass. I am assuming that I then need to pay for part of the journey through from the border to Milan? Any advice greatly appreciated.

[User]

Reply 4 of 6 • 6 May 2018 at 1:25:52 #883534

Yes, with the Swiss Travel Pass you’ll just need to buy a ticket from the Swiss border (Domodossola most likely) to Milan.

You can find a few online retailers to buy that ticket from here.

[User]

Reply 5 of 6 • 6 May 2018 at 5:26:35 #883535

Thank you so much. This website really is a wonderful source of information.

I just want to clarify – so I don’t need to pay for a seat reservation from Interlaken Ost to Domodolossa? I literally just turn up and get onto the train with my Swiss travel pass? I have seen that there is a cheap fare from Domodolossa to Milan that will have the seat reservation included. I will need to ensure that I get on that train so the train from Interlaken won’t get booked out, will it?

Thanks again

[User]

Reply 6 of 6 • 6 May 2018 at 13:46:03 #883536

Correct, no reservation needed from Interlaken to Domodossola. I would not think you’ll have any issue getting a seat – the rail system is designed here to work without reservations.

You will get on the train you want without a reservation. If it is for some reason extremely busy (rush hour near a big city) you may have to stand for a bit possibly…until someone gets off. But I’d be very surprised if that happened.