MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 15 days Paris/Switzerland/Munich: which railpass?
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Hi
We are 2 Seniors + 2 adults + 1 youth traveling to europe between 15th june to 30th june
Our itinerary is:
Paris 15th June: 3 days local sightseeing incl eiffel, louvre etc
18th June: Paris to luxembourg for a day trip.
19th June: Paris to brussels for a day trip
20th June: Paris to disneyland for a day trip
21st June: Paris to lucerne
22nd June: Mt titlis tour
23rd June: Interlaken and Jungfrau
24th June: Grindelwald and around
25th June: Liechtenstein for a day trip
26th June: Lucerne to Munich
27th June: Munich to black forest region
28th June: Munich to Innsbruck
29th June: Munich local sightseeing
30th June: Fly out
I am confused regarding which rail pass to take. Should I go for Eurail Global Pass for the complete trip? Which all days will I need to take additional tickets?
Do we need to buy swiss travel pass and eurail pass both? Should we buy german rail pass also?
Which trains do I need to make prior reservations? What happens if I do not have a reservation?
The point to point ticket from Paris to Luxembourg (I checked today) for all 5 people is approx 500-600 euros and similar pricing for all long distance travel. So I am assuming I am better off with a pass.
Thank you for your help
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Hello Pankaj_pa36, thanks for joining MySwissAlps!
Yes, you’ll certainly save money with a railpass.
A 15-day Eurail Global Pass seems to make sense for your travel plans. It will cover nearly all town-to-town transfers. While in Switzerland, you will need additional tickets. For example:
- 25% discounted tickets for Titlis (https://www.myswissalps.com/titlis/tickets)
- 25% discounted tickets for all trips south of Interlaken (https://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken). This includes journeys to Grindelwald (https://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwald/travel) and Jungfraujoch (https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/tickets).
You can check the Eurail Global Pass validity in detail here: https://www.myswissalps.com/eurailglobalpass/validity. There’s a downloadable map, plus a list of free and discounted Swiss activities.
A Swiss Travel Pass offers better coverage in Switzerland. For example: all boat rides are free, Titlis is 50% discounted, etc. Please see https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity. So another option to consider would be a Eurail Global Flexi Pass for the days you do most traveling in Paris and Munich, plus a Swiss Travel Pass for your days in Switzerland.
If you’d like to know which pass is most economical with absolute certainty, you can best make calculations as explained here: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass.
You’ll have to make seat reservations for the trip Paris-Lucerne. Please see https://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/france.
Reservations can be made for the international trains from Zurich (or Basel) during your trip Lucerne-Munich: https://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/germany. You can use the Swiss timetable to find all connections: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. Click on any connection for details. An ‘R’ icon means seat reservation is optional for that specific train, an ‘R’ in a square means reservations is required.
You don’t need reservations for the majority of trains in Switzerland: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations.
Does this get you started?
One suggestion regarding Disneyland which I am tempted to suggest. Instead of Disneyland go to palace of Versailles in Paris. My son who was 14 years old who was bored as hell visiting Disneyland Paris since he loves adventure. It is more for young kids
Palace of Versailles is so lavish that you realise why french revolution happened
sorry for suggestion not asked for
Thanks Chetan for the input. My parents have trouble walking so we are skipping the tour to palace. Shows in disneyland should be good i assume.
Thanks Arno for the detailed help. It sure answers a lot of my questions.
Thanks for your inputs. These are great suggestions.
One question: can I travel in swiss buses if I have an eurail pass? Or is there a local pass which is not costly in swiss if I need to use them for local transport
Hi Pankaj pa36
City transport and most buses are not included in the Eurail Global Pass. You can find the validity details of the Eurail Global Pass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/eurailglobalpass/validity. Please download the map.
Regarding the local Pass, I also recommend the Swiss Travel Pass, which Arno has already mentioned. With that:
- Trains and buses to villages are free in Switzerland
- City transport (trams, buses) is free in 90 towns
- and even more: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity
Or if you would like to travel within a Swiss city, you can get a day pass in the city. Prices are different depending on the city.
Ildiko
Thank you so much. I am going ahead with Swiss Travel Pass. I think this is the best option given our requirements.
This is super helpful, the power of community!
Hi Pankaj pa36,
Great, you can buy it here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/price.
Let us know if you have further questions,
Ildiko
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