A few questions on the Swiss Rail Pass

Hello all. I am a newbie to this forum so hopefully my questions make sense.

Firstly, I would like to know how long prior to using a Swiss Pass for the first time I can purchase it? I seem to remember something about six months but couldn't find any supporting info.

Secondly, on the 8th day of our 8-day pass, we plan to travel from Brienz to Cinque Terre via Milano.

I have found one recommended route that suggests: Brienz --> Interlaken Ost --> Spiez --> Milano Centrale.

1. Is this the quickest route or are there better ways to get to Milan?

2. Assuming this is the best route, will the Swiss Pass cover us only to Spiez? Do we need to book a train from Spiez to Milano through TrenItalia?

Any help, suggestions or recommendations gratefully accepted.

Thank you in advance and best regards, Steve

Hi Steve,

Welcome, and thanks for posting! A Swiss Travel Pass can usually be ordered 6 months in advance. Some resellers won't send the pass until a few weeks before you need it, unless requested otherwise. So it's a bit different per reseller. When do you plan to start traveling?

1. Yes, that's the quickest route. The timetable will suggest that route if you request travel info.

2. The Swiss Travel Pass covers all of Switzerland, so you only need a ticket from the Italian border onwards (see the pass map). In this case, the border is Domodossola. You can buy the pass and the additional ticket on the same website in one order. In your case it's the Australian website, please see here:

• raileurope.com.au/pass /swiss-pass-7314
• raileurope.com.au/trai n/italian-international-trains-7267

Further points of sale can be found here:

• myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ price
• myswissalps.com/ traintickets/italy/ price

If you take a direct train from Spiez to Milan, you can order a "passholder" ticket from Spiez. It that case you have a seat reservation from Spiez, but don't pay for the Swiss portion of the trip because that's covered by your pass. This is not required, just an option. If you need more help, please let us know your travel date and time.

Hi Arno,

Thanks very much for the quick reply - sorry I am so late getting back to you.

Your information is exactly what I needed. I have never heard of the "passholder" ticket before. Can I only request that ticket through Swiss trains or does TrenItalia also allow the passholder ticket?

Regards, Steve

Hi Steve,

You're most welcome! I don't think Trenitalia issues tickets for Swiss Travel Pass holders. I have not heard of that option yet. It's much simper to get it through Rail Europe anyway, since you can order your pass there for a good price. That way it's just one order and the ticket price should be the same, or perhaps less if you qualify for the extra discount.

The passholder ticket only makes sense if you take a train to Italy from Spiez. If you board the Italian train near the border, e.g. in Brig, you might as well get a regular ticket from Domodossola. If you do need the passholder ticket you can get it through www.raileurope.com.au/ #tab3, and select your pass there.

Hi Arno,

Thanks again for the update. Yes, our plan is to catch a train from Brienz to Monterosso (Cinque Terre). As far as I am aware this is possible via 3 changes: Interlaken Ost; Spiez and Milano Centrale. Therefore we would be taking a train to Italy from Spiez. I was originally going to simply buy a ticket from Spiez to Monterosso through Trenitalia, however if it will be cheaper to buy a Passholder ticket from raileurope, then I will certainly look at that option.

Thanks again for your help.

Sounds good! In some cases you'll need to change in Brig as well, but the 8:05 AM train from Spiez goes straight to Milan, for example. In that case the passholder ticket makes sense. In any case you don't need a regular ticket from Spiez as your pass is valid all the way to Domodossola.

Have a good trip!