Advice needed on which Pass

Hello koh-family! Let's take a look at your itinerary first. It looks impressive and I think you'll get to see some true European highlights. As for the route in Switzerland: it would be best to enter Switzerland from Geneva (as this is closest to France/Paris) and end your stay in Zurich (as this is closer to the Austrian border). So the order Zermatt-Interlaken-Zurich seems fine to me. As for day 11: the timetable shows connections from Schaffhausen to Innsbruck about every 2 to 3 hours, so there should be enough possibilities to get to Innsbruck in time. Seats for the train crossing the border have to be reserved, so you shouldn't miss out on the train connection you've planned. You can also decide to leave Zurich earlier in the morning, to make sure that you have enough time left in Schaffhausen and still be able to catch your train. Whether checking in is still possible around midnight, depends on the hotel you've booked in Innsbruck. It would be wise to contact the hotel you've booked (or willing to book) to ask for their policy. Often this is mentioned on their website as well. Hotels can be found through our hotel page as well.

Seats should be reserved for all international journeys, as I just mentioned. Trips within Switzerland, Austria or Italy don't have to be reserved in advance. You can just get on board with your pass or purchase your ticket at the railway station before boarding. In your case, seats should be reserved for the trips Paris-Geneva, Schaffhausen-Innsbruck and Innsbruck-Venice. Seat reservations (for journeys both with and without a rail pass covering the trip) can be arranged for through our website.

Concerning rail passes: it's quite hard to calculate in advance which pass suits your plans best. This is because fares for (international) trips can vary greatly. Prices depend on the moment of booking and travelling, the supplier of the tickets, whether you want to be able to cancel or change your order afterwards, and so on. An indication can be obtained by getting to the RailEurope site belonging to your country of residence (for example via the seat reservation page mentioned above). You can enter the journeys you've planned and see what the costs will be. This will help you decide whether a pass covering that particular country is worth your money, or whether it's better to purchase regular single rail tickets for that trip.

If you choose a pass that allows you to travel for free on a number of (non-consecutive) days, you are the one to decide which days you want to use as 'free travel days'. You don't even have to decide this in advance, but you can stamp your pass or fill out the date each morning before boarding the first train or bus. You should use free travel days for the longest and most expensive trips.

In all, these are your best options:
1) the Eurail Select Saver pass for 3 countries: either France, Switzerland and Italy (as your stay in Austria is relatively short) or Switzerland, Austria and Italy. A 4 day pass may be worth your money as well. Again, which option is best depends on the train fares you'll get to see. You can choose from several fixed numbers of free travel days. You may consider a 6 day, an 8 day or a 10 day pass and use these free travel days for the longest and most expensive journeys, such as French border (from London)-Paris, Paris-Geneva, Zermatt-Interlaken, Zurich-Schaffhausen-Innsbruck, Innsbruck-Venice, etc. All prices are listed here. An overview of what is included and what is not is listed on the Eurail Selectpass page. The full fare has to be paid for most trips made on non-free travel days. Some mountain lifts and trains (such as Gornergrat and Jungfraujoch) are discounted. You don't have to use a free travel day to obtain such discounts.

2) a Swiss Saver Pass and a Eurail Italy Pass, supplemented with regular train tickets for all (legs of the) trips outside of the Swiss and Italian borders. So you'd have to pay extra for the legs London-Paris, Paris-Geneva, Swiss/Austrian border (in most cases Buchs)-Innsbruck, and Austrian/Italian border-Venice. An overview of the validity of the Swiss Pass can be reviewed by clicking the link 'Overview of the network on which the Swiss Pass is valid' at the Swiss Pass page.

Further explanation on how to calculate which pass is best, can be found in our railway FAQ. I hope this gets your started!

Hello koh-family! I'm glad to hear that our advice was helpful so far. Your itinerary is quite full, but if you don't mind to travel a lot, that doesn't have to be a problem. It's a matter of personal preference whether you want to see as much as possible, or take it easy and explore less regions. I would stick with the plan to enter Switzerland via Geneva and then get to Zermatt first. You could also enter via Basel; in that case it would be wiser to get to Interlaken first, and then vist Zermatt and Zurich. However, the trip from Zermatt to Zurich is long, so I still think Geneva-Zermatt-Interlaken-Zurich is the more logical order.

There are no direct train connections between Paris and Zermatt, as the last leg to Zermatt is run by a local train that requires you to change trains in Visp. You'll find direct connections between Paris and Geneva. From Geneva, you can travel to Visp directly, and change trains to Zermatt there. The leg between Visp and Zermatt is not included in the Eurail Selectpass, whether you get into a Glacier Express or into a regular local train. It's best to catch a local train to Zermatt, as you don't have to make seat reservations and pay reservations fees (which is required for Glacier Express trains). The timetable shows whether or not a Glacier Express train is involved. The regular local ones are indicated by 'Regio' in the timetable.

It may indeed be a good idea to skip the Rhine falls, although they're impressive. It allows a more relaxed trip to Innsbruck and you may be able to spend a bit more time in the Bernese Oberland. Both the Zermatt region and the Bernese Oberland deserve at least a two days' stay, but again: this depends on your personal wishes. You seem to want to do a lot when staying in the Bernese Oberland. The trip to the spa in Brig would take one day, as it's on the southern side of the Alps and requires over 3 hours of travelling to get there and back. Personally, I'd rather spend my time in the mountains around Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Mürren/Grindelwald. For most children, the cable cars and cog train rides are great as well. In our day trip overview some short roundabout journeys are listed, allowing you to explore a lot of the Bernese Oberland within one day. I don't know much about Innsbruck, but I'm sure the Innsbruck tourism website will be able to provide you with tips. As for skiing: there aren't many options as you'll visit Switzerland in late spring/early summer. However, summer skiing is often possible around Zermatt.

Seat reservations can be made through our website, but will be processed by our partner RailEurope. Please get to their website by clicking 'Singapore' from the list the header 'How to purchase railway seat reservations' (make sure to click 'Show more countries' first), and then arrange for your seat reservations. You'll have to pay per trip and per person. Most tickets are sent by post.

Have fun preparing for your trip!

Hi Koh Family!

I'm glad to hear that I've been able to help you! As for your questions:

The number of train changes can best be found in the timetable. It shows all details of any possible connection. You can also use it to see your options to travel to Brig, Innsbruck or any other destination.

About skipping Zermatt: it's a beautiful located small town that's definitely worth visiting (when the weather is clear). There are several viewing points. If I had to choose one I would not visit Klein Matterhorn but Gornergrat. Details can be found on the Wallis day trips page.

I don't know the Thermal Spa from personal experience, but this website lists lots of information. I think I answered your other questions in my previous posts. Please review the information I linked to and let me know if any questions remain.

Have fun preparing for your trip! Best regards,