[Removed user]

24 July 2011 at 20:31:15 #804534

Hi,

I am planning to travel to Rome from Singapore (2person) on 8th Oct and will be staying there for 3 nights before traveling to Florence (3 nights) and then to Venice (2 nights). I am thinking of taking trains frome Rome to Florence to Venice. I will be travelling 2 times over 6 days. Is it advisable to buy an Italy rail pass? If not, where do I buy and reserve the tickets? Online advance purchase recommended?

There does not seem to have combined rail pass for Italy and Switzerland. After Venice, I will be travelling down to Lucerne and staying for 3 nights. This train will be covered under which rail pass?? Do I have to buy an individual ticket for this?

In Switzerland, I will travel from Lucern to Interlaken and staying in interlaken for 2 nights before moving to Zurich to take my flight back to Singapore. In Lucern, I am planning to visit Mt pilatus or Mt titlis. Which is recommended considering I will be going Mt jungfraujoch in interlaken. Also I am planning to have day trip to Bern and other cities as well if time permits. With these traveling, is it advisable to get a Swiss pass? If so, which to buy?

Lastly, I m looking at Lucern hotels near the main train station and budget at below CHF 100 per nite for double sharing with private bathroom. Any recommendation? I am looking at Etap hotel but it seems a long walking distance from train station.

Look forward to your reply!! Any advise is greatly appreciated ad this is my first time travel there! 🙂

Cheers.

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[Removed user]

26 July 2011 at 9:56:34 #833635

hello, my advice would be to check out raileurope.com to figure cost of point to point tickets since you know your dates. Once you get your total, take a look at eurail global select pass or possibly eurail italy. If either of these is available in a flex pass it may be an option. I have never made reservations ahead of time and will usually take my chances. Weekend travel will definitely need to be reservations due to heavy travel. The swiss option could be a swiss 3 day flex pass, if available or a swiss half fare pass. Also check any bonuses that may be provided by the passes. Hope this little bit of info helps you. Have a great holiday and good travels

[Arno]

26 July 2011 at 14:16:02 #833636

Hi Gniq22,

There’s indeed no combined pass for Italy and Switzerland. For the Italian portion of your trip, it think it’s wise to follow rahman’s advice to see what tickets cost and compare that to the prices of Italy passes, e.g. at raileurope.com.sg. The procedure is explained for Swiss traveling here.

I recommend a Swiss Card for the Swiss portion of your trip. It includes free transfers from the Swiss border to Lucerne and from Interlaken to Zurich airport. You get 50% discounts on the other trips you’ve planned. The Swiss Card can be purchased relatively cheap from Singapore, at either raileurope.com.sg or trainticket.com. Both of them sell the Italy pass as well. Further details about this card and prices of various resellers can be found on the Swiss Card page (make to fill out your country, number of travelers, etc. to see the correct prices!). On top of that, there are these discounts.

A reason to visit the Pilatus instead of Titlis could be that it is closer to Lucerne, easily combined with a boat trip and the trip up there is more diverse: there’s a funicular and a gondola to go up/down. There may or may not be snow on the summit, but you will definitely see snow on the Jungfraujoch.

Hotels with room rates less than CHF 100 are mostly located on less popular locations, thus farther away from the city centre, the rail station, the lake, etc. This hotel page is a good starting point. Hotel Etap in Lucerne is about 1 km from the Lucerne rail station.

Enjoy your stay!

[Removed user]

31 July 2011 at 5:48:34 #833637

Hi,

Thanks for the reply!

I have drafted out my itinery for my stay in Switzerland.
16th Oct – Reach Lucern from Venice (Reach at 4pm)
17th Oct – Trip to Mt Pilatus
18th Oct – ???
19th Oct – Train from Lucern to Interlaken. Trip out from Interlaken to Bern and back to Interlaken
20th Oct – Trip to Mt Jungfraujoch
21st Oct – Trip from Interlaken to Zurich. Tour around Zurich and catch a night flight back Singapore (10pm flight)

Please suggest where I can visit on 18th Oct from Lucern. I am thinking of travelling out to Zermatt and Matterhorn or make a trip to Montreux area. Is that feasible and recommended? Please advise.

Given the above travelling, is it more advisable to get the 3D Swiss flexi pass (for 18th, 19th & 21st)? For the trip to Mt Pilatus/Mt Jungfraujoch, since I would not be able to covered under the flexi pass, I would be able to enjoy 50% discount on the train rides and scenic train rides? Where do I take those scenic train rides to the mountain? As I would be staying near to the main railway stations at both Lucern and Interlaken, can i take them from the main railway station?? You have suggested the Swiss card. However, I am abit confused since I do not need a round trip? Please advise otherwise.

For tour in Zurich, where can I tour for half a day? Is it feasible to travel to Rhine Fall and Lake Zurich? If not, where can I trave there?

Many thanks for the advise! Cheers.

[Annika]

1 August 2011 at 8:04:37 #833638

Hi Gniq22. I’d stay close to Lucerne on October 18 and make a boat trip over the lake, for example. Zermatt or Montreux aren’t suitable for day trip from Lucerne: traveling times are very long. You can use the timetable to find out about traveling times and routes. The trips to Pilatus and Jungfraujoch can indeed be made from Lucerne and Interlaken. You can check this in the timetable too, by entering your departure station and destination.

As for passes: the Swiss Card would be a good option. The ’round trip’ doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to travel the same route twice. The Swiss Card just includes a free trip from the Swiss border (depending on your connection this will be either Domodossola or Chiasso) to your first resort (Lucerne), and from your last resort (Interlaken) to the border or airport (Zurich). A 50% discount is granted on your trips in between. Please find all details, specifics and purchase options at the Swiss Card page.

A 3 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass would be fine too, using free travel days for October 16, 19 and 21. The Pilatus trip will be discounted by 50%, the Jungfraujoch by 50% up to Wengen/Grindelwald and by 25% from Wengen/Grindelwald on. The map under the link ‘Overview of the network on which the Swiss Flexi Pass is valid’ shows the exact area of validity. If you want to make sure which pass is most economical, you should do so by making exact calculations.