Confusion with travel passes 7 nights in September

Hello

We will be travelling to Switzerland in September for 6 or 7 days before moving onto Venice to pick up a cruise. We are a little confused as to which travel card to purchase for our 7 days - Swiss Travel card or Swiss Half Card.

Our itinerary is to arrive in Zurich and head straight to Lucerne for 4 nights. Lucerne to include Mt Rigi and either Pilatus or Titlis also a Lake trip. Travel from Lucerne to Grindelwald for 2 nights to do trip to Jungfau. Travel from Grindelwald to Bellagio in Italy and then to Venice.

1. The questions are which card would be beneficial for our trip?
2. In regards to getting to Bellagio, which is the best route considering we have luggage?
3. Also not sure up to what point the Swiss card/half card can be used for that route.
4. Do we also need to book tickets in advance or wait until the day of travel? (Although with the Swiss Travel Card it looks like you don't need to purchase a ticket. Does that mean you can't then book a seat?)

Sorry for all the questions. I hope someone can help us finalise these last few things. Thank you.

Hi Jodes, welcome to MySwissAlps,

1. The 8-day Swiss Travel Pass is for sure more convenient as you don't need tickets in most cases. Even the boats and Mount Rigi are included, so no tickets to buy there either. Whether the Swiss Half Fare Card works out cheaper for you can be calculated as explained here.
2. I don't know all details for traveling in Italy. Having said that, I think the easiest option is to travel to Como by train and take a boat or bus from there. Or travel to Menaggio and take a boat from there. You can find schedules in the timetable.
3. The Swiss Card does not exist anymore. I think you mean the Swiss Travel Pass. You can review the "Where it's valid" tab of the Swiss Travel Pass page and Swiss Half Fare Card page: myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass and myswissalps.com/ swisshalffarecard.
4. Booking seats is not required and quite uncommon in Switzerland. Seats are never included in tickets or passes and need to be arranged for separately, if you need or want them. Please see myswissalps.com/ train/reservations. The train into Italy may require reservations. If so, the timetable will indicate so, and such a ticket can best be purchased in advance here. As for the pass for Switzerland: you can print it at home, which is recommended. All options are in the Price tab.

Did this help you out?

Hi Arno

Thanks for the info. We think we have decided on the Swiss Travel Pass. I have seen on a forum where these passes can be purchased with a discount at the moment with Rail Europe. Do you know if this applies to Australians or only those in America/Canada. When I looked at purchasing it appears more expensive than paying full price! Am I overlooking something here?

Hi Jodes,

All the details are here:

• myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ price
• myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ promotions

Everything shown there applies to the country you're from (see the "Your country of residence" drop down list).

Print at home products on the US website www.raileurope.com/rai l-tickets-passes/swiss-pass/index.html can usually be purchased by everyone, regardless of where you live.

If somehow a promotion still not gets you a good enough discount (it depends on what you order and which promotion you take advantage of), you can simply order through the Swiss Railways web shop: visit www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick "Online Ticket" from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the pass (no delivery fees), so you can print it at home.

Hi Arno

Thank you for your help so far, it is very much appreciated.

1. Another question on the passes before we purchase them, as to whether it is worth paying extra for 1st class? Not sure if there is any extra room in 1st class as we will be travelling with large cases.

2. If we purchase 2nd class tickets do you have the option of upgrading at the stations for example on our long leg between Grindelwald to Bellagio?

3. Also have heard there is the option of paying to reserve a seat on the trains. I'm not looking at doing this (unless you think we need to) but how does one know when getting on the train which seats are and aren't reserved!

Thanks Arno :)

Hi Jodes,

Glad to help!

1. There is indeed more room in 1st class: myswissalps.com/train/ practical/2nd1stclass.

2. You can always upgrade individual trips if you have a 2nd class pass.

3. The link under point 4 explains about seat reservations, and this page is useful too: myswissalps.com/train/ practical/howtotravel.