Eurail Pass (France+Switzerland) vs. Swiss Pass

I am in the US and planning to travel on 10 day trip covering Switzerland and France in September 2015. Here is my planned itenerary. I am considering RailEurope pass (Switzerland + France) pass and Swiss Travel Pass. Based on my research, as I understand, Swiss Travel Pass does not cover travel to Paris from Laussanne or my planned Day trip to Normandy.. And the RailEurope pass (Swiss + france) does not offer deep discounts on travel to Interlaken and Jungfrau..

1. Arrive in Zurich and check in Hotel for 4 days

2. Day 2 - Travel to Rhine Fall, Stein Am Rhein and back to Zurich (TRAIN)

3. Day 3 - Travel to Interlaken, JungfrauJoch and back to Zurich (TRAIN)

4. Day 4 - Travel to Mt. Titlis and Lucerne and back to Zurich (TRAIN)

5. Day 5 - Travel to Lausanne (TRAIN)

6. Day 6 - Stay in Laussane and do sightseeing (Bus and local transportation)

7. Day 7 - Take to TGV to Paris (TRAIN)

8. Day 8 - Day trip to Normandy (TRAIN)

9. Days 9 and 10 - Local sightseeing in paris

10. Day 11 --Fly back to USA

Kindly suggest and advise the best pass.. At this time, I am considering to purchase a RailEurope pass (swiss + france) for 6 days of travel..

Thanks for joining MySwissAlps, aathoorr!

You've understood the main differences between Eurail Passes and the Swiss Travel Pass correctly. The Eurail France-Switzerland Pass doesn't offer quite as many advantages for Switzerland as the Swiss Travel Pass does. For example: the trip up to the Jungfraujoch is discounted by 25% with a Eurail Pass all the way from Interlaken, whereas the Swiss Travel Pass grants free traveling as far as Wengen/Grindelwald, and 25% off for the remaining part. You can do a full comparison by checking the 'Validity' sections on both pages. Also, note that the Eurail France-Switzerland Pass comes in a 1st class variant only. If you prefer cheaper traveling in 2nd class, this may not be the best option.

In all, the 6 day Eurail Pass you're considering might be a good fit. I'm not quite sure whether your trips in France are long and expensive enough to justify the expenses. A 4 day Swiss Travel Pass for day 2-5 plus regular tickets for the remaining trips might turn out to be cheaper, but you should make calculations to find out for sure. We explain how to calculate which pass is best in this guide; the same routine should work for French legs.