First time to Switzerland - 5 nights

Hello Junch, and welcome! A Swiss Card is the best option for your travel plans. It provides a free trip from the Swiss border to your destination (Lauterbrunnen), and from your destination to the airport (Zurich). On all days in between, a 50% discount applies to nearly all trips you'd like to make. Many cable cars and mountain trains around Lauterbrunnen, including the train up to the Jungfraujoch, are included. More information and ordering options can be found at the Swiss Card page.

As for your inbound trip from Milan: with a Swiss Card, you would only need a regular Italian train ticket from Milano up to the border station at which the validity of your Swiss Card starts. Depending on the connection you choose, this will be either Domodossola or Chiasso. Details on all connections can be found in the Swiss timetable. From Domodossola or Chiasso, you can simply show your Swiss Card. Please note that seat reservations have to be made for the international train crossing the Italian-Swiss border. These can be made either before or after your Swiss Card purchase.

I hope this helps you decide! Best regards,

Hi Junch. I found the following regular, non-discounted prices:

- Domodossola > Lauterbrunnen CHF 59.20 OR Chiasso > Lauterbrunnen CHF 103.20. Please note that you shouldn't draw the Italian leg of the journey into your calculations, as this is not covered by any Swiss rail pass. So in order to find out which pass is best for your stay in Switzerland, you should only look into the trips you make within Switzerland.
- Lauterbrunnen > Zurich Airport CHF 76.20 per person.

This means that your inbound and outbound trip will cost CHF 135.40 (when entering via Domodossola) or CHF 179.40 (via Chiasso) per person. The Swiss Card costs CHF 186 per person. Let's say that you'll enter via Domodossola. This would mean that the price difference between the Swiss Card and regular tickets is still CHF 186.00-135.40 = CHF 50.60. As the Swiss Card grants a 50% discount on further trips you'll be making, you'd have to make trips worth CHF 50.60*2 = CHF 101.20 for the Swiss Card to become cost effective. And you'll easily travel for such an amount. For example: just the return trip up to the Jungfraujoch costs CHF 165.80 per person from Lauterbrunnen. So even if all you'd be doing was the Jungfraujoch trip, the Swiss Card would be cheaper than buying regular tickets. Although two Swiss Cards may appear to cost a lot, they will actually save you lots of money.

Prices for most mountain trains and cable cars in the Lauterbrunnen regio can be found at the Jungfrau railways website. More information on how to make calculations is available in our FAQ. Does this clear things up for you?

Hi Junch,

99% of the trains does not require seat reservations. It sounds like your train crossing the border might be a local train that does not require them as well. But you can best check the timetable to see if your particular train requires them. If so, you can buy them at the Milan rail station. Or you pick "GA" (meaning free traveling, just like the Swiss Card) when ordering online.

Enjoy the ride!