[Removed user]

3 February 2018 at 8:05:59 #814231

hi all

I plan to travel to Paris – Switzerland – Italy in late April this year and want your advise on which rail pass will suit my itinerary. There is so much information already on the forum which makes me even more confused. PLEASE ADVISE.

17th April – Arrival in Paris

17th – 19th April – Local sight-seeing in Paris

20th April – Early morning train from Paris to Montreux

21st April – Early morning train from Montreux to Zermatt

21st April – Gornergrat Mountain rail OR Klein Matterhorn lift

21st April – Train from Zermatt to Montreux

22nd April – Early morning train from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen

22nd April – Local sight-seeing, maybe go to Interlaken and back by train

23rd April – Trip to Jungfrau – Wengernalp rack rail from Lauterbrunnen and go to Kleine Scheidegg. Ride the Jungfrau rail.

24th April – Early morning train from Lauterbrunnen to Luzern

24th April – Trip to Mt. Titlis via cable car and rail

25th April – Early morning train from Luzern to Venice

26th April – Evening train from Venice to Rome

26th – 28th April – Local sight-seeing in Rome and may be Rome – Florence – Rome by train

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[Removed user]

3 February 2018 at 8:32:33 #875537

Hi Pragun and welcome to MySwissAlps!

As you are traveling in several regions of the country I would just look at the Swiss Travel Pass (4 days) for simplicity.

That rail pass will cover most of your trips without the need for any extra ticket but not all. Read through the where it's valid page here.
You can use it for April 21, 22, 23 & 24 and then buy a point to point ticket from Paris to Montreux and from Lucerne to Venice.

Another option would be the Swiss Half Fare Card which is cheaper to buy and gives you 50% off all trips you make in Switzerland (you’ll have to buy tickets for every trip though).

The only way to know which pass is the most economical is to find prices for all your planned trips and do the math. We have a nice spreadsheet to help you with the math on our page: how to choose the best rail pass.

Hope that helps you sort out a rail pass – let us know if you have more questions!

[Removed user]

3 February 2018 at 12:34:05 #875538

Thanks Lucas. I am right now working on the maths and will soon share the results to discuss with you.

A quick question though silly it may sound –

Under Attractions covered by Swiss Travel pass, where it says “Train from Grindelwald or Wengen to Jungfraujoch: 25% off” – just wanted to confirm it it means that the return journey from W/G – J – W/G is covered or does it mean just one way?

[Removed user]

3 February 2018 at 12:40:44 #875539

Oh round-trip. 🙂 The route is 25% off with the Swiss Travel Pass.

[Removed user]

3 February 2018 at 15:43:43 #875540

Hey Lucas,

So after doing hours of calculations, I have decided to go for Swiss Half Fare Card. It gives more flexibility to be used on any day in a given month that too at a lower cost.

1. Can you pls suggest me if I should buy the travel tickets b/w towns and tickets to the mountains in advance online? Or is it okay if I book after reaching Switzerland? I will be there in third week of April.
2. Any suggestions for pocket-friendly lodging in/near Lauterbrunnen?
3. Do you also suggest me to buy some other pass for my journeys from Paris to Montreux, Lucerne to Venice, Venice to Rome, Rome – Florence – Rome? It is costing me 440 Euros for 2 persons.

Pls advise.

[Removed user]

3 February 2018 at 17:35:40 #875541

Hey Lucas,

Adding one more question.

So after doing hours of calculations, I have decided to go for Swiss Half Fare Card. It gives more flexibility to be used on any day in a given month that too at a lower cost.

1. Can you pls suggest me if I should buy the travel tickets b/w towns and tickets to the mountains in advance online? Or is it okay if I book after reaching Switzerland? I will be there in third week of April.

2. Any suggestions for pocket-friendly lodging in/near Lauterbrunnen?

3. Do you also suggest me to buy some other pass for my journeys from Paris to Montreux, Lucerne to Venice, Venice to Rome, Rome – Florence – Rome? It is costing me 440 Euros for 2 persons.

4. Do I get any discounts with my Swiss half fare card for my travel from Paris to Montreux and from Lucerne to Venice? Considering part of the journey will be in Switzerland itself.

[Removed user]

4 February 2018 at 10:00:24 #875542

Hi Pragun,

1. You can wait until in Switzerland to buy your train tickets without issue
2. We have some hotel listings for Lauterbrunnen here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/lauterbrunnen/ho tels
3. You could look at a Eurail Select Pass for France & Italy or France, Switzerland and Italy. If you buy it for all 3 countries you can still use the Swiss Half Fare Card for trips in Switzerland that don’t get a discount with the Eurail Pass. It may, in the end not make sense to buy a rail pass for the other two countries though.
4. The Swiss Half Fare Card gets you a discount on the sections of those trips within Switzerland yes. It is probably easiest to buy separate tickets for the 2 legs of the trip. IE Paris to Geneva and then Geneva to Montreux (with the Swiss Half Fare Card). Take a look at buying those tickets here.
   You can also find tickets on the SBB timetable here and you can select that you have the Half Fare Travel Card before buying the ticket and you’ll get the appropriate ticket price.