[Removed user]

6 May 2018 at 19:53:46 #815780

Hi Friends,

Need urgent assistance to determine which Train Pass or Ticket is best suited for my Switzerland and Europe itinerary as below. I will be arriving in Switzerland for 7 nights and will continue my travel to Paris for 4 to 5 nights and then from Paris to London. We are a family of 6. ( 4 adults ages 68, 65, 40 and 38. 2 kids aged 8 and 12 )

June 22 = Will arrive by flight to Zurich and will Travel by Train to Zermatt.

June 23 = Zermatt to Matterhorn Glacier excursion

June 24 = Zermatt to Wengen / Grindelwald by Train

June 24th thru 28th = Daily Excursions in the Bernese Oberland Area such as Jungfrau, First, and others. Will travel by train on 4 days during stay in Bernese Oberland.

June 29th = Wengen / Grindelwald to Paris by Train or Flight. Will spend 4 to 5 nights in Paris and then will proceed to London.

Kindly suggest which Travel pass would be suitable and best in terms of savings between the 8 days Swiss Travel Pass, Half Fare Card or Eurorail select pass for 2 countries. Or would it be better to buy just individual tickets.

Look forward for any earliest responses. Thanking everyone so much on this forum to be of such good assistance !

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[rockoyster]

6 May 2018 at 22:53:11 #884440

You should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math.

[Mark]

7 May 2018 at 12:42:17 #884441

You should also look at the Jungfrau pass. It is very convenient if you plan on using the cable cars and cog trains around Wengen very much. We had a similar itinerary to you and the half fare card plus the Jungfrau pass was slightly cheaper than the STP for us. Mark

[Removed user]

8 May 2018 at 3:43:10 #884442

Hi Mark & Rockoyster,

Thanks for your insights ! A great help indeed. After doing some checking, I am considering to get the Eurorail select 2 country 4 days pass which will allow me to. Please provide insight is this seems correct.

June 22nd = Zurich to Zermatt via the Eurorail pass

June 24th = Zermatt to Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald which should be covered by the Eurorail pass. In case of Wengen I will have to buy seperate ticket

June 29th = Grindelwald to Basel to Paris by Train with the Eurorail pass

July 5th = Paris to London via the Eurostar.

Now the Eurorail pass is costing me 1083 euros (second class) and 1,339.50 euros (first class) for the 4 adults and 2 children(12 and 6) with the above train itinerary. I checked on the cost of getting a 3 days Swiss Travel Pass Flex and it was costing me 850(2nd class) and 1378(1st class) euros respectively. So I figured it would be better for me to get the Eurorail which will also cover my travel from Switzerland to Paris and Paris to London. Now I may decide to go another day drip to the chocolate factory at Gruyere. In that case, do you think I should get a Day Saver pass for all of us or I should upgrade to 5 days on the Eurorail select pass. And for the internal travel to the mountain excursions, do you think the Jungfrau pass will work out better for me or perhaps I could buy individual tickets with 25% discount with my Eurorail pass. Basically I will going to Matterhorn while in Zermatt and Jungfrau, First, Schilltorn and other excursions while in the BO area.

Any suggestions. Please let me know and thanks once again.

[rockoyster]

8 May 2018 at 4:22:43 #884443

Hello Avish,

Have you had a look at the Eurail Validity Map? It is fine on the main train routes but Gornergrat (from Zermatt) is not covered and once you head from Interlaken Ost to Wengen or Grindelwald or anywhere else in the Jungfrau Region you need to buy tickets at 25% discount. Compare this with the Swiss Travel Pass Validity map.

I would have thought a Swiss Travel Pass would be better for you (you don’t need first class) although you also might find this http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/eurail-global-pass-promotion-35-discount interesting.

And http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france.

[Mark]

8 May 2018 at 13:35:36 #884444

Hi Avish

Rockoysrer May be right that the STP could be your best option. The reason the Jungfrau pass was our best option was we made extensive use of the cable cars from Wengen to Männlichen, Grindelwald to First, Grund to Männlichen and cog train sections to Eigergletcher and Schynige Platte and the bus from Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald . These are free with the Jungfrau pass and it’s convenient to not have to purchase a ticket at each place. The STP gives a discount and you must purchase a ticket.

The half fare card gave us a 50% discount on the Jungfrau pass and all other point to point tickets including Zermatt to Gornergrat.

Remember the STP flex is only good on the flex days you choose and that includes discounts. There is no discount on days between the flex days.

Of course our itinerary was flexible and changed depending on weather and what we felt like doing. For instance it snowed the night before we planned to hike to Faulhorn so we hiked to Grosse Scheidegg instead as it was passable. So you may not be able to be too precise in determining your travel costs ahead of time but you will likely be in the ballpark. Mark

[Removed user]

8 May 2018 at 17:14:56 #884445

Hi Mark & Rockoyster,

Once again, thanks for your valuable feedback.

I did not realize that the STP flex does not allow the discounts on the days that we don’t travel. And yes the Eurorail passes do not cover the trains beyond Interlaken and beyond Zermatt.

I looked into the Eurorail global pass promotion and since I am not going to be traveling much in France besides Paris and neither am I visiting other countries, so am not sure if this would be good for me.

I guess I could either get : Option 1) STP 8 days and buy the mountain excursion tickets separately. or Option 2) I could get the Half Fare card and the Jungfrau pass and buy the other tickets on point to point basis. or Option 3) Eurorail pass + Jungfrau pass.

How about Saver Day Pass. Would this also work for me together with the Half Fare Card.

I am also not sure about the French Strike situation and how this will effect my travel to Paris and from Paris to London. I have checked that on 29th June, which is the day I am supposed to travel to Paris, it is not a strike day. Hope it will remain.

Thanks a bunch, Avish

[Removed user]

9 May 2018 at 3:30:20 #884446

Hi Avish,

The only way to know which rail pass is best for your itinerary is to find ticket prices and compare you the various rail passes that could work for you.

We have a page here to help you do the math.

[rockoyster]

9 May 2018 at 4:09:11 #884447

Hello Avish,

You wrote . . . “How about Saver Day Pass. Would this also work for me together with the Half Fare Card.“

Where did you have in mind using this combination?