[Removed user]

27 June 2018 at 15:56:29 #816922

Hi, Ive been trying to figure this out for over a month and still not sure. Hope you can shed some light on this. Taking the train from Frankfurt to Heidelberg for 2 nights, then to Lucerne for the day, only there for maybe 4 hours so possibly a Rigi trip, but def the Lake Lucerne Boat ride, then through Interlaken to Wengen for 3 nights, only 2 full days. Then train to the Cinque Terre, for 3 nights,

Florence for 3 nights. A few questions:

Do I get a Eurail pass for 3 countries, Germany, Switzerland, Italy? My other option is travel point to point from Germany to the border of Switzerland, use a half fare card whilst in Switzerland and to the border of Italy and then point to point in Italy.

My travel days are :

1- Frankfurt to Heidelberg – ( Eurail pass needed ) hang out in city, dont think i will need any train travel here

2- Heidelberg to Lucerne – Interlaken -Wengen – ( Eurail pass good only to Interlaken? ) We expect to take local transportation( bus?) and some cable cars, prob NOT do Jungfrau, but maybe some of the less expensive excursions like Niederhorn or Schilthorn, mostly just exploring and hiking around the Bernese Oberland area, possibly going up one of the mountains to see good views, taking cable cars and trains, local bus between the Villages, lauterbrunnen, etc

3. Wengen – Interlaken – Montreosso Italy – will be taking the train and or bus between some villages and

4. Monterosso Italy – Florence – by Train – ( eurail pass needed here)

5. Florence exploring – not sure if a rail pass is valuable here – will likely do Tuscany bike ride, wine tasting excursion

6. Transportation to airport – Eurail pass needed here?

Know this is a lot of info, my gut is to at least get one type of pass, but the Eurail isn’t good in the Bernese overland form what i have read…and then is the half fare card worth it if we don’t have exact activities planned that would make it worth it?

Any advice is welcome, Thank you,

Jen

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[Removed user]

28 June 2018 at 5:47:15 #889569

Hi Jen and welcome to MySwissAlps!

Choosing the right pass can be tricky. A Eurail Select Pass for your 3 countries is probably only beneficial with 2 or 3 decent trips, at least, in each country.

You can see what routes are covered by the Eurail Select Pass here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/eurailselectpass /validity (mountain list and PDF map).

As for your 3 days in Switzerland, if you don’t get the Eurail Select Pass and buy point to point tickets for Germany and Italy then the Swiss Travel Pass for 3 days might be your best bet: https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass/ validity depending on your final itinerary.

If you were to just look around Lucerne and save your boat trip and mountain trips for the Interlaken area then a great option would be the Regional Pass Bernese Oberland: https://www.myswissalp s.com/regionalpassbern eseoberland/validity

Point to point tickets in Germany and Italy can be quite cheap if made far enough in advance and can be a better deal if your trips in those countries are limited to just 2 or 3 shorter trips.
https://www.myswissalp s.com/traintickets/ger many

https://www.myswissalp s.com/traintickets/ita ly

To know which rail pass is the best for your specific itinerary you need to plan out all trips you will make (train, bus, boat, cable car) and compare the prices for regular tickets to the rail pass price (and which routes/mountains are free or discounted). Once you have that information you can read our page here on how to choose the best rail pass. There is a spreadsheet there to help with the math. 🙂
https://www.myswissalp s.com/train/ticketspas ses/practical/choosera ilpass