Need help with buying the number of days on pass

Hi,

I am travelling to Lucerne, Switzerland from Paris for three nights. I have planned to take early morning train from Paris till Basel. and then activate my swiss pass for travel between Basel to lucerne. I a planning to take 3 days swiss travel pass. I will use the pass as follow:

1) Day 1 : Activate the pass and travel from Basel to Lucerne. Evening trip from Lucerne to Mt.Rigi (I belive boat and cog wheel - round trip) are covered. Use pass for local sight seeing by metro/buses.

2) Free Lucerne to Engelberg (Mt. Titlis) return trip with 50% on Cable car.

3) Free Lucerne to Jungfrauch via Interlaken and wengen on Golden Pass scenic train (I belive this is free) Any reservation required?. Also, as per the map, 25%-50% on cog wheel trains above wengen.

I am not sure how pass works on direct international trains. Eg. Lucerne to Milan direct train Will my pass be valid on this train?

On Day 4, I want to travel from Lucerne to Milan. I am little confused here. If I take 4 days pass and use it to travel till Tirano or Domodossola. There are direct trains available (I want o leave early morning and reach as soon as possible) from Lucerne to Milan. However, if I use my Swiss pass, will that train will ne covered? As this is a direct train, will my Swiss pass not valid on this train? Is it better to use Swiss pass day (only for this travel) or take point to point tickets?

Please correct if I have any incorrect understanding. Please help in deciding if Swiss 3 days pass will be good for the above itinerary. If Lucerne to Milan is feasible with day 4 using pass, is it better to use pass or buy point - point.

Please help so that I can buy 3 day or 4 day Swiss pass.

Thanks

Vinay

Hello vinay1283!

You can check what's covered at our Swiss Travel Pass validity page. The boat trip over the Lake Lucerne, the Rigi and Golden Pass trains are for free indeed. Seat reservations for the Golden Pass are possible, but not required.

As for the the trip Lucerne-Milan: the Swiss Travel Pass would cover this trip as far as Tirano/Domodossola/Chiasso (depending on the exact route you choose) and you'd need an additional ticket from that border station to Milan. The price difference between a 2nd class 3 day or 4 Swiss Travel Pass is only EUR 33 (when bought through RailEurope World, which is the cheapest reseller in your case), whereas regular tickets from Lucerne to a border station would be more expensive. Some examples: a ticket Lucerne-Chiasso costs CHF 64 (about EUR 60) and Lucerne-Domdossola CHF 90 (about EUR 84). So a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass would be better for your plans.

One more note: don't plan your trip to the Rigi too late on your first day. The latest train down from Rigi leaves about 19h00.

I hope this helps you decide!

Thank you for the quick and explained reply Annika. Really appreciate your update on Rigi.. I will plan based on the weather.:)

However, I am concerned that if I take the direct train from Lucern to Milan, swiss pass will cover till border station. However, if I am planning to take the direct train, will it stop at the last border station and allow me to go and buy ticket? Or I can just pre-book the tickets and keep on sitting in the same train and show the ticket for last leg (border to Milan) when asked.

Another alternative: I have done some research and feel that if I have to buy pass for Day 4, I will want to go using Bernina express. I belive it is covered in the pass (Lucerne - Zurich - Chur - Tirano). Right?The only problem is that it will take too long from Tirano to reach Milan central station. Is there any other way to reach Milan faster and also have travel on one of the beautiful legs on Bernina express.

I will also like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful site and all the help you provide and help lots of travelers to save money and time. God Bless!!

Hi vinay1283,

Glad to hear our website has been useful so far!

You can pre-book your tickets from the border station to Milan through the link I gave you, and stay seated in the same train.

The Swiss Travel Pass will indeed cover the Bernina Express ride as far as Tirano. The quickest connections between Tirano and Milan take about 2h30; the entire trip Lucerne-Milan via Tirano may take as much as 9 to 10 hours. If that's too long for you, you could pick a direct connection Lucerne-Milan via Chiasso instead.

Thanks Annika,

Just a quick one.. Bernina express is included in the Swiss pass. However, it says that we have to buy the reservation. How much will reservation cost from Chur to Tirano?

Hi Vinay,

You can find prices of all passes/tickets/reservations on the website Annika mentioned:

• www.raileurope-world.com#tab3: Seat reservations. The Bernina Express costs € 20. You can also book this one separately for CHF 14 through www.rhb.ch/en/tickets-travelcards/buying-tickets/bernina-express-booking (I am not sure how they deliver it: physically or electronically);
• www.raileurope-world.com/pass/swiss-pass: Swiss Travel Pass;
• www.raileurope-world.com/train/italia n-international-trains: tickets for the Italian leg;
• www.raileurope-world.com/train/tgv-lyria: tickets for the Paris to Basel trip;
• www.raileurope-world.com/deals/great-deals-to-tour-Europe: coupon codes for a discount on your whole order.

Kind regards,

Arno

Thank you Arno and Annika.. It was great help...

Regarding the Swiss Pass at www.raileurope-world.com/pass/swiss-pass, I checked sometime earlier that you get some discount (like 15%) if 2 travelers travel together. Has that option expired or that is available at some other location/website.

Thanks!!

Hi Vinay,

There was indeed a Saver option of 10% (15% in 2013), but it has been discontinued in 2014. Since 2015 all prices are on the formerly Saver level, so actually it's not a loss, but a gain for single travelers!

Oh okay!!

Just one last help:

Actually me and my wife will be travelling together. So thought it will be better to get the discount if possible. However, as it has expired, can you suggest a link where 4 days continuous pass is cheapest for two adults.

Also, do I need the real pass delivered to me or I can order online and collect and validate it from Basel station when I arrive. I am from India (but don't have any preference on payment currency) so don't know if delivery is free or chargeable.

Hi Vinay,

The links I gave you are of the cheapest retailer, so that's the best place to order. That even applies if adding shipping costs (which you pay only once if you order all tickets/passes at once). Of course you can compare the options yourself on our Swiss Travel Pass page. Simply click to the 'Price' section and you'll see all the details.

Wonderful!! Thanks a Lot!!

Cheers!!

>> You can also book this one separately for CHF 14 through

www.rhb.ch/en/t ickets-travelcards/buying-tickets/bernina-express-booking

(I am not sure how they deliver it: physically or electronically) <<

Hi Arno and Vinay,

I made reservations through that Rhätische Bahn (Rhaetian Railway) website above last year for the sector Chur to St. Moritz, and the reservations were delivered electronically within minutes.

Thanks for that information Alpenrose666!