Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card combination

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    31 January 2017 at 4:27:27 #810695

    Hi,

    I and my wife will reach Milan,Italy on Feb 11th morning and on the same day,we will be travelling to Sachseln, Switzerland.We will be returning form Meilen,Switzerland by 15th morning to Florence ,Italy.Our majority of travel days will be in Italy.

    a)I am planning to go for a Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days along with a Half Fare Travel Card..I am not sure if this a good idea.. For the rest of 1 day in Switzerland,I will be opting for point to point tickets

    b)Can someone confirm me the climatic condition in the same time frame i.e [Feb 11 to Feb15-5 Day ]

    As of now my plan is as below

    11th- Bern,

    12th-Geneva,

    13th-Interlaken,Lucerne,

    14th-Zurich

    c)Or should I go for a euro rail pass considering the fact that I will be there from Feb 15 to Feb 23 in Italy.

    Please do suggest me a best option.Do you have different suggestions

    Regards

    ~Sam

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    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    31 January 2017 at 10:55:44 #858555

    Hi Sam, thanks for posting here!

    Let’s look into your questions.

    a) and c): A Eurail Select Pass for Switzerland and Italy might work if you plan on quite intensive traveling in Italy as well. If your plans for Italy are limited to local, short day trips, it’s probably better to buy regular tickets for those journeys and a separate pass for the Swiss portion of your stay.

    If you opt for a separate pass for Switzerland, it won’t be cost effective to get both the Swiss Travel Pass and the Swiss Half Fare Card. One out of two will do. I can’t really tell which will be better, as it depends on your exact itinerary. For example, do you intend to visit the towns you’ve listed all from one base, or do you want to travel around? Will mountain transportation and boat rides be part of your travel plans? You’ll first have to answer these questions and then start calculating your options as explained at myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

    b) Our weather and season pages will provide some answers. At lower altitudes (that is, in the towns you’ve listed) weather can range from wintry and cold, with rain or snow, to pretty mild and dry in February. Weather forecasts start to become reliable a couple of days in advance, so there’s no way of telling what weather will be like during your stay yet.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    31 January 2017 at 12:22:29 #858556

    hi there

    i have a question . me my husband and two daughters 14 and 15 years will be travelling from interlaken to lucern on 7 April . i have bought eurorail passes plus half fare card for myself plus family card . i was wondering if interlaken lucern express of golden pass line is free with eurorail passes .

    thanks

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    31 January 2017 at 15:49:51 #858557

    Hi Azaib,

    You can find the Eurail map of what’s included here. Please post further questions in a new thread, as this one is about Sam’s question. Thanks!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    31 January 2017 at 17:38:02 #858558

    Hi Arno/Annika..

    Really appreciate your quick responses..

    Finally I have made my mind for Swiss Travel Pass.I hope that I can buy the same from Chiasso station as I will be landing in Malpensa and will set off my course towards the border by bus.I dont think it is wise to buy the pass via online at this point in time as I hardly have two weeks to get the pass here in India.

    By the way,I also came across a site where they claim to sell the pass at 145 euro.Is the below mentioned site a genuine one?

    http://www.swisstravelpass.de /swiss-travel-pass.html

    Regards

    ~Sam

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    31 January 2017 at 18:14:04 #858559

    Hi Sam,

    You can simply print the pass at home, see the Swiss Travel Pass page Annika referred to. The best way is to go to the SBB tourist web shop at http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick “Online Ticket” from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the pass within 1 to 3 business days, so you still have plenty of time for that. Buying it in Chiasso would be a waste of time as you will have to get off the train to purchase the pass and wait for the next train.

    The website you mentioned is new to me, I haven’t seen it before. There are some outdated product details on there, but I can’t say if it’s legitimate or not. Note that it’s a German site. They may not offer print at home and shipping to India may not be common for them.

    I hope this has been useful!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    1 February 2017 at 0:30:24 #858560

    Thanks Arno.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    1 February 2017 at 4:20:39 #858561

    Hi Arno..

    I do have two more queries around Swiss Travel Pass

    1.) How does the validity time of Swiss Travel Pass considered.Does it start from the time of my first check in to the first train.Say for instance.. I have a 3 day pass and boarded my first train in Chiasso at 10 am on 11th Feb.Will I be able to use the pass 14th Feb 10 am.

    2.)In case if I board the last train well before the validity time ,for example 14th Feb 9:55am,will my journey be still considered valid though I reach my intended destination, say 14th Feb 3:00pm , which is much out of the validity time.

    Regards

    ~Sam

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    1 February 2017 at 12:54:40 #858562

    Hi Sam,

    Please click to the “How to use” tab on the Swiss Travel Pass page I referred to. All details are there. Just let me know if anything remains unclear.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    2 February 2017 at 7:29:34 #858563

    Hi Arno..

    Thank you for the information..I went through the guidelines there..It says “validity ends on 5:00 AM of the day following the last day, so that allows you to complete late night trips, even after midnight.”

    What would happen in case if your journey is still in the undergoing state even at 5:00 pm.Will the person be able to ensure that he will be able to complete the journey which he started well within the valid time but has crossed the 5:00 am deadline when he reached the destination point corresponding to the same journey?

    Regards

    Sam

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    2 February 2017 at 8:07:14 #858564

    Hi Sam,

    You will need a ticket for the part of the journey after 5 AM (not PM!)

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    2 February 2017 at 8:22:25 #858565

    Hi Arno..

    Thanks..This clears every inch of doubt.

    Keep doing the good work..

    Sam

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