Swiss pass validation

Hi sarah23, and welcome! All purchase options for the Swiss Pass can be found in the upper right corner of the Swiss Pass page. Just fill out your travel data (country of residence, the preferred pass type and the number of travelers) to find out about prices, shipping options and ways of validating. Be sure to click 'Show more information' and the questions marks for detailed information. As for validation: as mentioned on the Swiss Pass page, some resellers - such as RailEurope - require you to validate the pass yourself before boarding the first train, bus, tram or boat. This means that you have to get your pass stamped by a railway employee at a station desk. You can start using your pass immediately after validating, for example for the tram in Bern. Other resellers - such as STC - allow you to validate the pass yourself by writing down the date of your first travel day.

By the way, do you plan to enter Switzerland by train from Milan? If so, you can start using your Swiss Pass as soon as you arrive in the area of the Swiss Pass's validity. Depending on your train connection, this means that you can use your Swiss Pass (and thus travel to Bern for free) from either Domodossola or Chiasso. In that case, you can ask railway employees in the train to validate your pass before you cross the Italian-Swiss border. The Swiss timetable will help you to pick the right connection.

As for the Swiss Pass/Swiss Flexi Pass question: if you plan on using public transport intensively each day of your stay, the 8 day Swiss Pass is the better option. The 6 day Swiss Flexi Pass may be an alternative if there are 1 or 2 days on which you to plan to make no trips, or short local trips.