Swiss Pass's coverage

Hi

Can Swiss Pass be used for the route from Lucerne to Venice? My draft itinerary is:

Zurich - Interlaken
Interlaken - Lucerne
Lucernce - Venice
Venice - Milan

I need the information to enable to calculate if the 2 for 1 Swiss Pass offer is better than the Swiss Half Fare Card. I plan to visit both Mr Titlis and Jungfrau and based on my calculation, I think the Half Fare Card is more worthwhile.

Thanks!

Hello mayemays! The Swiss Pass will cover the Swiss leg of your trip to Venice, up to Domodossola or Chiasso (depending on your connection). You can use the validity map that can be downloaded from the Swiss Pass page to check the exact coverage. In general, the 2 for 1 offer is the better choice as that's a very economical way of traveling, especially since all regular train, bus and boat routes are for free. On the other hand, the Swiss Half Fare Card offers more discounts on the Jungfraujoch than the Swiss Pass does. So it always depends on your exact travel scheme, and you're doing a good job calculating which pass suits your needs best.

Hi Arno

Thanks for your quick reply. I did a quick check for the route from Luzern to Venice at Rail Europe's website and the details are as follows:

13/07/2012 08:18 LUZERN

13/07/2012 11:50 MILANO CENTRALE
Train 153 - Reservation included

13/07/2012 12:05 MILANO CENTRALE

13/07/2012 14:28 VENEZIA MESTRE
Train 37 - Reservation included

Does it include either Domodossala or Chiasso as the connection before I reach Milano Centrale for transfer of train? I couldnt tell from the above information. If it doesnt, am I right to say that the Swiss Pass does not cover the route? But if it does, how much does the train ticket cost from Luzern up to each station of Domodossala or Chiasso? Need this information to calculate the savings.

Assuming the savings for the train from Luzern to Domodossala or Chiasso is not much, Swiss Half fare Card may be cheaper as it offers 50% discount of the Jungrau tickets compared to 25% by a Swiss Pass. Also, as I only intend to buy a 4 days pass (within 1 month), i still have to buy full price tickets for the rest of the days. Therefore, I think Swiss Half fare card might still be a better choice.

Looking forward to your advice. Many Thanks!!

Hi mayemays,

When it comes to checking the details of connections, I would suggest to use this timetable rather than the one offered by Rail Europe. It includes more trains and more details. If you click the plus icon shown with any connection, and then click the train number (e.g. EC 153), you'll see all stops of the trains. It shows that your train stops in Chiasso. You'll have free traveling (with a Swiss Pass) or discounted traveling (with a Swiss Half Fare Card) to that town. Then, after you've decided what pass is appropriate, go to Rail Europe or any reseller that fits your needs best. The resellers are all listed at the pass pages I linked to before, so it's easy to compare them.

Hi Arno
Thank you for the advice. I have since re-work my calculation. Can you please help to see if my draft calculation make sense. Is it true that for Swiss Pass, urban transportation will be for free on the 4 travel days and discounted by 50% on the remaining days? If it is, the the 2 for 1 Swiss Pass is certainly a better deal:

Train
Out of Pocket
2 for 1 Swiss Pass
(4 days / 1 month)

Half Fare Card

First Purchase of Card
-
S$187
S$145
Zurich to Interlaken
S$130
Day 1
S$ 65
Interlaken to Lucerne
S$ 62
Day 2
S$ 31
Lucerne to Venice
(via Chiasso to Milan)

Leg 1: Lucern to Chiasso
Leg 2: Chiasso to Venice

S$160
Day 3


Leg 1: S$40
Leg 2: S$64



Leg 1: S$20
Leg 2: S$64
TOTAL
S$352
S$251**
(S$187 + S$64)
S$325

** Urban transportation will be for free on 4 travel days and discounted by 50% on the remaining days.
Excursions
Out of Pocket
2 for 1 Swiss Pass
(4 days / 1 month)

Half Fare Card

Jungfrau
CHF190
CHF143
CHF95
Mt Titlis
CHF86
CHF55
CHF55
Mt Stanserhorn
CHF68
CHF34
CHF34

CHF344 /
S$455
CHF232 /
S$307
CHF184 /
S$243
TOTAL
S$807
(S$352 + S$455)
S$558 :-)
(S$251 + S$307)
S$568
(S$325 + 243)

Thank you!

Sorry, please refer to the attachment instead. Thank you very much!

Hello mayemays. Your calculations look fine. Actually, the Swiss Pass option is even cheaper, as the first leg Lucerne-Chiasso during your outbound trip is for free, so you won't have to pay the SG 40,00 you listed now. Urban transportation is for free indeed. By the way, '50% discount on remaining days' only goes for the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. The regular Swiss Pass is valid during 4 consecutive days, and there are no other days with discounts. There's a 2 for 1 offer available on the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass as well, if that's the type of pass you're looking for.

Hi mayemays. In addition to my previous answer: I now see that you'll be traveling in July. Did you notice that the 2 for 1 offer is not valid for July, but for September-November only? That may change your calculatoins.

Hi Annika
I will be traveling end Sept/early Oct. I just used the July date to get an estimation costs.
Is the Swiss card that can be used 4 consecutive days known as Swiss Saver Pass whereas the one that can be used any 4 days in a month known as Swiss Flexi Pass? I am a bit confused here.

And what comprise of "urban transportation"? If it is free under the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass, then what does it mean that we will get a '50% discount on remaining days' under this Swiss Saver Flexi Pass?
Thanks!

Hi mayemays. In that case there's no problem, you can indeed use the 2 for 1 offer! And indeed: the Swiss Pass offers consecutive days of free traveling, the Swiss Flexi Pass offers non-consecutive days. Non-free travel days between the first and last free travel day of a Swiss Flexi Pass allow you to travel with discounts (50% in nearly all cases, including public transportation). Did you check the link to the detail pages of both passes I provided in my previous answer? All specifics are listed there.

Hi
"Train Tickets" advised that there is no 50% discount on non-free travel days for Swiss Saver Flexi Pass, as opposed to your information that there is. Can you please confirm if there is discount indeed for non-free travel days?

Also, what do you mean by urban transportation? Is it the normail train transportation that we check using the SBB website?

Thank you.

Siu May

Hi Siu May,

You definitely get the discounts on non-free travel days, as long as those days are in between the first and last free travel day.

Urban transportation is public transport in towns (buses, trams, etc.)

Hi Arno
Thank you for your confirmation! Urban transportation is free on "free travel days"?

But I intend to use my free travel (4 days Swiss Saver Flexi Pass) only on the following days:

1) Day 1 - Zurich
2) Day 2 - Zurich
3) Day 3 - Interlaken (Swiss Pass)
4) Day 4 - Interlaken
5) Day 5 - Lucerne (Swiss Pass)
6) Day 6 - Lucerne to Engelberg (Swiss Pass)
7) Day 7 - Venice (Swiss Pass for leg to Chiasso)
8) Day 8 - Venice

Do I need to buy the Zurich Day Pass for Day 1 and 2 of my trip since the start of my first travel days is only on Day 3? Please advise!

Thanks!

Siu May

That's correct Siu May, but if you need urban transport on the days in between free travel days, you'll get a discount on your tickets.

You can consider the Zurich Card for your first two days.