Swiss Travel Pass, what's covered, where to buy?

Dear all,

I am planning a Europe trip in Apr, starting from Paris to Zurich, staying for 8 days with Interlaken as base and travel to Milan, Florence and Rome.

I am a little bit lost and need some advise concerning Swiss Travel Pass, and transportation in Italy.

For Switzerland, I would like to know if I purchase an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass, do i pre-book the Interlaken to Milano Centrale tickets online or only pre-book Spiez to Milano Centrale only, and use my Swiss Pass to travel for free from Interlaken to Spiez? Is Interlaken to Spiez train running on daily basis?

Any preferred sites for buying Swiss Travel Pass, and pre-booking tickets? I have tried checking online and the sites has been giving me different price and timing, as well as prompting that it's too early to book, so I'm really really confused...

For Italy, from Milan to Florence, and Florence to Rome, do I need to pre-book any tickets or just buy and go? Is there any recommended site to pre-book tickets?

Thank you all for your kind attention.

Hi Blueskyz, welcome to our forum!

Your Swiss Travel Pass will cover the Swiss leg of your journey to Italy. That is, traveling from Interlaken to Domodossola is for free. So what you need is an additional ticket for the leg Domodossola-Milan, plus seat reservations for the train crossing the border. The timetable allows you to find details on all connections. As you'll see, there are very frequent connections on your route. The timetable also indicates whether or not you need reservations for a specific train.

You can already order the Swiss Travel Pass. Trusted resellers are listed in the Price section of our Swiss Travel Pass page. Your best option is to buy the Swiss Travel Pass as an e-ticket through www.swissrailways.com.

Resellers for Italian tickets are listed here. Generally, you can book tickets 3 to 4 months prior to your journey. This may differ per reseller. At this page, you'll also find explanation on how to book seats if you have a rail pass.

Does this get you started?

In addition to what Annika wrote-

On Swiss trains that are not special or privately owned/run trains (as in the Jungfrau region) you do not have to reserve a seat. There is adequate capacity..

If your train crosses the border, for example, to Italy, you need to reserve a seat...not so much for the Swiss portion, but, rather, for the portion outside Switzerland.

Slowpoke

Hi Annika n Slowpoke, Tks so much for ur replies.

So if I were to pre-book the train ticket from Domodossala to Milan, the part from Interlaken West to Domodossala is covered by the 8 day Swiss Travel Pass n I will need to change trains twice which are from Interlaken West to Spiez and Spiez to Brig? From Brig, I'll need to wait for the train to Domodossala which I've purchased the ticket (eg. EC 37), get onboard and dont have to get off the train til I reach Milan Centrale?

Concerning the purchasing of 8 day Swiss Travel Pass, is it fine if I buy it when I reach Zurich HB? Cos there is a delivery charge for overseas customers, and if I were to buy from raileurope Sg, it's really kind of expensive comparing to buying and using it on the spot in Zurich. Is it possible to purchase and use immediately or have to purchase in advance?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Blueskyz!

Indeed, your Swiss Travel Pass will cover the leg up to Domodossola. So if you have your Swiss Travel Pass, a ticket from Domodossola to Milan and a seat reservation for the international train once you board, all is fine. You can just stay seated all the way from Brig to Milan and you don't have to get out in Domodossola.

As for buying your Swiss Travel Pass: in my previous post I recommended to order it as an e-ticket through www.swissrailways.com. Did you check that link? You may have seen shipping charges for the paper tickets, but these don't apply to e-tickets; e-tickets don't have any additional fees. You'll see that once you've entered your country of residence and once you've selected the "Online ticket" option during the ordering process. So, prices are equal to buying in Switzerland, and it's much easier to buy your pass online and have it at hand when arriving in Zurich. That way you can start traveling right away and you don't have to spend time buying your pass at the ticket counter.

Hi Annika,

Tk u so much for ur reply.

I'll chk out the link again for the e-ticket option.