Hi. I'm interested in the golden pass line route and will be flying in from Italy.
My intended itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 - Fly in to Geneva from Italy
Day 2 - Rail from Geneva to Montreux. Take scenic (panoramic) train to Interlaken.
Day 3 - Stay 1 more day in Interlaken
Day 4 - Take scenic (panoramic) train from Interlaken to Lucerne
Day 5 - Stay 1 more day in Lucerne
Day 6 - Rail from Lucerne to Zurich
Day 7 - Fly off from Zurich back to Milan
I have a total of 4 pax (1 of which is less than 25 yrs old).
Appreciate if you could help me with the following enquiries as I'm quite confused now:
1)
Pass versus individual tickets: Should I get the 3-day swiss flexi pass or just purchase individual tickets? Saw that the flexi pass costs CHF281 for 1st class (am I right?), while the full fare for golden pass is only USD$166 (
http://www.eurorailways.com/swiss/gold.htm). Not sure whether these information are correct. Does the swiss pass fully cover the cost of the scenic trains as well, or do I need to pay extra? Also, if I were to buy the individual tickets from montreux to lucerne, can the entire journey be broken down and consumed across a few days, according to my itinerary?
2)
How to buy: Can I buy the ticket / pass online? Read from somewhere else that if I were to buy the individual tickets, I can only get them when I reach Switzerland.
3)
Train journey duration: What is the duration for each leg of the journey?
4)
1st Class vs 2nd Class seats: For the scenic trains, are the panaromic carriages only for 1st class seats? Do I get the same good view at 2nd class seats?
Thanks in advance!!