Travel from Paris to Switzerland to Milan

Hi, I am planning a trip for 4 with the following route - Singapore – London (5D) - Paris (4D) – Switzerland (6D) – Milan (3D) – Venice (Day trip)– Milan - Singapore for 19 days in May 2017.

I need some help in planning for Switzerland for 6 days 5 nights as there are just too many scenic attractions to be visited but as this is my honeymoon as well, I do not wish to be too tired out from the travelling of one place to another.

I have consulted one of the travel agencies on the purchase of rail pass and was advised to purchase Eurail for the 3 country pass and single trip tickets for travel in Switzerland.

After doing some research, I have come up with the following itinerary but will like to check if this plan is feasible and also seek help based on the itinerary what should be the recommended rail pass to buy (Eurail or Swiss Pass)

25 May -- Paris to Basel to Interlaken via Eurail

26 May – Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch (Swiss Train?) if weather is good.

27 May – Interlaken (Any advice where else to visit in Interlaken? Any good shopping places?)

28 May – Interlaken (Checkout) to Spiez to Visp to Zermatt via Eurail

29 May - Zermatt to Matterhorn (Swiss Train?)

30 May – Zermatt (Checkout) to Visp to Milan via Eurail

Thanks in advance :)

Hi yeeling, welcome to MySwissAlps!

Let's take a look at your plans for Switzerland. First of all, which three countries do you plan to use your Eurail Select Pass for? If I understand your plans correctly, you consider not to use it for your trips in Switzerland but buy regular full-fare tickets instead. This would be way too expensive though. You definitely need some kind of rail pass to cut back the travel costs. This could be either a (4 country) Eurail Select Pass or a rail pass covering Switzerland only, such as the Swiss Half Fare Card. You can compare both options by studying the pages and validity overviews I linked to. Calculation tips can be found at myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

As for your itinerary:

• tips for Interlaken and its surroundings can be found here. As you'll see, there's plenty to choose from. If you're looking for some shopping you may like a side trip to Bern or Thun. On the other hand: if weather is nice I'd personally rather spend my time on scenic train rides or mountain top visits.
• you can't actually visit the Matterhorn itself, but you can take a good look at it from either Gornergrat or Klein Matterhorn;
• there seems to be some confusion regarding "Swiss trains" / "Eurail". Eurail is just the name of the multi-country pass you're considering. The trains in Europe are run by several national or regional companies, but the train type or company doesn't really matter. This page may help: myswissalps.com/train/ practical/howtotravel.

I hope this gets you started!

Hi Annika,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

I will be using the 5 days Eurail Pass for France - Switzerland – Italy. I hope to use the pass as much as possible when in Switzerland or I will get the Swiss Half Fare card as I understand that some of the trains in Switzerland are not covered by the Eurail pass.

Can I check why do you suggested 4 country pass?

Thanks for the clarification on Eurail and Swiss train and apologies if my itinerary is confusing. I was trying to work out which route are covered by the Eurail pass and which route are not covered and whether I should get the Swiss Half Fare card.

Understand that there is an excel file on working out the rail pass expenses but before I go into the calculations, I wanted to check if my proposed itinerary is in good order.

Hi yeeling!

From your first post it wasn't quite clear to me which countries you'd be using your 3 country Eurail Select Pass for, as you mention 4 countries: the UK, France, Switzerland and Italy. I supposed you intended to your pass for the other 3 other countries and not for Switzerland, since you mentioned that a travel agency advised you to buy single trip tickets for Switzerland. That's why I advised you to use a 4 country Eurail Select Pass, or another pass for Switzerland.

I now understand that you do plan to use your Eurail Select Pass for Switzerland. In that case: it mostly doesn't pay off to use an additional rail pass if you already have the Eurail Select Pass, as it offers quite some discounts. The validity section shows all details. But indeed, only calculations can tell which option is best.

Interlaken may not be that scenic or atmospheric, but it's an excellent base to explore the region. Please see all towns in the Jungfrau region here. Zermatt is absolutely fine on your way south to Italy. Klein Matterhorn is certainly scenic, although I personally like the views from Gornergrat a bit better.