What kind of rail pass do we need for 4 days?

we are a group of 8 seniors who will be on a cruise ending in rome...

we have never been to switzerland, so we decided from rome to go to lugano overnight, lake lugano excursion, take the train to lucerne for 2 days, mt titlis on the first day, mt pilatus on the second, train to zurich overnight , do a river cruise there, fly out the next day.

my question is what is the most economical rail pass to get, that will give us discounts off excursions as well and transfer to the airport in zurich?

Hello Amanda27, and thanks for posting!

You can best get Swiss Half Fare Cards, giving you 50% off nearly all transportation in Switzerland. Please find details and prices here: www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard.

The Wilhelm Tell Express is an excellent way to travel from Lugano to Lucerne. Hotel suggestions can be found on the Lucerne page.

Please note that Lucerne and Zurich are only 45 minutes apart by train, so there are no nigh trains, if that's what you had in mind. The timetable shows all the travel options.

Annika said:

Hello Amanda27, and thanks for posting!

You can best get Swiss Half Fare Cards, giving you 50% off nearly all transportation in Switzerland. Please find details and prices here: www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard.

The Wilhelm Tell Express is an excellent way to travel from Lugano to Lucerne. Hotel suggestions can be found on the Lucerne page.

Please note that Lucerne and Zurich are only 45 minutes apart by train, so there are no nigh trains, if that's what you had in mind. The timetable shows all the travel options.

thank you so much for this information....I have some more questions for you...

is it cheaper to buy a half pass on line? or should we just get it on the spot? if on line, when should we purchase it, we will be in lugano on may 22nd....

does the wilhelm tell from lugano to lucerne, need to be booked ahead of time or its ok to purchase it when we are in lugano?

is there a half pass 1st class and second class, what is the difference in price , what is the difference in privileges?

from civitavechia to rome to lugano, which rail pass should we get the may complement the half price swiss rail pass?

there are 8 of us, would having 10 people as a group benefit us in terms of prices?

thank you so much again...

Hi Amanda27,

I just noticed you're from Canada, so you do qualify for this $50 off Swiss Pass promo (only valid for a few more days). A Swiss Pass is a good option if you like the idea of ticketless traveling. Also you get a 10% discount as a group of 2 or more. Whether it is cheaper than the Swiss Half Fare Card option can be calculated.

Wilhelm Tell needs to be booked in advance. You can do it locally, but it may be booked out by then. Of course you can do the same route by regular trains and boats that do need require pre-booking, as explained on the page.

I'm not in expert in Italian train traveling, but with just a few trips, point to point tickets usually work out cheaper than a pass.

the swiss pass is around $300 while half fare is about $120...if I am correct...

the $50 off is just for swiss pass not for half fare pass?

we are going almost a year from now, why would we think of the $50 off now?

if we are prebooking the wilhelm tell, would we need our half fare first to get the discount on the wilhelm tell train?

how far in advance should we do all this?

would it be cheaper for us to have a group of 10 instead of a group of 8?

Hi Amanda27,

I didn't know your trip is not until 2015. In that case there's no need to look into prices already. By then there will be other prices and other promotions. Six months before traveling is more than enough time to start checking for prices. Just for the record: the Swiss Pass is currently CAD 307 per person, the Swiss Half Fare Card is CAD 151. Both passes are completely different: free traveling and museums versus discounted traveling and no museums. All the details are on the pages I linked to. If there's no Swiss Pass promo by the time you travel, I think the Swiss Half Fare Card best fits your plans price wise.

Booking the Wilhelm Tell Express does not require any pass. You need to have your pass (or ticket) plus reservations at the time you board the train, but it does not matter in which order you purchase these items. Seats can be booked up to 3 months in advance.

I'm not sure what you mean with your last question. A larger group is always more expensive. Perhaps I misunderstood?

if we buy a half fare pass, will that include the wilhelm tell express?

if we have 10 people instead of 8 is there a group rate ...a discount for having 10?

seems half fare is the cheapest way to go...we are not into museums anyway, but will be taking trains, cable cars, boats....

Hello Amanda27,

Sure, a Swiss Half Fare Card get you a discount on almost any journey. You can download the map to see the details. Reservations are not included and must always be paid for separately.

There are no group rates on the Swiss Half Fare Card. The Swiss Pass is discounted by 10% if traveling with a group of 2 or more. The federal railways (SBB) offer a 20% discount plus one free ticket on point to point tickets for groups from 10 (see sbb.ch). They offer this if booked in advanced, I don't think it is possible to get this discount just before traveling. Many cable cars offers 20% off for groups as well.