which pass to purchase?

Hello,

I am not sure which pass to purchase for my 9 days stay in Switzerland, swiss pass? half fare card? swiss card? Below is my itineraries:

8/10-8/12 Base at Lucerne. will travel to Bern and vist Mt. Rigi, also ride lake boat

8/13-15: Bernese Oberland area. Based on Wengen. will travel to Junfrau, Murren to do some hiking (will travel by train and gondola)

8/16-17: Zermatt to visit Mattherhorn

8/18: will travel to Milan from Zermatt

Since my stay is 9 days, but Swiss pass only has 8 day option. What would be the cheapest way to solve the problem?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

Hi cxhwSwiss,

Thank you for posting! The Swiss Pass and Swiss Half Fare Card are the ones to consider. I would pick the Swiss Pass for your itinerary. It's more convenient as it includes a lot for free (many museums too), so no ticket buying required, and there is the $75 off promo if you buy a $25 baggage voucher, so it's a better deal than it normally is. See here for how to get the discount.

With a Swiss Pass, things would look like this:

8/10-8/12: Free traveling to Lucerne. I assume you have a flight to Zurich, is that correct? If so, you'd better buy an 8-day Swiss Pass for 8/11 to 8/18, as the train ride from the airport to Lucerne is not that expensive (CHF 28), and you can explore the town on foot. The next days you can visit Bern, Mount Rigi and do boat trips. That's all free with the pass. Public transport in Bern is free too.

8/13-8/15: Traveling to Wengen is free, Grindelwald and Mürren can be reached for free. Cable cars are 50% off, the railway to the Jungfraujoch is 25% off.

8/16-8/17: The transfer to Zermatt is free, the cable cars/mountain trains are 50% off.

8/18: The leg from Zermatt to Domodossola (Italy) is free. From there you need a ticket to Milan.

See the Swiss Pass page I linked to above for full details of what's included.

You will find more information about towns and activities on our website, as well as hotel suggestions. Have a great time!

Hi Arno,

Thank you for your informative reply!

For the ticket from Domodossola to Milan, is it available to purchase at any Swiss train station? I was told the leg from Brig to Milan needs a reservation, and how do I go about doing it, and how early should I book the trip? From the link you provided (http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets), the system did not find a ticket schedule from Domodossola to Milan.

Thanks again

Hi cxhwSwiss,

The ticket is available at any staffed station, but there's always the risk that trains that require reservations are booked out when purchasing late. There are local trains too though. They take a bit more time but don't require reservations, so you will always get there. Note that some of those trains are bound for Milano Porta Garibaldi, where I assume you want to travel to Milano Centrale. So be sure to get the ticket for the right station in Milan.

I am not sure why you did not see any tickets available on the page I referred to. I tried for your date and I see several options. Note that you need to select "No" for the question "Are you traveling with a rail pass?". Because at that point, you do not have a valid rail pass anymore. Was this the problem perhaps?

So, you should be able to order it along with the rail pass; both the rail pass discount and the tickets are being offered by the same Rail Europe website.

I hope it works out!

Hi Arno,

YOu are so right! When I checked "NO' rail pass, I got the full schedule. Thanks again