Which Rail Pass should I choose?

Welcome martin.tmc! Looking at your travel plans, I don't think the Eurail Austria-Switzerland Pass is the most economical deal. That's because it's available in 1st class only and because it only offers days with unlimited traveling. On the remaining days, there are no discounts whatsoever, whereas you seem to be traveling on most days of your stay. Moreover, discounts for mountain transportation aren't as generous as with Swiss rail passes. So I think you should look for the best options for Switzerland and Austria seperately.

As for Switzerland: there will be some long and expensive transfers in your itinerary. A Swiss Saver Flexi Pass, allowing a few free travel days, would be a good solution. You would use free travel days for the long transfers and discounted days for the shorter regional trips. A 15 day Swiss Pass, on the other hand, is by far the easiest solution, providing maximum flexibility. Please note that you'll only be absolutely sure of the best deal if you calculate all your trips and then compare the discounts of the passes you have in mind.

Reservations are only necessary for scenic and international trains, not for regular trains within Switzerland.

I know these aren't decisive answers, but I do hope they get you started!

Hello Martin. Yes, those are the longest and most expensive transfers. Do note though that the validity of the Swiss Saver Flexi Pass starts with the first free travel day and ends with the last one. Before and after there are no discounts. So it's best to take your first free travel day soon in your schedule and the last one as late as possible. That won't be a problem if you've planned some longer trips near the beginning and end. Other alternatives are cheap local passes for the first and/or last days (e.g. the Zurich Card, if you spend your first days in or near Zurich).

As for calculating: usually your amount of traveling will result in a pass being a significantly cheaper than regular tickets. I'd say you would gain quite a lot with a Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. Did you check prices using the timetable? And if so, did you note that half fare prices are displayed by default? Only if you unclick the 'half fare' box you'll get to see regular full fare prices.

As for your remaining questions:

1) yes, the timetable includes such trains, but you can best arrange for seat reservations separately with this page as your starting point.

2) I'm not aware of any scenic train on this route.

3) note that resellers don't allow you to pick up your pass at a Swiss railway station yet. You can, however, order online through STC and have your pass delivered to your first hotel address in Switzerland, which is a very economical option. All resellers and delivery options are mentioned in our reseller overview at the right hand of the Swiss Flexi Pass page. The hotel chains participating in the Swiss (Flexi) Pass bonuses all require different ways of booking. Please follow the link 'various discounts at several hotel chains' under 'Swiss Flexi Pass features' at the Swiss Flexi Pass page for specifics. Using this discount isn't necessarily the cheapest way to book your hotels; there may be other, better deals. Hotel overviews with selected hotels close to railway stations can be found here.

Hi Martin! Your calculations seem correct. I understand why the Swiss Saver Flexi Pass doesn't seem to make that much difference, since you only included these transfers. As you'll be traveling more than this, the pass will definitely prove to more economical than regular tickets.

It's hard to say whether a Swiss Half Fare Card is cheaper over all. That depends on how you would use your free travel days on the Swiss Saver Flexi Pass (just for the long transfers, or including more trips on such a day?). Only if you calculate all your plans (which is hard to do in advance) you'll get a definitive answer. Most mountain transportation is discounted with the Swiss Half Fare Card too. Please review the downloadable validity map at the Swiss Half Fare Card page.

Purchase options, including local purchase at airports/larger railway stations, are also listed in the reseller overviews at both pages. You can click 'Show more information' at each option for further details.