Which swiss travel pass is best for our itinerary?

Hi,

I am planning to travel to Lucerne from Paris with family of 5 (4 adults and 1 child of 5 years age) for 3 days.

Our day wise itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 - Paris to Lucerne - Lucerne lake cruise and city sightseeing.

Day 2 - Lucerne to Interlaken day tour (Golden pass panorama tour)

Day 3 - Lucerne to Mt titlis day tour

Which travel pass will be best for us? Also, how can I compare the prices of buying individual tickets versus the swiss pass?

Thank you in advance..

Welcome to MySwissAlps neelabh,

I think this page will answer your question. Is that right?

Hi Arno-

I followed that link, and I do notice the prominent caution to use the full fare from the timetable for calculations, not the half fare. I also recall that you state it at other places. Perhaps when you are next updating that page, you might consider a comment that the fare first shown on the right (on the page that is visible after one first enters a route in the timetable and gets a list of journeys ) is a half fare. It may not be completely obvious for the first time user, in spite of the cautions.

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

Yes, I know the half fare is often a challenge for people. The page does mention that, and also refers to the timetable page where it is mentioned again. I didn't want the page to say the first fare is always the half fare, as I have seen exceptions in the past. Perhaps those where Supersaver prices, or just temporary glitches, but in any case it's important for people to actually understand which price they are looking at, instead of assuming full or half fares. It's a challenge for first timers but it often pays off to do the math.

Thanks Arno for the link...

I am travelling to Lucerne on 16th August. If I buy the swiss travel pass now, will I get the e-copy in time as the website says it will take a week?

Also, I am travelling from Paris to Lucerne via Basel. Do I need to buy the ticket for Paris to Basel leg only? Will the Basel-Lucerne leg be covered by the swiss travel pass?

Similarly, on the way out I am travelling from Lucerne to Venice via Zug and Milan. Will Lucerne to Zug be covered in the swiss travel pass?

Thanks in advance..

Hi Arno -

Here is what it says:

<<"Now you’ll check what your traveling would cost without a pass. For each of the trips on your list, consult the timetable to find the ticket price. Be sure to take the full (regular) price from the timetable, not the half fare price.">>

But, at that place on that page, the phrase -

<<"Be sure to take the full (regular) price from the timetable, not the half fare price.">>"

does not make clear (for me at least) that one has to enter the calculation process and take some steps to get the full(regular) price. For me, at least, the phrasing leaves me puzzled. Am I not looking at the full fare? Hmmm, well it does say "from." I'm certainly looking at the timetable. What should I do differently? I don't want to buy, I just want to know the fare.

You know your users better than I do, so you know the most effective wording for them, but I'd personally find it useful if there was some stronger indication that the first fare shown is almost surely, or , likely, not the full fare. As you note, we have both seen that people can be confused at this point.

Perhaps, if there is room on the page, you might add "Click on Fare/Buy" to get the full fare" or somethng like that.

I'll not belabor the point any further, but I do find that I need to add some kind of warning every time when I'm referring to fares.

Slowpoke

Hi Neelabh,

All Swiss Travel Pass purchase options are listed here. You can get the e-pass by going to www.swisstravelsystem. co.uk and selecting "Online Ticket" when asked to pick a delivery option. It will only take 1-3 business days to receive your order, not a week. The week you may have read about refers to people ordering well in advance. They receive their order a week before departure.

Yes, Basel to Lucerne is covered. You only need a ticket from Paris to Basel. You need to buy that in advance through any of the websites listed here.

Lucerne to Zug and to Chiasso is all covered (see the map). You only need a ticket from Chiasso to Venice from any of the websites listed here.

Hi Slowpoke,

All of that is explained in detail under "How to find ticket prices" on the timetable page. Perhaps some people just skip that paragraph before they start looking for prices. We can't do more I'm afraid, but thanks for your suggestions

Whatever works.

In the future, I'll refer to the other (timetable) page instead of the one you pointed to above.

Indeed, it solves my problem, which is how to caution about the ticket prices shown in the timetable not being full fares.

The Tiimetable page says it nicely.

<<"How to find ticket prices

You can use the timetable to find the regular prices of tickets. That allows you to compare point to point tickets to pass prices. To see the price for a trip, click the 'Fare/Buy' button for your preferred travel option. Then select "no reduction", and mind the selection for single versus return journeys. Beware of the "from" prices being displayed along with the travel options. These are not the regular prices, so be sure to click the 'Fare/Buy' button.">>

That is more useful for my purposes than the one you linked to above -

www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

Slowpoke

Thanks Arno. That's very helpful.

Just have few doubts -

1. The train from Zug to Venice shows change at Milan only and doesn't list Chiasso. Looking at uk.voyages-sncf.com/ and the trains is operated by CISALPINO.

a) If I am holding a ticket from Chiasso to Venice, will I be allowed to board the train in Zug?

b) Also, I have 15 minutes at Zug between the two trains. Is it sufficient given that my mother will be on wheelchair?

2. A silly question but for Swiss Travel Pass is says Golden Pass Train is free from Montreux to Lucerne. Is Lucerne to Montreux also covered by Swiss Travel Pass or I need to purchase tickets?

Thanks once again

<<"a) If I am holding a ticket from Chiasso to Venice, will I be allowed to board the train in Zug? ">>

Hi Neelabh -

To help answer that question, I shall ask one:

When you board the train at Zug, will you have a valid Swiss Travel Pass in your pocket or purse?

Slowpoke

Hi Neelabh,

1a. Sure, as long as you have valid travel documents for the whole ride. In your case you'll have a Swiss Travel Pass for the first leg.

1b. Yes, assuming you'll have a fold-able wheelchair you can carry yourself.

2. The route is covered. The direction of travel does not matter.

Hi Slowpoke,

Yes, that's the best way: to just find prices, people can refer to myswissalps.com/ timetable. To learn about all the steps to compare passes, they need to check www.myswissalps.com/ train/ticketspasses/ practical/chooserailpa ss, which in turn refers to the timetable when they reach the step to find ticket prices. We try to avoid putting the same information on multiple pages, as that might cause even more confusion. Each page has its own purpose and they link to each other when necessary.

Thanks Arno.

When I am trying to purchase Swiss Travel Pass on www.swisstravelsystem. co.uk , it doesn't ask for a delivery option while providing the personal and payment details. It just says delivery address.

Please help.

Well after providing the address it gave me the option to select online tickets.

Thanks Arno for your valuable suggestions

Great, have a good trip!

Stumbled upon one last thing.

Basel to Lucerne - Do I need to reserve a seat or I can board any train without prior reservation if I have the Swiss Travel Pass?

If I need to reserve a seat using the Swiss Travel Pass then where can I do that? Need this information for the Golden Pass train as well.

Thanks

Only a few trains require reservations in Switzerland. In your case you don't need any. All you need is the Swiss Travel Pass. Details can be found here:

• myswissalps.com/ train/reservations
• myswissalps.com/ goldenpass/tickets