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Best Rail Pass for Europe

We are in Switzerland for 4 days and will be staying in Interlaken only. We will be landing in Zurich and then heading to Interlaken.
After Switzerland we will head to Innsbruck and then to Garmish (by train)
In Garmish we are there for 4 days and would be hiring a car for local sightseeing and would go further to Stuttgart and Munich.
From Munich we go to Amsterdam by train.
We were 6 adults + 1child. Earlier we thought of driving swiss too. But the cost of the car is 920 Euro (Merc Vito or similar)
What Rails pass would be best suited for us ? (We only plan to be around near Interlaken/ Lucerne)
Or is driving preferable ?

Rima

Posted by
3044 posts

With 7 people, if you can get an auto for 920 E to seat that many, you will do whatever for about 130 E/person. I doubt you can get train tickets that cheaply. Have you costed out the train? Does the train go where you wish to go? What about busses? In many cases, large numbers of people do better in cars. I am not as familiar with rail passes as some, but your plans do not sound as if they would be in line with rail passes.

Posted by
7535 posts

You can go through the math, but it is more than likely not a good option to go with a broad Eurail type pass for your trip. Yo will be hitting 4 countries, with generous stays in one spot, and limited travel, save the Munich Amsterdam leg.

For Switzerland look at local passes around Interlaken, for Garmish and Munich you can look at the Bayern Pass that allows a group to travel cheaply outside of peak hours (You would need two passes though).

For Munich to Amsterdam, look to purchase tickets early from DB Bahn for savings.

Posted by
16893 posts

You've listed roughly 3 long train travel days (are Innsbruck and Garmish on one day? What about Lucerne?) and there is a Eurail Global Pass that covers 3 travel days within a month, for instance. It currently costs $222 per adult (ages 28-59) and kids up to age 11 are free, or 5 travel days would be $288. Seat reservations are optional, not required on these routes. That would also give you 25% ticket discounts for trains and lifts in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

You can easily spend that much or more for separate train tickets, unless you lock in the advance-purchase discounts soon for specific departures from Zurich to Austria and from Munich to Amsterdam. An earlier post said that you are traveling in April, so the cheaper rates are at risk of selling out.

Posted by
4044 posts

The best source of advice is www.seat61.com
The only way to know if any pass is a deal is by researching the individual prices first. Seat 61 provides sources.
Many posts have expressed scepticism about Eurail, a packager which may not show all possibilities. Seat 61 suggests several other easy-to-use sites.
To see low-cost plane tickets, www.skyscanner.com

Posted by
12172 posts

I haven't purchased a rail pass since at least 2000. The cost went up and I've found I can do better just buying one trip at a time for all but the longest routes. I avoid the longest routes because flying is cheaper and easier when the train ride gets more than a few hours.

I haven't visited Germany for awhile. If your group is traveling on a weekend, Germany had a Schoenes Wochenende (? translates to nice/great/beautiful weekend) day pass. It's designed to make weekend travel for families affordable. Germany also offered day passes by region that let you travel as a family outside of normal commute hours on local trains very affordably. It's worth checking those out. You used to be able to buy them without any reservation, again it's been awhile so I can't give you current details.

If your plans allow you to use those passes, they are likely quite a bit better than either point to point tickets or rail passes.