We will be using our Swiss Flexi Rail pass in a week, and I've never done this before. Can one really just hop onto a train without reservations? We're planning to stay in the Berner-Oberland area, so we're traveling there from Germany and back, and also going on the the Lake Geneva/Lausanne area one night. The only leg of that trip that shows RE (reservations recommended) is a short part of the Golden Pass just before Montreux, but I can't figure out how to get just seat reservations online. (The German rail site looks like it makes this easy, btw, though we didn't get a German rail pass so we haven't tried it.) Also, if we do not get a reservation for a route designated RE, will we simply face the possibility of standing, or is there a strong possibility there won't be space on the train at all?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
I believe that if you want to use a day on your flexi-pass to get from Germany into Switzerland, you can have your pass activated at the train station in Germany. They will write the information on the pass and away you go. If you don't want to use a day, you can just pay the P2P fare.
On the Golden Pass train, I believe that your Swiss Flexi pass is good for the fare as long as its one of your validated days. It's only the special 8 VIP seats over the train engineer cab that require a fee. Unfortunately, I don't see pass information on their website. You can quickly email the Golden Pass people on their website (http://www.mob.ch/GPS/produits/gpp1.asp). They do respond promptly in English (I've done it).
Posted by
OP
Dayton, OH, USA
5 posts
Thanks! I realized my note about Germany was unclear. We are actually paying separately for the ptp tickets in Germany (actually using the Laender tickets, which are a great group deal in Germany) to a border town (Schaffhausen), then using our Swiss pass day to go from Schaffhausen to the Berner Oberland. I've used the Deutschbahn site a lot and find it user-friendly (there is a place for clearly reserving seats only), but I'm finding the Swiss site more difficult. Thanks for the tip--I'll write to them!
Posted by
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX, USA
251 posts
We used the Swiss Pass in late June and rode the Golden Pass from Interlaken to Zurich (I think we switched to another train somewhere along the way). When we got on in Interlaken on a Sunday it was standing room only and I was wishing we had seat reservations, but half of the crowd got off at the next stop and we had a choice of seats from then on.
I wouldn't pay extra for the observation cars. While the scenery was pleasant, it wasn't anything spectacular on that section.