train travel in italy and switzerland

Generally passes are no longer recommended and it is better to purchase only the point to point tickets you need. The site below has great information on train travel in Europe, I linked to Italy to get you started. Italy allows you to purchase some tickets for the high speed trains at cheaper prices a few months ahead of time. Once those tickets are sold though, they are gone and they are restricted by day and time, no refunds. Slower regional trains are the same price all the time, don't forget to validate your ticket!

http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm

Switzerland does have their own passes that are sometimes worthwhile but it depends on your group and where you are traveling, how many days etc, as to whether or not they are best for you.

See the 2017 Swiss coverage comparison for the Swiss Travel Pass (traditionally a popular choice) and the Select pass covering both countries (new this year). The details of your Swiss plan are the key to determining what you need and will be the more expensive portion of the transport.

Early morning train departures can get you from Venice to Lucerne (for example) in 6h 20m. But also consider a Venice-Zurich flight on EasyJet (about $50) or Swissair (more expensive, more departures).

Wherever you travel by train in Italy, give yourself plenty of time in advance, especially if you need to catch a flight or other timed event. Last June, we planned to leave our hotel in Monterosso at 7:30 am for our 11:15 flight out of Pisa. The night before our flight, we were informed that the trains were going on strike the next day. At our hotel, we were advised to get to the train station before 6am because sometimes the strikes don't start until after 6:00am. So after spending 20min on the train platform at 6 o'clock in the morning, we knew the trains weren't coming. We tried calling for a taxi.....But so was everyone else who was trying to get their destinations. We finally convinced a taxi driver to cram us in his mini-van. There were 9 of us, sitting on top of luggage and the floorboard. The driver could barely close the door. We finally made it to the Pisa airport, less than an hour before our flight.

I was in Italy 35 years for a semester abroad. At that time, I was periodically stranded on train platforms due to strikes. I guess not much has changed in 35 years!