I'm a bit overwhelmed by train options for our end of November trip to Switzerland and Milan. Living in an area where public transport has always sucked and been unreliable, I'm a bit unsure of the many available options.
For context, here's the itinerary:
Day 1: US to Basel, Switzerland
Day 2: Basel (Christmas markets)
Day 3: Basel to Lauterbrunnen
Day 4: Lauterbrunnen (Kleine Scheidegg (ski))
Day 5: Lauterbrunnen
Day 6 - Lauterbrunnen via Spiez to Milan (Centrale train station)
Day 7 - Milan
Day 8 - Bologna (day trip)
Day 9 - Milan back to US
Getting a 4-day Swiss pass (we actually would need a 5-day but that's not an option) is a bit north of $1,300 for four of us (3 adults + 1 kid).
Pricing ONLY train tickets from Basel to Lauterbrunnen ($336 1st class) and Lauterbrunnen to Spiez ($116 1st class) is just under $500...a fraction of the cost of the Swiss Pass. Would we really be spending $800+ on individual tickets for gondolas, busses, or whatever to get around Interlaken and the gondolas in 3 days?
The plan would be to take a train from Interlaken to Spiez to Milan ($541 1st class). My understanding is that once in Milan, we can walk pretty much everywhere we want to go and then take the train from Milano Centrale to the airport. No fuss no muss.
Someone had also suggested we buy a Eurorail Pass and Swiss Oberland Regional pass and that would cover the entire trip. Combined, those are over $2,500 and seem to be overkill.
But, what do I know?
Thanks in advance for helping me get my brain wrapped around this.