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Help with questions about train travel in Switzerland & Italy

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Please help with planning train travel in Switzerland & Italy. We are a family of 10 (1 senior aged 60, 6 adults, 1 youth aged 15 and 2 kids aged 9 & 6). Our itinerary is fixed based on what the family wants to do and we understand it is rushed.

  • *Apr 6 - Arrive Zurich Airport 10 AM, take the direct train to Lucern
  • *Apr 7 - Day trip to Mt. Titlis. Ride the cable car & Ice Flyer, visit Glacier Cave
  • *Apr 8 - Travel Lucern to Rome via Milano Centrale
  • Apr 11 - Travel Rome to Florence
  • Apr 16 - Flight out of Florence

Comparing Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card, the latter works better for us given the limited time we have on the * marked days in itinerary. I was hoping for some advice on these queries:

  1. SBB gives me a fare of around 770 EUR for the whole family with the Half Fare Card from Lucern to Roma Termini. I will have to pay extra for seats on the last leg on Frecciarossa but SBB did not take me there, maybe that step comes later. There are 2 transfers - Milan transfer time is ample whereas the earlier transfer is a concern. It's either Arth-Goldau 7 mins from Platform 6 to Platform 3 or Lugano 4 mins from Platform 2 to Platform 1. I have looked at the map and it looks doable but we will be a large group with luggage. Unfortunately I cannot find any other connections unless I travel to Zug for TrenItalia or Zurich HB for more flexibility. Is 4 mins or 7 mins transfer doable? Any other route suggestions please?

  2. If I ticket Lucern to Milan on SBB and then ticket Milan to Rome on TrenItalia I get a total fare of 750 EUR. The fare class is FrecciaDays and there seems to be no option to stack a Kids or Youth discount even when I choose Other Offers. Am I doing something wrong here? This total fare is cheaper than buying the whole route on SBB, are there any cons to doing this? Swiss trains I believe run very much on time.

  3. Rome to Florence - there is a good Super Saver fare available. Ideally, our plans should not change barring emergencies. Should I wait to buy this ticket until closer to travel date?

  4. Is there a travel pass for Rome and Florence that will add benefits to the purchase of train tickets? Transfers to/ from hotels and airports will all be organised through a car service for convenience.

Thanks in advance!
Sav

Posted by
2678 posts

I will have to pay extra for seats on the last leg on Frecciarossa but
SBB did not take me there, maybe that step comes later

On Italian high speed trains the ticket comes with a reservation automatically. In fact, if you book trips to Italy on SBB the Italian part just gets source from the Trenitalia system. You will see that.
(Train tickets in Latin Europe are IRT, in Germanic Europe NRT).

So in the end booking the whole thing on SBB versus booking till Milano on SBB, and from Milano on Trenitalia will result in the same set of tickets. The reason you end up slightly more expensive on SBB is because prices get converted to CHF, and you then converted them back to Euro...
If you book this separately, and make sure that you plan the connection in Milano not tighther than 15 minutes your connection will still be protected.

Regarding the transfers: SBB does never propose impossible transfers. In fact, for us Swiss it is a continuous annoyance that other railways often inflict transfers of 15 minutes or more upon the traveller. Why spend billions on faster trains only to make passengers waste time at stations?

But since in Switzerland tickets are for a route, not a train, there is nothing stopping you from leaving Luzern on an earlier train, if you like hanging around stations :-). Or you can just in the settings on the planner indicate you want a longer transfer time, and the system will find one for you.

Posted by
21543 posts

I am sure there is a good reason, but I see that you are traveling from Milan to Rome, the route which passes through Florence along the way, then turning around and traveling back to Florence a few days later. Seems like one extra train journey to me.

As far as your concern about the 7 minute transfer at Arth-Goldau, you can take an earlier train from Luzern, giving you more time. You can adjust the transfer time at www.sbb.ch/en by clicking on the Advanced Search button and adjusting the minimum transfer time to 30 minutes and it will show an earlier departure from Luzern giving you 33 minute to do the change.

If the 7 adults get Half Fare Cards, you can also get the free Family Card and the 3 kids travel with you free in Switzerland.

If you want to go to the trouble, you could do a split ticket. 7 adult SuperSaver tickets from Luzern to Chiasso at 23.40 CHF per adult with Half Fare Cards is 163.80 CHF, converted to EUR is 174 EUR. The 3 kids ride free. Two sets of Freccia Family/Days tickets (4 adults, 1 child) from Chiasso to Roma Termini are 210.60 EUR each. So that is 174 + 210.60 + 210.60 = 595 EUR. You stay on the train at Chiasso, you just change tickets as you cross the border.

Posted by
2 posts

@WengenK @Sam - Thanks a million! So much useful insight!!! I never thought to start earlier from Luzern but that is brilliant and what I will opt to do. Lol on the waiting around...I don't like it but need it when traveling with family.

@Sam - Our stay in Rome and Florence are covered by family serving at the Vatican, so the dates were fixed based on their convenience. Since the stay is free, we don't mind the extra travel time and cost.

I was planning on getting 7 Half Fare Cards plus the free Family Cards. The split ticket is good savings, I'll look into this Chiasso route some more.

Thank you both for your thoughts. Wish you the best!

Posted by
21543 posts

Chiasso is simply the last station in Switzerland on the mainline route between Zurich and Milan. You get onto that route coming from Luzern at Arth-Goldau where you connect to the EC train to Milan. So you ticket through SBB for the Swiss portion, utilizing the benefits of the Swiss Half Fare Cards and Family Pass. These benefits disappear as soon as the train passes into Italy, but then you ticket the rest of the journey to Rome from Trenitalia, benefitting from the Trenitalia Family Ticket and Day Ticket.

Remember that the Swiss SuperSaver Ticket is only valid on the train and date it was purchased for, but then that is the same for Trenitalia discounted tickets.

Posted by
2678 posts

If you book a supersaver for the Swiss part do increase the transfer time in the settings if you want to get the longer change in Arth Goldau. And yes. If you book it right you just stay on the train in Chiasso...

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