Hi all! My family (husband, 19 yr old son and myself) are travelling to Italy and Switzerland for the first time May 22-June 8, 2026. I have the Italy portion accommodations and trains booked (so please don't suggest changes to those days) but need some advice on the Switzerland portion. Here is my initial itinerary:
May 23: arrive at FCO, take train to Bologna for 2 nights
May 25: train from Bologna to Florence for 3 nights
May 28: train from Florence to Vernazza for 2 nights
May 30: train from Vernazza to Wengen (via Milan) for 4 nights (have not booked anything from here down)
June 3: train from Wengen to Zermatt for 2 nights
June 5: train from Zermatt to Montreux for 2 nights
June 7: train from Montreux to Geneva for June 8 morning flight home
We plan to purchase Swiss Half Fare Cards and Berner Oberland Passes. My main questions are:
1. Does it make more sense to stick to the above sequence or should we go to Zermatt first, then Wengen? My thought is that with with the BO pass we could easily get from Wengen to Montreux (via Interlaken) on the GoldenPass Express. I don't think Zermatt to Montreux would be covered by the BO Pass at all.
2.Since we can purchase a BO Youth Pass for our son at the reduced rate without a Half Fare Pass, should we still get him the Half Fare Pass or would the BO Pass suffice? I know this is supposed to be easy, but I find the whole pass thing very confusing!
I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions, but I'll stop there for now. Thanks for your help.