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Logistics of train travel for trip in Switzerland headed to Italy

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Hello! First time traveler to Switzerland. We fly into Zurich and then had planned to train to Chur to do the Bernina Express but there are not seats available for our dates. We are now planning to pivot to travel by train from Zurich to Lucerne the day we land and take the Gotthard Scenic train to Lugano. From Lugano we need to train to Florence/Tuscany area. And then ultimately from there we train to Venice for the last leg. My questions are:
1.) Is the 4 day Eurail pass worth it for our travel below and can it be used for the scenic gotthard boat/train vs. the site is offering the day saver pass which is significantly less than the point-to-point but I wasn't really sure of the difference.
2.) Do you recommend staying in Lucerne for 2 nights on the front end of the scenic train or in Lugano 2 nights on the back end of that? The current itinerary is below but it is still flexible for the moment.
October 3 - Land in Zurich and head to Lucerne for 2 nights
October 3-5- Stay in Lucerne
October 5 - Gotthard express and then stay in Lugano one night
October 6-10 - Train from Lugano to Tuscany/Florence
October 10 - Train from Florence to Venice

Thank you!

Posted by
6646 posts

All is not lost. You can take the regional trains that run on the exact same tracks as the panoramic cars of the Bernina Express! We did this a few years back and enjoyed the regional trains, as there are more scheduling options, the windows open, no reservations required, and much less crowded. The scenery is magnificent. Hope this helps!

Posted by
22557 posts

The Saver Day Pass allows unlimited travel in Switzerland for a day. The price increases as you get closer to your travel date, so buying early is definitely a must to get a good price. Be sure of your plans as it is nonrefundable. For the Gotthard Panorama Express 1st class is required and the pass does not include the seat reservation fee which has to be paid separately.

As Pat explained, if you want to go via the Bernina Pass, it is easy to do with regional trains and no seat reservation fees.

With a Eurail Pass, you will still have to buy seat reservations. Better is to buy nonrefundable discount tickets once your plan is finalized. Since you will have booked hotels in Florence and Venice, you will know your travel dates and can pick convenient times with the best price and possibly low cost upgrade to Business class.

Posted by
5 posts

To echo Pat’s comments, my wife and I rolled the dice and decided to do the regional train instead of the panoramic Bernina Express train starting in Chur. Much to our surprise, we ended up in one of the “regional” train cars of the actual Bernina Express. We had the entire car to ourselves while the “panoramic” cars were chocked full of people. Well, we had it to ourselves until the train stopped for everyone to take photos at the highest point of the trip and some of the folks in the panoramic cars saw that our windows opened and they decided to bail on their reserved seats to enjoy a train car where you could get photos without the glare.

For anyone wondering, as I did before our trip, if the regional trains are ok to take instead of the name brand panoramic trains, they absolutely are. And, in our case, they were better because we could open the windows for our pictures.

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