Hello All - We would like to travel from Paris (after landing in Paris airport) to Interlaken by train, We also plan to buy the swiss travel pass for our 8 days in Switzerland. Can we use the Swiss travel pass for our travel from Paris to Interlaken?
Also, can we use the Swiss travel pass for gondola ride to mt pilatus in Lucerne, and boat ride in Lake Lucerne?
Is it worth getting the first class swiss travel pass or is the 2nd class is fine?
thanks
Priya
Swiss Pass (or Half Fare Card) will cover trains from the Swiss border to Interlaken, but Paris to the Swiss border needs separate purchase of a French train ticket.
You are in a difficult spot because of your plans to hop on an international train as soon as you land. Purchasing train tickets ahead of time can save you substantial money...however you can't do that because you don't have any assurance that your flight will be on time. It could be delayed for hours. If your flight is full and you get bumped you could be delayed entirely to the next day.
So buy your ticket in Paris by walking to the ticket counter when you want to depart, and buy the portion of your ticket from Paris to the nearest Swiss destination (probably Basel or Geneva depending on your route). After you arrive into a Swiss City your Swiss Travel Pass will take over and cover you all the way to Interlaken. If you have a Swiss Half Fare Card then you will need to stop at the Swiss Train Counter and purchase the appropriate tickets (show them your Half Fare Card).
Do not stop in Interlaken. It is not in the alps, and I'm sure the whole reason for travel there is for the alps. Change trains in Interlaken Ost and travel 20 more minutes to Lauterbrunnen. THERE you will be in the stunning alpine scenery with towering alps all around you. Choose to either stay in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen or Murren. Your Swiss Travel Pass gets you to all of those destinations for free.
"Also, can we use the Swiss travel pass for gondola ride to mt pilatus in Lucerne, and boat ride in Lake Lucerne?"
Yes, these rides will be fully covered.
"Is it worth getting the first class swiss travel pass or is the 2nd class is fine?"
For most people, 2nd class is fine. If you want wider seats and have a generous budget, you can of course spend the extra for 1st class. The rail guru The Man In Seat 61 has pictures of the inside of 1st and 2nd class carriages here: https://www.seat61.com/Swiss-trains.htm#What%20are%20Swiss%20trains%20like
To see what is covered by a Swiss Pass, look at this map (it's a PDF; go to the second page, and magnify the part you're interested in): https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/pdf/freizeit-ferien/ferien-kurztrips-schweiz/internationale-gaeste/sts-geltungsbereich_en.pdf.
Anything with a solid line is 100% covered. Anything with a dotted line is 50% covered, unless there is circled number 1 next to it, in which case it's only 25% covered. Note that for 2017, the boats on Lake Luzern and the rides up to Mt. Rigi and Mt. Pilatus are fully covered (some of this is a change from prior years, when part of the trip up to Mt. Pilatus was only 50% covered). The trips up to Mürren are 100% covered; above this is 50% covered (such as the Schilthornbahn). The trip up to Wengen is 100% covered; above this is 25% covered (such as the Jungfraujoch).
Do make sure you understand ALL the points in Tim's excellent post. Unless you feel lucky, you will not want to pre-purchase your ticket from Paris to Switzerland, and you want to be IN the mountains, not near them in Interlaken.
