Would the Swiss Travel Pass cover a direct train route from Zurich to Milan? If not, how is the difference from the Swiss Border to Milan paid? It seems that the Eurail Global Pass would cover the whole trip. Am I understanding this correctly?
Thanks for any advice.
Where specifically are you planning to go in Switzerland? If you took a train from Zurich to Milan using a Swiss Travel Pass, the pass covers you up to Lugano. From Lugano you would need to buy a ticket to Milan.
You don't really need a pass for Italy.
Even if you get a Eurail pass you still have to pay for seat reservations on Eurocity trains (some serve the route Zurich to Milan) and high speed train routes in Italy for example the route Milan to Rome.
We will stay in Zurich for four days. We will take day trips each day visiting different places in Switzerland. We haven't decided on every place as yet but we do know we want Zermatt, Schilthorn and Jungfrau region.
On the 5th day we will go to Italy. We will take the fast train, first class from Zurich to Milan and then Milan to Rome. We know we will have to buy seat reservations. But do the passes cover, or partially cover the fast trains? I am sorry to sound so stupid but I am confused, even studying the Switzerland guide book and watching the videos. I am glad we don't leave until June 2022 (Covid, Delta...permitting).
Thanks,
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Jazz+Travels said it: you don’t need a pass for train travel in Italy. It is much better to buy tickets for the fast trains well in advance (a month or two) to get the low Economy fares (or whatever they are called these days). The fare includes the reservation fee. The regional trains are so inexpensive they are not worth covering with a pass or buying ahead; just buy them at the station before you go, or online if you wish to avoid lines at the station.
Also, a true Swiss Pass works much better for travel on Swiss trains than a global pass or even a 2-country pass. Those do not cover some of the private trains and high mountain lifts, such as you might be using to reach Zermatt and in the Berner Oberland. (I will note that you are going to be spending a lot of time on trains if you visit those areas as daytrips from Zurich).
For your trip from Zurich to Milan, the Swiss Pass will cover as far as the border at Chiasso. Simply show your pass at the station when you buy ticket, and they will adjust the price to charge you only for the portion from Chiasso to Milano—-it won’t be much. Or you can buy the ticket in advance on SBB.ch. That is they way we have done that journey
I tried to check the prices for you but the website returned a message that they are experiencing “technical difficulties” and I should try later.
Since you are not going until June, you have plenty of time to learn about pricing and buying advance tickets online. You can buy Milan to Rome from either Trenitalia or Italo. The latter website is more user-friendly.
Thank you so much. Yes, we will be spending some serious train time on very long day trips from Zurich but that's ok with us. As for Italy, the only train will be Milano to Rome and Civitavecchia to catch our cruise. You really helped clarify it for me. Yes, the Swiss Pass will probably be much better for our touring around Switzerland as I'm sure we will be using all kinds of different transportation. I will be sure and buy our tickets well in advance, online. We did that a few years ago in Italy but we were only in Italy. Just love the trains.
Thank you again for all your help.
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One thing to keep in mind for the high-mountain trips is that Alpine weather can change very rapidly. The usual suggestion is to check the webcams when you get up in the morning and head out right away if the weather looks good. If you have a long trip from Zurich, that would provide a lot of time for the weather to deteriorate while you were in transit. If I'm interpreting the Swiss Pass coverage map correctly, the high-mountain transportation legs to the Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch and the mountains above Zermatt are not fully covered by the pass; you just get a 50% discount. Those are expensive tickets even at half-price. That would make it even more painful to travel for hours, ascend a mountain and find zero visibility
All three of the Alpine destinations you mention are in the area near or to the south of Lauterbrunnen. Is there a reason you want to stay in Zurich and make three round trips of 5 or more hours in the same direction, two of them to the same area? It would be much more efficient if you stayed in the Lauterbrunnen area--though Zermatt would still be a time-consuming pain to get to. Zurich is an attractive city, but virtually every Swiss city and town is attractive. Most folks seem to prefer staying in or at least closer to the mountains.
I think it would be better to spend one night a lot closer to Zermatt on your way to Italy so you don't have to make a round-trip from Zurich, which is much farther north, and then turn around and head back south.
Edited to add: Late last night I realized I had failed to point out that traveling from Zurich to two of those mountain regions is going to require many, many connections in each direction. Swiss trains and other transportation run like clockwork and you won't have luggage with you, so there's nothing impossible about what you'll be doing. But you will not be simply hopping on a train in Zurich, relaxing as you enjoy the lovely-to-fabulous Swiss views and hopping off at your final destination. There will be six transfers needed on the way to the top of the Schilthorn--and of course the same number on the way back. The Jungfraujoch requires four transfers. For the Gornergrat above Zermatt it's only two transfers (but that trip is about four hours in each direction). I would find that really, really annoying, because it would mean constantly keeping up with the time to be sure I was ready to hop off the train at the right stations.
I am assuming you have a good reason to stay in Zürich, such as free accommodation or work commitments.
Otherwise, it would be better to pick a base nearer the sights that interest you... Spiez would fit that bill nicely, if you want a single base.
