Train Tickets in Austria and Switzerland

Right now, I see 5 tickets to Luzern, from Salzburg on the Railjet with a change to an IR train to Luzern in Zurich for 170 EUR total, but you better buy soon as that is a nonrefundable price. Dec 24 at 11:56 am. A rail pass will cost more. Vienna to Salzburg can be done with Westbahn for 26.50 per person, buy anytime.

What mountain lifts are you planning on in Switzerland?

So you think its better to buy a Swiss Travel Pass and then individual tickets in Austria?

Would the two country Rail pass be good?

We are planning to spend 4 days in Interlaken and travel around there and to Zermatt, Bern and then on to Montreux.
Not sure of the mountain trains yet but open to suggestions

Vienna 2 (Fly in)
Salzburg 2
Zurich 1 (may change to Lucerne) 12/24
Lucerne 1 12/25
Interlaken 4
Geneva 1 (fly out)

What about an EuroRail Select Pass for 2 coutries (Rick Stevens has 20% off peak season) and then a half price Swiss ticket?

Before you jump on the Eurail Pass bandwagon...you'd best check to see where Eurail will actually get you in Switzerland. It sure doesn't cover the places in Switzerland that a Swiss Pass will cover. Typically if you want the biggest savings in Switzerland then go for the Swiss Half Fare Card.

In general stay away from Eurail Passes which are over priced and don't cover places you'll probably want to go in the alps.

And the reason people ask about the lifts/cable cars you plan to take is that they can be pricey -- and only partly covered by passes. Best way is to do a spreadsheet showing (1) full fare for all trains you might take; (2) half-fare costs plus CHF120 to buy Half Fare Card; (3) cost of a Swiss Pass plus additional cost of each partially-covered lift. No one-size-fits-all answer.

What about rent a car in Vienna drive to Salzburg and then drive to border and then pick up train
Wonder if that would be cheaper and easier for 5 people

Well, the train from Vienna to Salzburg is pretty cheap -- it's the Swiss transportation that gets pricey.

Perfect example:

http://www.travelgracefully.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/P10209291-e1415991861189.jpg

It's still difficult to count the number of train travel days in your plan. The firmer the plan, the easier it is to compare costs. Are you considering traveling roundtrip in one day between the Interlaken area and Zermatt, about 2.5 hours each way? And Bern also as a daytrip? Most of us would spend two nights in Luzern instead of one in Zurich. If the plan goes like that, then I count probably 6 travel days on a Eurail Select 2-country pass, which costs $279 per adult with the current discount, or $267 for any youths under age 28. That gives you 6 days of train coverage, 25% discounts on trains and lifts from Interlaken up the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and 50% discounts on boats and lifts around Luzern. These discounts are available without using a counted travel day.

If you were to drive or buy separate tickets to Zurich or to the Swiss border crossing at Buchs, then you'd look at the Swiss Travel Pass for 8 consecutive days at $392 per adult or $336 for any youths under age 26. The pass fully covers most trains, boats, buses, and museums, with 25-50% discounts on the highest portion of mountain lifts near Interlaken, full coverage around Luzern, and 50% off lifts near Zermatt. All benefits apply only when using the counted travel days of the pass, but 8 consecutive should cover it.

For further description of the differences in pass coverage, see https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes.

What about rent a car in Vienna drive to Salzburg and then drive to border and then pick up train
Wonder if that would be cheaper and easier for 5 people

Might be, might not be. You'll have to do the math.

Parking at any lot, even the Park&Ride lots, in Salzburg will cost at least €15 per day. The only way around that is if you park under the mountain, walk into the town, stay less than two hours and get your ticket validated with a purchase at certain businesses in the Old Town, which gets the price down to around €5 plus whatever you purchased.

The autobahn between Vienna and Lichtenstein is very long, the car will need an Austrian Toll Vignette you need to apply to the windscreen in the approved spot (because not only do Austrian police patrol the motorway looking for it but there are automated camera checks on it too, the absence will cost a huge fine collected on the spot if humans do it, in the mail otherwise), in addition the very long tunnel as you near Switzerland has a high toll not covered by the vignette. All drivers from North America driving in Austria are required to possess an International Drivers Permit in addition to their home (licence) license.

5 adults in a car with luggage for 5 adults will be a big car and a big expense. If you want to drop the car at the Swiss/Austrian border did you have a city in mind?

Thank you for all the input.

I am trying to complete a math calculation for the train fares. Having a bit of trouble. What is the best site to get prices?

What stations are best to go from Salzburg to Lucerne on 24th?

I see Swiss Travel pass for different prices. I have seen $390, $396 and $392 (referenced above)

For prices on Austrian rail, use OEBB: https://tickets.oebb.at/en/ticket

For Switzerland, the Swiss Rail site not only has prices on trains, but also any other domestic transit (buses, boats, lifts). However, the first price listed is WITH the Half Fare Card. You have to click through and choose "no reduction" to see the full price. https://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

I see Swiss Travel pass for different prices. I have seen $390, $396 and $392 (referenced above)

Assume you are referring to the 8-day 2nd cl Swiss Travel Pass. The price is 376 CHF. Depending on which 3rd party vendor you are looking at different exchange rates and mark-ups. At this minute, the exchange rate is virtually even. So if you could buy now (can be tricky) direct, it should be within a $ of $376 US. Now your credit card might charge a 1% to 3% foreign transaction fee, so that gets added. Lately, people have reported that only American Express cards work on their website.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-travel-pass.html

Why does this have to be so difficult. Trying to find standard ticket prices to compare with passes. Here is my itinerary.
Cant find prices for several legs.

Day 1 - Vienna Airport - Vienna (single)
Day 2 - Vienna
Day 3 - Vienna - Salzburg (single)
Day4 - Salzburg
Day 5 - Salzburg - Buchs (single)
Day 5 - Buchs - Lucerne (single)
Day 6 - Lucerne - Engelberg (return)
Day 6 - Engelberg - Titlis (return)
Day 7 - Rigi Majestic Round Trip (optional if time)
Day 7 - Lucerne - Interlaken Ost via Golden Pass (single)
Day 8 - Interlaken west - Wengen (single)
Day 8 - Wengen - Jungfraujoch - Grindelwald (single)
Day 8 - Grindelwald - Interlaken west (single)
Day 9 - Interlaken - Bern (return) (option go through Spiez one way)
Day 10 - Interlaken west - Zermatt (return)
Day 10 - Zermatt - Gornergrat /Matterhorn (return)
Day 11 - Interlaken - Montreux (single)
Day 11 - Montreux - Geneva (single)
Day 12 - Geneva - Airport (single)

Not difficult. Tedious, maybe.
Austrian trains at www.oebb.at/en
Vienna to Salzburg you have the option of the private railway Westbahn, which has hourly trains from Vienna Westbahnhof to Salzburg for 26.50 EUR pp. You can just get on the train, find seats and pay the conductor when he/she comes around. https://westbahn.at/en/
Swiss tickets are at www.sbb.ch/en. As Harold pointed, the first price you see generally is with a Half Fare Card, so double that price to find the standard price. Be aware, that even with the Swiss Travel Pass, you still have to pay 75% of the standard price for Wengen to Jungfruajoch to Grindelwald.
Engelberg to Titlis and back, go here. https://www.titlis.ch/en/tickets/cable-car-ride
note that a Swiss Travel Pass gives you a 50% reduction from standard fare.

I have often found that the 30-day Half Fare Card for 120 CHF saves more money than the Travel Pass. For instance, for the Wengen-Jungfruajoch-Grindelwald ride, it gives you 50% discount instead of the 25% discount. and it gives the same discount Engelberg-Titlis return as a travel Pass.

Note that with the Eurail Pass, you get only 25% discount for Interlaken-Wengen-Jungfraujoch-Grindelwald-Interlaken, and the Engelberg-Titlis return.

Takes a little homework to save money. The alternative is to cluelessly buy passes for a lot of money, then find out they don't cover everything when you get there and have to shell out even more money.

Thanks

I have spent hours...I will keep plugging away

Gornergrat Bahn info. Winter prices page down. Swiss Travel pass and Half Fare card get a 50% discount. Eurail pass gets nothing.
https://www.gornergratbahn.ch/en/summer/railway-information/prices/

Thanks for all the input. I think I got the calculations pretty close.

The individual tickets in Austria and the Swiss Half Pass is the cheapest way based on my travel plans by $60 over the Swiss Travel Pass. Seems like the Swiss Travel Pass is worth the extra $ for the flexibility. However, the train does end up costly about $650 per person with the extra private train routes.
For 5 people, a car could be a lot cheaper but uncertain of the roads and still would need train tickets for some places.
May price a car in Switzerland and take trains in Austria and through to Zurich airport.

Any thoughts?

Do we need to buy the train from Salzburg to Buchs in advance? Plan to use the Swiss Travel Pass from Buchs to Lucerne. Do we need to reserve the Swiss train too or just hop on?

Also, with the Half Price Pass, do you have to buy tickets at each station? I'm guessing the Swiss Travel Pass is more convenient as you just show it and hop on....

mherwatt, some answers to your latest questions:

• "The individual tickets in Austria and the Swiss Half Pass is the cheapest way based on my travel plans by $60" - I always get nervous when somebody quotes prices for train in '$'. Neither Austria nor Switzerland use '$', they use Euros and Franks respectively. If you are being quoted prices in '$' you are not going to the source (ÖBB and SBB), but to some reseller, as per your comment about different prices for the Swiss Pass above.

  • "Do we need to buy the train from Salzburg to Buchs in advance?" - no, you can buy on the day, but it will be a lot cheaper to buy in advance from ÖBB.
  • "with the Half Price Pass, do you have to buy tickets at each station?" - Yes, you just select the "½ price/child" option on the ticket machine. There is no extra discount for advance purchase, buy on the day.
  • "I'm guessing the Swiss Travel Pass is more convenient as you just show it and hop on...." - Correct. Except for those mountain railways where you only get a discount, then you have to buy a ticket.