Wondering which combination of a pass and reservations is advised for a trip for four adults: Paris to Murren to Munich (3-4 nights in each city, Sept 11 - Sept 21)? On Rail Europe it seems that in some instances the reservation fees for each leg can add up to almost as much as a train ticket even when I specify that I will have a pass, and in some cases only train tickets are offered to me. Also, do I just need to pick up the required reservation legs at this time (e.g. Paris to Basel or Lausanne), or is it advisable to pick up "recommended" reservation legs of the trips as well (e.g. Basel to Interlaken)? Same question with next leg of trip Murren to Munich. And do we walk between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost?
Thank you for any advice!!!
Posted by
Green Bay
21140 posts
Buy tickets from Paris to Basel at www.capitainetrain.com. I am assuming you are already in Paris, not just getting off the plane. These are nonrefundable tickets, so must commit to a specific train. Have no more dealings with Rail Europe, unless you still use a dial-up modem to access AOL. They are the poster child for an obsolete business model.
Why would you want to walk between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost? Interlaken West is just an intermediate station. Interlaken Ost is the terminus and transfer point for the narrow gauge rail lines to Luzern and Lauterbrunnen, and the standard gauge rail lines to the rest of Europe.
Depending on how many lifts you will be taking in Muerren, you might want to get Half Fare Cards at 120 chf per person. That will give half fare on all your Swiss tickets, Basel to Muerren, lifts in Muerren, and Muerren to your exit from Switzerland. If you want to save $, get tickets to Lindau, Germany and then to Munich using a Bayern Ticket. This ticket is good on regional trains in the German state of Bavaria. They cost 23 euro for the first person, then 4 euro for each additional person (when bought from a vending machine, add 2 euro from a ticket window). So that will get all of you to Munich for 35 euro total from the German border.
Reservations are not needed for Swiss trains. If you buy the Half fare card, just show the card when you buy tickets in Switzerland and show it to the conductor when they check tickets.