I am trying to figure out what the best pass would be for 2 adults, and three teenagers one who is 14yrs.
Landing in Zurich train pass or buy a ticket to interlaken Then black forest/to Munich to salzburg to Venice then fly home. I figure we will do 5 days of travel in 15 days. I like the family pass but it is first class and the youth passes are 2nd class. I have just realized that there are passess like the bavaria pass. Would it be better to train and car?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
In Switzerland, some type of Swiss pass or card will be better. A Eurail pass works fairly well there but once you leave Interlaken to venture into the Lauterbrunnen Valley (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Gimmelwald, Muerren and the two mountain tops (Jungfrau and Schilthorn), the Eurail pass will only cover 25% of the fare costs. It's zero coverage on the bus in the valley.
You might want to know that children under 15 travel free when accompanied by paying adults. I'm linking you to some information on Swiss Passes and Cards. Two that might interest you are the Swiss Card and the 1/2 Card. The Swiss Card will cover you 100% from border or airport entry to your destination and then back out through a border entry point or airport. The inbound leg and the outbound leg do not have to be the same. Thus, you could come into Zurich and exit into Italy. While you are there, it's 50% off on all public transit including the cog trains and gondolas to the mountain tops (thanks, JED). Lee from Denver can better advise on Germany.
CLICK HERE for the info.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Wow. So much to decide about. Yes there are passes like the Bayern-Ticket.
A Bayern-Ticket or a Baden-Württemburg ticket allows you unlimited travel on all the regional trains in Baden-Württemburg or Bayern all day long (after 9 AM workdays). There are also special discount tickets like the Dauer-Special ticket which allow you travel on any trains (including ICE/IC) for as low as €29 per person.
If you want to decide which is best, you need to set up a comparison speadsheet, with each option. In addition to the basic cost of car rental, add the cost of fuel (ViaMichelin.com). I do this before every trip, and I have yet to find that a rental car or a railpass saves me money.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
519 posts
Couldn't have said it better Larry! :-) So many options in Switzerland. The best way to know for sure is do all the math for the options and see which is a better price. Of course, that will take a bit of time, but the great thing with that is you learn how to read the timetables and figure out how the train schedules work. Plus, you may save quite a bit of money!! If you are going to spend some time in the Lauterbrunnen Valley (especially up to the Schilthorn and/or Jungfraujoch) the savings can be significant, so it is worth the time to figure out. For example, r/t adult to the Jungfraujoch is around $150, so getting 1/2 off that is a lot.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
For Salzburg-Venice your best deal is a €29 SparSchiene fare booked by phoning the Austrian Rail call center well ahead of your departure date. See here.
Posted by
Hendersonvlle, NC
486 posts
Go to raileurope.com and put in your different trips. Add up the price. This is worst case costs (often better deals are available as mentioned in anothe3r post). Armed with this cost, see if railpass is worth it. Often it is not.