Hi! We are a family of 5 (ages 20, 28, 28, 56, 81) flying into Zurich Sunday, Nov. 24 and staying in Lucerne for two nights. Then on Tuesday, Nov. 26, we want to take the golden pass from Lucerne to Interlaken and staying in the Bernese Oberlands for 3 nights. Friday, Nov. 29, we want to take the train to Paris. Would it be wise to purchase all train tickets online or at the train stations? Would it be cheaper? And which would be the best train for each trip? SBB? Eurorail? Any other trains? Thanks!
-Stephanie
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9100 posts
You should look into getting one of the Swiss Passes they can save you some money in pricey Switzerland. Click the "Rail Passes" tab above for all the details. But if you want to do point to point tickets without a pass....Golden Pass tickets can be purchased on the day of your journey at the station. For tickets to Paris you must purchase in advance to get the cheapest fares; the TGV trains uses airline style pricing. To get to Paris from the Berner Oberland (Interlaken), you can catch direct trains from either Bern or Basel. While Bern is closer to Interlaken, Basel has more frequent service to Paris. Schedules and tickets here: http://tgv-europe.com Don't let the site redirect you to Rail Europe.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Also, rethink your visit to the Berner Oberland in late November. That's probably the second worst time of the year to stay in the region.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Stephanie, the best website to use to purchase your Swiss tickets within Switzerland is www.sbb.ch.. This is the official Swiss train website. RailEurope is a broker. For your trip from Interlaken Ost to Paris, you can buy from either www.sbb.ch or the French at www.tgv-europe.com. On the Swiss website, I see a non-refundable non-exchangeable fare of 118CHF (Regular 193CHF). On the French website, I am having difficulties seeing all of the trains on Nov 29. I only see one but the website shows Nov 30 when I put in Nov 29. But, I see a PREM fare of 54Euro. So maybe a bit more work to see the right date and all of the trains. On the French website, they want to snail mail the tickets. On the Swiss website, you can print the tickets out at home moments after purchase. On the French train website, do not choose USA as your Ticket Collection Country. The website will switch you to RailEurope which you do not want. Choose Great Britain or France or any other non-USA country.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Eurorail? Eurail is a joint effort of the national rail companies in Europe to package and sell rail passes. They do not sell tickets. RailEurope does "sell" tickets, but they are a reseller and add on their own considerable profit. Try to get your tickets from one of the European rail companies.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9100 posts
On the French website, they want to snail mail the tickets. When I plug Stephanie's travel date into TGV-Europe.com it gives me the option to print the tickets out at home. But you have to pick either Bern or Basel as your departure point. From Interlaken to those cities simply purchase the tickets at the station on the day of departure.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
@ Michael, that's really good scoop. I didn't look at Basel or Bern as the departure point so that you could print out the ticket at home. Good idea.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Stephanie, one more thing about the Bernese Oberland in late November. Many hotels in the area close down for "shoulder season" at this time to prepare for the ski season. If you have already booked a hotel for the dates you will be there, you are fine. But if you haven't chosen the hotel yet, you might check.