My family and I (6 adults) are traveling to Switzerland July 13-15. I'm a little confused about whether or not the Pass or Swiss Card would save us much money. We plan to travel from Rome to Murren (and any tips on purchasing tickets that are cheap yet a "quick" journey are also appreciated), and then from Murren to Paris via Basel. While in Murren, we plan on visiting Gimmelwald and Lauterbrunnen and possible going up the Schilthorn. I feel like since we are there such a short time, the Pass may not be much of a savings for us, but I'd appreciate any help from experienced Swiss Travelers.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17432 posts
I don't think any kind of Swiss pass or card would save you money when you are there so short a time. You can walk from Mürren to Gimmelwald, and the trip down to Lauterbrunnen is inexpensive. The easiest, most direct trip from Rome is via Milano Centrale and Spiez. You ideally want to be on the 11:25 train from Milano to Spiez as track work in the Simplon tunnel reduces the afternoon traffic and the trains take longer and are less frequent. If you buy your tickets on Trenitalia now you can still get discount fares (economy or super exonomy) on the Rome to Milan leg. the 7:am train has seats left at 39 euros and the 8:00 train has seats at 49 euros. Regurla fare is 86 euros so this is a significant saving. You cannot buy 6 seats in one purchase so you might want to do 4 + 2. There are no discount (SMART) fares left on the Milan to Spiez train, but you might want to buy them now anyway. You can buy the rest of the way to Mürren (spiez to Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen to Mürren at the Spiez train station when you get there, or ahead on the Swiss rail website. To go to Paris, look on the Swiss rail site (www.rail.ch) for discount tickets from Basel to Paris.
Posted by
OP
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
7 posts
Lola, thanks so much for your help! Is it really necessary to register with Trenitalia's site to purchase tickets? I'm having trouble with that process. Also, if we purchase through rail.ch, will we get e-tickets to print? Thanks again for your advice!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17432 posts
Hi Erin, I haven't actually purchased on Trenitalia as I was not aware of the great deals available when we last were in italy (2010). So I can't answer the question about registration. but I think there must be a problem with the website right now, as I tried checking on SBB (rail.ch) to see if you could get the Milan to spiez ticket there. I got a message saying "We regret that the partner railway's reservation system is currently unavailable," meaning they could not connect with Trenitalia. Previously I have had no trouble accessing those tickets online. Maybe the problem is because it is the middle of the night in Italy. You might try later, like midnight if you stay up that late, or first thing tomorrow morning. Or try starting a new topic about buying on Trenitalia and people who have done it can help you with the registration question. It is worth a little effort to get those great prices! As for the Swiss tickets Spiez to Mürren, SBB keeps changing the purchase process on us; they used to display the type of ticket (priint at home option, pick up at station, or have it mailed). I just went thru the proces and no option came up, and no extra price for shipping. Under "Terms and conditions" it talked all about etickets and what type of printer is required. They also require your email address for confirmation. I take all that to mean they are etickets that you print at home. They will be issued with the date of travel but no specific train (or cablecar). You don't get a reserved seat on a specific train. Cost from Spiez to Mürren is 28 CHF.