We are planning a 12-day trip to Austria, Switzerland and Germany. We will fly into Zurich and are staying in Murren for 4 nights and we plan on going to Shilthorn, Jungfraujoch, and Interlaken. We will then travel to Salzburg for 2 nights for local sightseeing (ie: Sound of Music). Our next stop will be Munich, where we know we want to go to Neuschwanstein Castle and Zugspitze, with the rest of the time exploring Munich. We will return to Zurich for 1 day before our flight. We are thinking that the 8-day Eurail Pass is our best option. We are trying to figure out if the Berner Oberland or Jungfraubahnen Pass is also a good idea for the lifts in Austria. The rates for the lifts are very confusing to us. Does anyone have any hints on the best combination of regional passes (Berner Oberland or Jungfraubahnen) along with a Eurail pass?
Posted by
Nederland, CO
1529 posts
I also was quite confused about the Jungfaubahnen pass before my trip last year. Your Eurail pass will only get you as far as Interlaken. You can buy the Jungfaubahnen pass at the train station there. IMHO if you are spending 4 nights in Murren this pass will more than pay for itself. The regional pass won't cover the last portion of the trip to Jungfau or Schilthorn but it will allow you to buy those portions at 50% off.
You should compare point to point tickets for the rest of your trip to see if the eurail pass is worth it. Tim in Minot has spoken of a Bayern pass that you can get for Munich and surrounding area. You should look at his response to a previous post today.
I just watched one of my ETBD videos with a lecture on travel skills by Rick, and he stated that a lot of people get a rail pass because they are enamored by it, but a lot of people would be better off with point to point in reality.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
The Bayern-Ticket mentioned above is an all day (after 9 AM weekdays, midnight weekends, until 3 AM the following morning) pass for unlimited travel on regional trains and buses throughout Bavaria. It is also valid for travel on all conveyance (S-/U-bahn, streetcars, buses) in Munich (MVV) and other local authorities in Bavaria. It can be used for travel into/out of Salzburg and Kufstein, Austria, as well as for the Außerfernbahn, the stretch of track through the Austrian Tirol from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Pfronten. It can also be used on buses of the RVO (Regional Verkehr Oberbayern), including the route from Füssen to Garmisch.
For up to five people traveling together, it costs €27 for a day.
You can read more about the Bayern-Ticket at www.bayern-takt.de. Unless you want to practice your German, click on "Englische Version".
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Unless you are obsessed with 1st class, I don't think there is any way the 8 day pass would be a good option. The 5 day (min) pass probably won't pay, either.
For travel around Munich, a pass is expensive and not very useful. It only covers the S-bahn, not the U-bahn streetcars or buses. One the other hand, a Munich metro day ticket for two people (MVV Partner Tageskarte) costs less than a day of the railpass and covers all the conveyances in the respective zone(s). An inner zone dayticket, which cover almost everything tourist want to see is €9,- (for both of you). Dachau would require an XXL ticket (€10,80). An All Zones ticket for the entire MVV is €18,-.
You can buy the Bayern-Ticket in the Salzburg Hbf and use it to Munich. Regional trains take about 1/2 hour longer than the fastest train.
All but one connection per day to Garmisch and all connections to Füssen are by regional train, so there is no time penalty to use the Bayern-Ticket at €27 per day.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
According to Swiss Rail, Zurich to Interlaken via the Brunig line costs CHF 45 (about €27) per person.
According to Austrian Rail, the two hour trip by EuroCity train from Innsbruck to Salzburg cost €34/pers.
Check the schedule for your travel day from Munich to Zurich. There are four daily connections via EuroCity train for which a €29 Europa-Spezial fare is available. Europa-Spezial fares are limited in number and non-refundable.
I don't see much left to justify even the 5 day, $365/€265 pass.
Posted by
Paradise
7060 posts
Don't think you need a 3-country pass. I haven't run the numbers, but you might also look into a short term swiss pass (because of the discounts offered on the Schilthorn and Jungfrau lifts - may also be handy if you want to make an impromptu daytrip to Bern or Luzern or elsewhere) since you already have 3 planned journies within Switzerland. Then use the Bayern tickets for Germany as suggested above, which are also valid to Salzburg as long as you go through Germany to get there. So maybe hit Munich before Salzburg? From Interlaken to Munich, travel on a swisspass to the swiss border near Bregenz - pay for a point-point ticket to pass through a few kilometers of Austria in the Bregenz area - then once in Germany, use your Bayern ticket to Munich. To return to Zurich, use the Bayern ticket again to return the way you came, then one final day on the Swiss pass to Zurich.
Posted by
OP
Minden
6 posts
Thanks for everyone's input. I think we're convinced the Eurail Pass is not our best option. We are pricing the point to point tickets and the regional passes that were mentioned.