We're a family of 4 (2 kids 6 & 14) going from Paris to Murren and onwards to Luzern to Zurich (after couple of days). I am considering traveling by train. I can buy tickets from Paris Est to Basel SBB online. I can only reserve but not get the ticket for Basel SBB to Interlaken-Ost as sbb.ch does not provide online ticket option. I can pick up the ticket at the counter. Don't know how long should I allow for the connection. I have heard about a Swiss rail family pass with which kids travel free. I am not sure how that works. Should I just buy the ticket from Paris to Basel SBB online, and then at the Basel SBB train station obtain the family pass for the rest of our journey which is
BASEL->Interlaken Ost ->Murren BLM (after 2 days)->Luzern (after 2 nights)->Zurich Airport station? As an aside, is driving from Paris a viable option (I think it may be too expensive as I will have to return it at the Zurich Airport)? As always, thanks for your time and suggestions. Gokul.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You can book Paris-Interlaken Ost at www.tgv-europe.com and pick up your tickets at any SNCF station or boutique in France. Uncheck the box for which the default setting is "Direct trains." To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fare tickets, choose Great Britain as your country of residence. Here's a quote from a page in the Railpasses section of this site: "The Swiss Family Card allows children under 16 to travel free with a parent who has a Swiss Travel System ticket or pass (not a multi-country pass). Based on the validity of the parent's ticket or pass, they're free even on the high mountain routes. Request a free Swiss Family Card when you order an adult Swiss Pass/Flexipass, Swiss Card, or Swiss Transfer Ticket in the U.S." I recommend that you stick with the train. You will pay a stiff fee for picking up a car in one country and dropping it off in another.
Posted by
OP
Santa Clara, California, USA
61 posts
Tim, Thank you. I bought train tickets for Paris-Basel SBB. I bought Swiss Saver Pass (consecutive 4 days) which I will use to travel from Basel SBB onward to Interlaken. Gokul.