Does a Eurail pass sound right for this trip?

Leave Paris to Interlaken, separate train to Wengen, I don't think Eurail covers this (1 travel day)

Need to buy a seat reservation for Paris to Basel. Interlaken Ost to Wengen you get a 25% discount on the ticket. 2 discount on any trips from Wengen.

June 4-5 Interlaken/Wengen to Lucerne, Lucerne to Como (1 travel day) - wanting to go over scenic Brunig Pass, we know this is tight but we're willing to do this to see Lake Como

Again, 25% discount on Wengen to Interlaken Ost. May need a reservation on Luzern to Como unless you break the trip up with a train to Chiasso, then a regional train to Como.

June 5-9 Como to Salerno, stay in Amalfi (1 travel day)
June 9-13 Salerno to Rome (1 travel day)

Need to buy seat reservations both days.

Thank you so much! Based on what you're seeing here, would you buy a Eurail pass and if so, for how many days?

You need to take into consideration your travel while you are in Wengen. I’m confused by your dates, but it appears you will be there from June 2-5. If you will be taking any trains or lifts during that time, you need to factor in how you will pay for those. Will you get a Berner Oberland pass?

I think you need to price out a Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Half Fare Card, Berner Oberland pass for your travels within Switzerland. This is often discussed on this forum - it’s confusing. Then figure out the travel from Paris to Basel. Then from Lucerne to Rome.

Thank you Travel4fun - we are in PDX! So you're saying not necessarily go with a Eurail?

We are in Wengen for two nights (June 2-3), we leave on June 4 and will spend one night in Lake Como.

Yes it is SO confusing! I was really hoping Eurail would work but at least we're getting it dialed in a bit more.

I would not get a Eurail Pass for this route. A Eurail Pass is a real pain in the posterior in France, and is of little value in Italy, and complicated in Switzerland as well, as it is not always obvious what is covered and what not.

In Italy you need to get reservations for all long distance trains. That adds 10,- pp to each train trip, and you can only get those reservations in person at the station. If you book your tickets in advance on line you can however take advantage of all kinds of discounts.

Generally speaking, nowadays there are not that many scenarios where an Eurail Pass makes sense.

Paris to Wengen you can just book on www.sbb.ch. No need to bother with separate bookings for the different parts of this trip.
Wengen to Como via Interlaken and the Brünig railways is again something you can just book on www.sbb.ch. Do pay attention when booking though, as you can also do this trip via Milano, and the site will offer you both.

Como to Salerno and Salerno to Rome just book on www.trenitalia.com.

This site may be helpful in regards to what the Eurail covers in Switzerland. https://www.myswissalps.com/eurailglobalpass

It looks like the lifts to the higher areas are discounted by 25%. But those can add up. Wengen to Mannlichen is 52 CHF each.

I am afraid that your itinerary is exactly worst case for Eurailpass.

You have seen that you have to, in addition to your price paid for the Eurailpass, buy an expensive reservation on the French TGV train. Even more because it crosses a border.. And international trains are subject to quota. On the other hand if you know which day and train you want you can get cheap tickets ahead, although you have left that a little late.

Skip Switzerland for a minute.

Similar situation as in France in Italy. But, if anything even worse. Every leg of high speed train in Italy requires a 10,00€ per person reservation fee. At least they are not on quota. But not all Italian trains are covered by the Eurailpass. The main competitor to Trenitalia, Italo, does not accept the pass at all. Which is a shame because I prefer them on the routes they run. Italian tickets for regional trains - although it does not sound like you will use them at all - are dirt cheap, and with a little planning so are the fast trains. And if you can get a fast train for 20€ which includes the reservation (they all do) it seems silly to spend a pass-day plus 10€ reservation. Even if the best ticket you can find Milan to Rome or Salerno is 50€ or 60€ you are still ahead.

Eurailpasses are best when you don't have any other charges, when you can hop off and on to your heart's content, go wherever and whenever the mood strikes or are very indecisive. All your days in France and Italy will be planned so no help there.

Back to Switzerland.

Eurailpasses are valid on all main line trains in Switzerland but not on many private companies of which there are many. You already know about the end of the covered area in Interlaken and places up the hill. You get a 25 percent discount on some of the Berner Oberland transport but not on all, and for that discount you have to use a pass day. Not a good idea for most folks.

You could consider a half-fare pass for all of Switzerland or a Berner Oberland Pass which covers all the Berner Oberland and as far as Bern and Luzern. All lifts, cablecars, scenic trains, local transport, regular trains covered.

You'll need to noodle the numbers.

Another wrinkle to using the EurailPass in Switzerland: The 25% reduction you get can only be obtained at the ticket office. So you cannot use the SBB App or a ticket vending machine to get those tickets.

So when travelling to Wengen this means that you will need to interrupt your journey in Interlaken to go to the ticket office there to get your tickets for the remainder...

Whereas if you just book Paris - Wengen on www.sbb.ch you have the whole route covered.

Today on trenitalia.com you could buy a Milan-Salerno discounted ticket at 61.90 €. This is the price of an High speed train running on June 5; the seat reservation is included in the cost, but it's a "no changes & no refunds" fare .

The walk-up fare for the same train on the same day is 104 € per person, seat reservation included and changeable up to 1 hour after the scheduled departure time.

How much would you pay on the pass plus the seat reservation for the same high speed Trenitalia train? More or less than 104 €? More or less than 61.9 €?

I bet Italotreno.it is cheaper than Trenitalia.com

I use the Global Eurail Pass. However, using this pass for the itinerary you have is not what I would advise.

First of all, 4 travel days is simply too short to use a Pass, unless your aim is total convenience, regardless of the money factor. If price is no matter at all, then use the Pass since you no longer have to bother with tickets, etc, (that's tedious), ie you have max flexibility.

you have max flexibility.

I doubt that waiting in line at the counter in Italy, to buy a seat reservation, can be defined as "max flexibility", but it could be true in other countries.

A pass is useful if you are going to spend a lot of time in countries with high walk-up fares and no compulsory reservation. Germany for example. I have used a pass myself on occasion. Once for business even. An Interrail Pass (the European version of the Eurail Pass) 1st class for 5 days is cheaper than a flexible return ticket Interlaken - Berlin for example.

But the pass is all about flexibility. I see a lot of people buy a pass, then try too (and fail) book every single of their trips months in advance. That is not what the pass is for. The moment you are planning a railway trip months in advance forget about the pass. Just book tickets, and book them with the national railway of the country where the trip starts, or ends.