Eurail

There is not a pat answer for you. You need to do your homework by comparing prices for different combinations of travel. Not easy. Now rail passes are more expensive and the required reservation fees often make them a poor deal if only doing a couple of train rides. Twenty years ago it was a no brainer but not today.

Debra, I don't see how the Rail + Drive pass would be cost effective. They are priced for 2 traveling together, so for your trip you would need two 3+2 passes at $393 each, plus one person pays the extra day charge (for your 3rd day in France) of $59. That's $845. The other 2 people could buy tickets or passes, but the least expensive pass (a 2-country, 4-day saver pass) would be $349 each or another $798. Part of the reason these passes are so expensive is they are available in first class only. Dividing the pass cost over the number of days of use, you see that a travel day needs to cost $80 or more per day for the pass to be useful. By contrast, a 2d class ticket on the Golden Pass route from Luzern to Interlaken is 30 CHF; from Interlaken to Montreux is 49 CHF. If you want first class in the panoramic cars it will be more, by maybe 50%. If you use a pass you'll still have to pay an extra reservation fee. From Montreux to Geneva is only 28 CHF, and from Geneve to Dijon is 81 CHF. (but if you are going to Dijon, why go to Geneve first? It is out of your way. The direct train goes from Lausanne.)