Eurail Select Pass Drive necessary?

Normally, it isn't worth spending a lot of money on a multi-country pass if all you are doing is making one train trip in and one train trip out (which is all you are describing). It just doesn't pay. Your travel from Milan to Interlaken will cost about 60Euro (Trenitalia isn't showing me fares at this time).

Next, are you doing more train travel in Switzerland than you are describing? If you are going into the Lauterbrunnen Valley and up to the Jungfrau and Schilthorn, you could get a Swiss 1/2-fare card for CHF99. This card provides a 50% discount for all Swiss transportation. It will almost pay for itself just going to the Jungfrau. Much better than the Eurail pass which only provides a 25% discount inside the Lauterbrunnen Valley. If you have the Swiss card in advance, you can have it validated in Milan and you will only be charged 1/2 fare from the Swiss border into Interlaken. Also, you pay only 1/2 fare from Interlaken to the Swiss border as you travel to France.

Sue, like you I haven't costed this out, so I can't say for sure. But I think that unless you really value travel inf first class (and to my mind there is no reason why you should), this is unlikely to be a better deal than second-class point-to-point tickets. Despite the fact that you get a pretty good rate on the car days.

One thing you can cost out easily is the car portion. Call Auto Europe or one of the other car consolidators and see if you can get a good rate for just two days. If not, maybe it's worth pricing those rail tickets.

By the way, this sounds like an unusual and interesting itinerary, or part of one. Have a blast!

Thanks, Larry and Adam. For some reason, I have such trouble with any of the rail sites except Rail Europe. So when I price it there, of course prices are higher and the rail pass seems to make sense. Adam, our actual itinerary is: 3 nights in Varenna, 4 nights in Murren, 3 nights in the Burgundy region, and 3 nights in Paris. So...no extra travel in Switzerland...we're planning to do the Schilthorn, but not the Jungfrau. Would the Swiss Half-Fare Card still be worth it? When I look at the rail sites, how is the 1/2 price in Switzerland factored in? (I guess that's Brig to Interlaken, originating in Milan and Interlaken to Bern on the way to Beaune?)Also, if I don't do the rail pass (which uses Hertz), then Auto Europe doesn't have a drop off in Montbard, so we'll backtrack to Dijon. Which actually won't be a bad thing, because we could always have a quick peek before taking the train to Paris. Rail Europe prices out at $295 x 2 for the 3 legs in 2nd class ($97 Milan-Interlaken, $131 Interlaken-Beaune, $67 Dijon-Paris)plus $160 for 3 days of car at about $750, not including $200 for 1/2 price Swiss card for two of us. I don't know how much cheaper it is not using Rail Europe. The rail pass is $795 (including 3 car days)in 1st class...Any thoughts...or more accurate pricing?

Given that you are not going up to the Jungfrau and you are not traveling elsewhere in Switzerland, you may not need to Swiss 1/2-fare card. Also, as I explained above, a Eurail pass will only get you a 25% discount on tickets from Interlaken Ost into Muerren and up to the Schilthorn.

Next, neither Raileurope or any train station in Italy will sell you a ticket from Milan to Muerren. They will sell you a ticket to Interlaken Ost. The reason is that the Swiss want to be paid in Swiss Francs for all transportation in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. However, the Swiss train site WILL sell you a ticket from Milan to Muerren for 62.30Euro. There is a special fare offer (no exchanges/no refunds) on the site for 34.14Euro. Their website is www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm. The fare from Muerren to the Schilthorn (roundtrip) is about $70. It's about $52 with a Eurail pass (I'm looking at the Schilthorn website). From Muerren to the Western Swiss border, it's about CHF60 (about $60).

Well, you might try a different agency, even Hertz or Avis. I am pretty sure there someone has an agency in Montbard. And, it's kind of a nice touch to end your visit with the Abbey, then jump on the TGV and be in Paris an hour later.

Of course there's nothing wrong with adding a brief stop at another destination, but I think that you would not especially enjoy visiting Dijon that way. It is kind of a sprawling place by Burgundian standards, and the train station is a good 15 minutes walk from anything interesting.

I don't mean that Dijon isn't interesting, just that a "quick peek" is likely to be unsatisfying. You could quickly peek at Semur or Flavigny enroute to the Dijon rail station, though. Or reorder your itinerary so as not to end at the Abbey.

To your central question: A 2nd-class TGV ticket from Dijon to Paris costs from 42 to 52 euros, depending on which train you take. That should give you some idea of Rail Europe's markup.

Finally: if you spend the first day of your trip seeing Beaune, and if you stay in town, you can avoid picking up your car until the next day. That'll save you the cost of a car day.

You'll figure out what's best I'm sure--have a great time!

Actually, you're right...we're ending at the Abbey, therefore the train from Montbard. We're spending the night in Semur, driving to Flavigny, then the Abbey, then train to Paris. The reason for the third-day car rental is that we'll go over the 48-hour period and will need to pay for the third day; not that we're renting the car as soon as we hit Beaune. I'm checking out the Swiss rail site (hadn't done that one)for point to point tickets. Thanks for all your input!

Another alternative, if you do not want to rent from Hertz, is to see if you can return the car in Tonnerre, about 25 miles from Montbard. From there are trains to Paris (2 - 2-1/2 hrs.) and Montbard (25 min.) where you can catch the TGV.