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I think I need the 4 day Swiss Travel Pass -- or do I?

Posted by (Peterborough, ON, Canada) on

Hello friends,

By my calculation, the 4-day Swiss Travel Pass makes sense. I'd appreciate it if the Switzerland experts out there could confirm.

This is our first time in Switzerland. We are staying 3 nights in Mürren, arriving from Colmar (dropping car off in Basel), and then heading to Milano.

I believe i need the following connections:

  • Basel to Mürren (80 CHF full fare)
  • Mürren to Schiltorn and back (100 CHF full fare)
  • Mürren to Interlaken, or vice versa, or both (may do paragliding, depending on insurance investigation, may just want to visit Interlaken -- but may not go at all). (18.80 CHF full fare, each way)
  • Mürren to Luzern - 51.80 CHF full fare (for connection from Luzern to Milano)

I believe that comes to between 250 CHF to 269.40 CHF depending on what we actually do in the end. The 4-day Swiss Travel Pass would cover it all at 270 CHF, plus add some flexibility for other connections if required (having never been there, we aren't sure how far afield we'll go). The Half-Fare Travelcard would be better if we kept the expense to the 250 CHF range.

Am I figuring this out correctly? How many trains/lifts would one expect to use on a first visit?

Also, since Trenitalia has an advance fare from Luzern to Milano, would you recommend I book it and arrange the Mürren to Luzern part separately?

(I've been using SBB, Trenitalia, and Bahn to try to figure this out)

Thank you in advance. We have Canadian dollars so every CHF counts, but we don't nickel and dime on holidays either. The full experience is required!

Posted by
16895 posts

Looks like your research is on track and timing is a good fit for using the Swiss Travel Pass. But within those 4 consecutive days, the pass will cover you all the way to the Italian border at either Domodossola or Chiasso, so you only have to buy the Italian ticket from that point (a $15-20 value in 2nd class), not from Luzern. The Luzern/Chiasso route is not always the fastest or default option; the route via Brig and Domodossola is also a common choice. You can buy the reserved Italian portion of the ticket at a Swiss train station, if that's easier.

Posted by
17440 posts

You can buy the ticket from Luzern to Milan in advance on either SBB or Trenitalia and have it apply the discount for your Swiss pass, in other words just charge you for the journey from the border at Chiasso to Milan. The fare on SBB with a Swiss Pass (GA) is 20 CHF and on Trenitalia (again look for the GA) it is 17 euro. This price beats the “mini” fare of 29,90 euro you might see on Trenitalia.

The pass discount is easier to find on SBB than Trenitalia. If looking there, get the full price array and then look for a button for “see other offers”. Scroll down to “Ga Switzerland” and choose that.

You can also just buy the ticket at the station in Switzerland for the same price by showing your pass.

Posted by
8889 posts

Sounds like you have come to the correct conclusion with the Swiss Pass, it will also help pay for the mountain trips.

Also, since Trenitalia has an advance fare from Luzern to Milano, would you recommend I book it and arrange the Mürren to Luzern part separately?
(I've been using SBB, Trenitalia, and Bahn to try to figure this out)

No, because that isn't the quickest way from Mürren to Milano is not via Luzern. Trenitalia only lists trains within, to or from Italy. There is one train Luzern to Milan, which Trenitalia lists as it is a through train, but it doesn't list all the other options involving connections, or list Mürren at all.

Go to the Swiss Railways site ( https://www.sbb.ch/en ), enter Mürren to Milano Centrale, date and time and click on "Search". You will find lots of options. Click on any one to show the details. Note the fastest options do not go via Luzern, it is quicker via Spiez and Brig. Click on each train to show the intermediate stops.
If your Swiss pass is valid for this day, it will cover you to the Swiss border station of Domodossola. You then need to buy a ticket from Domodossola to Milano, from Trenitalia, valid on that specific train.

Posted by
1634 posts

Thank you Laura, Lola, Blairelizabeth25, and Chris F for your replies. The Swiss Pass options have been flummoxing me for some time and I finally got to doing the nitty gritty to figure it out once and for all. I'd hate to spend more than is required.

Blairelizabeth25, did you mean to say I was "right on track"? You made me chuckle.

We are really looking forward to this trip!

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