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P-P, Select Pass, Flights? 4 countries over 30 days

Posted by (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) on

I am planning a trip arriving in Rome on Aug 28th, spending time in Rome, Florence, CT, Venice before heading to Luzern (Sept 5th), Interlaken, BO, Bern, Lausanne then to Paris (Sept 14th) before heading to Frankfurt (17 Sept), Rhine Valley, Wurzburg/RodT, Munich and Fussen before heading back to Frankfurt on the 25th to return home.

I am getting lost with the different train options to get me all around and which would be the most cost effective.

I am 24, and will be traveling with a friend through Italy and Switzerland, alone in Paris, and meeting my girlfriend for the week in Germany.

Originally I was looking at the EURail 4 country pass, but I am going to be spending more than 10 days traveling (if I take every time we go point to point.) I would be right around 10 days if I didn't use the pass for travel within Switzerland, or if we rented a car for the week in Germany.

Also, how much on average do I need to add to my budget for reservations and the like, above the cost of the EURail pass itself?

Thanks!
John

Posted by
8 posts

Alright, thanks for the info.

What about renting a car while in Germany? I feel that it would be beneficial for getting to Rothenberg and getting Linderhof and Neuschwanstein done in a day, as well as taking things casually in the Rhine Valley. What is the price difference to a railpass in Germany? I can get 7 days for around 300 Euro (minus gas etc.)

Also, what about having a car in Munich during Oktoberfest? We would want to drive near the city center, but don't mind a walk to get around if it saves a headache trying to find parking.

Posted by
17245 posts

John, it looks like you have 9 days in Switaerland? I suggest you read the page on Swiss passes under "Railpasses" here, and you'll see that a multi-country pass does not work as well in Switaerland as a "pure" Swiss pass (usually a Flex pass). For example, if you are going into the heart of the Berner Oberland, the 4-country pass only covers travel beyond Interlaken at 25%, and some of the high mountain railways and cablecars not at all.

With 2 of you traveling together in Switzerland you would geet the advantageous "saver" rate on a Flex pass.

Often the best solution for a trip like yours is P2P tickets in Italy, passs for Switzerland, discount advance-purchase TGV ticket for Lausanne to Paris, and discount tickets or Länder tickets in Germany. Lee can explain those.

That way you can reserve as needed for the trains that require rerservations, and you won't be paying extra for supplements and reservations as you would with your pass.

BTW, there is a great advance-purchase rate of 30 CHF for the Milan to Zürich trip, which is part of your travel from Venice to Luzern, at least of you go the mort direct route.

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