Rail pass for Switzerland/France

For that trip I would do a Swiss pass of some type plus a ticket to Paris bought in advance on SBB to get a good price (you can buy a ticket that incorporates the pass discount if you have a day left on your pass). A 2-country Switzerland-France pass does not work for museum entry, and often does not cover the full amount of travel on private railways. On lifts and tourist sightseeing trains it may give no discount at all. So the Swiss pass is better. We like a 3-day Flex Pass (Saver) (which gives 50% off travel on non-covered days) but maybe a different one would work for you. It depends how many "long" days of travel you have.

I agree with Lola. Buy some type of Swiss Pass for your time in Switzerland. On the day you will travel to Paris use your pass to get from Luzern to Basel. Book point-to-point tickets for Basel-Paris well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) on the Swiss Rail site to get a discount fare as low as 64.00 CHF.

And now the "special Offer" price is down to 63 CHF. Compare that to the regular price from Basel to Paris of 137 CHF and you'll see that it is best to book early (at least 2 months in advance, more if you are sure of your plans).

Lola, Thanks for the suggestions. Would I need to already have the flex pass in order to buy the discounted ticket to Paris on SBB? Are these tickets that I should be buying now to take advantage of discounts? Do I buy these through this website? You mentioned a 3 day flex pass depending on "long" travel days. What is a "long" day. If we are planning on doing some sort of travel to a mountain/lake/museum outing 3-4 days of our 7 days will a 3 day flex pass be adequate. We do not anticipate any longer trips except perhaps some sort of scenic 1 day train trip such as the "Golden" route. I just want to make sure that I am adequately covered without "overbuying" unnecessary tickets. Thanks

Kevin, you didn't ask.....but why aren't you flying into Zurich and then taking train to Luzern? Fly out of Geneva on inexpensive flight to Paris? The cost of airline tickets may be less this way. Of course, taking a train from Geneva to Paris might be interesting.

You do not need to have the passin hand to buy the discounted ticket on SBB ( the Swiss rail site, same as rail.ch for English). The SpecialmOffer price is for advance purchase and is independent of the pass. The price is the same 63 CHF) whether you buy it from Luzern To Paris with the pass holders doscount ( which covers your travel from Luzern to Basel), or buy the ticket from Basel to Paris and use the pass to travel from Luzern toBasel without making impart of the ticket. By " long day" I mean this: a 3-day Flex costs $234, or almost $80 per day of use. You use it for your first and last day of travel, and you one other longest day. In between, you use the half-fare feature for discounts on shorter trips and lift rides. Don't use a pass day for a 40 CHF trip if you can help it. You will be on the Golden Pass route going across Switzerland between Lac Leman area and Luzern. If you haven't already bought your plane tickets, consider Jim's suggestion and fly into Zurich and out of Paris. If you already have tickets into Geneva that works fine too. Can you work in a night to spend on Lac Leman, say in Montreux or Vevey, to see Chateau de Chillon and other sights of that area?

Lola and Jim, Thanks for the great info. Because our air travel from the states is rewards travel, the flight into Geneva was the best one that worked with the time schedule. The flights into Zurich did not work with the train schedules that I could find when I was looking at options. I found a flight on Easyjet from Geneva to Paris but I don't think there was one available from Zurich to Paris. I see that there is a flex pass for first class travel as well as 2nd class travel. Any thoughts there? We will be bringing a couple of large suitcases (40-45 pounds-about 36" in length) with wheels. Any helpful ideas on the luggage storage on the trains? They will not fit on overhead racks and I do not know how much room we have in the trains. If we go with the 3 day flex pass how do we book the round trip from Geneva to Luzern? Do we just arrive at the Geneva station and get our pass stamped and then just wait for the next train to Luzern or can we book it online ahead of time. Does the flex pass cover the cost of the train ticket or do we still have to pay for a reservation? Thanks for your help and patience as this is all new to me.

If you are using a pass, once it has been validated you just enter the date of travel (before you board the train) and get on the next one. You do not need reservations, unless you are riding one of the special cars on a scenice train like the golden Pass Route and want a special seat. You do need to pay extra for seat reservations but we never have (and on many trains they are not even possible). First Class might be a little quieter and less crowded than Secodn, but we always go 2d class in Switzerland and have never had trouble finding seats, even traveling with a group of 8. (The one exception was heading toward Zurich on the day of the Street parade, when a million or so oddly dressed celebrants converge on Zurich to party, but that was my mistake in not knowing that it was occuring that day). As for luggage, there are racks at the end of the car for storing; if you are first to get on the car you will have no trouble finding space there. We usually look for space in the little "A" formed by two oppsing seat backs---but that is in 2d class and I don't know if first class cars have that configuration. Dont' worry bout asking questions---we were all first-timers once! We are happy to help you plan a great trip. (Personally I would prefer to answer here than through private messages).