Train pass feedback

Eurostar would likely require buying a supplement and reservations, Trains from Brussels to Switzerland, if bought well ahead on DB are cheap, but might also want a reservation at added cost with a pass. I believe (others can confirm) some of the scenic trains in Switzerland are not included in the pass.

So just make sure you know what extras are required, it is not just hopping on any train last minute anymore.

Eurostar requires a surcharge of 30,- euro when used with an Eurali Pass, but that may still be worth it. Brussels - Switzerland can be done via France or via Germany. Via Germany you do not require reservations, but you should get them. Via France you are again confronted with rather high surcharges of around the 30 Euro mark. And you will pay those twice, as there are two high speed trains involved.
So consider all that.

The Eurail Pass is also not very useful in Switzerland. You can get to Grindelwald, or Wengen or Murren, but the mountain railways and cable cars are not covered. You get 25% off, but only if you activate a day.

Where are you going after that? A Eurail pass is almost unusable in Italy for example...

Alternatives are:
- Book London - Brussels in advance with Eurostar
- Book Brussesl - Grindelwald (or Lauterbrunnen or Wengen) in advance with Deutsche Bahn.
- Look at regional passes like the Berner Oberland Pass, Jungfrau Pass and the Tell Pass for Switzerland.
- Book Luzern - in advance on www.sbb.ch

Thank you all for your input, definitely a few things there I hadn't considered.

Looks like a pass vs point to point saves me less than $200 when accounting for reservation fees. But I can grab a 1st class pass with reservations for the same price as the point to point 2nd class, and may do that just for the fast pass security at St Pancras to Brussels leg, and comfort on a few of our longer journeys.

Looks like a pass would entitle me to a 25% discount within the Berner Oberland, so now just need to do the math on that vs a Berner Oberland pass (depending on our itinerary there).

FWIW my train itinerary is:
London to Brussels
Brussels-Paris
Paris-Lausanne
Lausanne-Wengen
Berner Oberland (3 days)
Wengen-Lucerne
Lucerne-Munich

But one additional consideration is that you often *can't get the pass reservations you need * -i.e. that pass reservations are all sold out while regular tickets for the same trains still exist, especially for Eurostar and trains in France.

The sense I have gotten from reading here is that Eurostar doesn't keep many pass reservations aside, and they go quickly. So then you aren't able to take advantage of your pass and have to buy a regular ticket anyway.

But one smart thing you are doing is coming here and asking questions before you buy any pass! You are already ahead of the game to be asking these questions now instead of after acquiring one (or several).

Thanks! I went segment by segment at Eurail to see what those would be, and all cam e up as available for the specific times I want. Unless of course what I'm seeing is bait and switch!

Reservations on DB are only 4.90 EUR. Going through Germany is the way to go. Otherwise you go to Paris then to Basel.