Trains in Switzerland, Italy and Austria?

Rethink you need for advance reservations. With the exception of discounts for advance purchase (which are not always available) there is little advantage for advance reservations. Unfortunately most Americans have been well trained by our airline system which demands advance reservations and the earlier the better. Depending on the time of year and the museum, an advance reservation more than a few days is rarely needed. David in Florence is a big exception to above comment.

Yes, I'm well conditioned to advance reservations!!

I've been trying to get fares, but not all fares are posted. The SBB site allows you to check schedules of trains into Italy, but doesn't post prices. The Italian train site posts schedules, but almost all trains have "n/a" for the fare.

I "think" I see are the following per-person first-class fares (some of these don't seem reasonable to me!):

Zurich to Wengen: USD $140

Wengen to Bologna: USD $235

Bologna to Venice (round trip): USD $42 (seems low)

Bologna to Florence (round trip): $??

Bologna to Innsbruck: USD $280 (seems a bit high!)

Innsbruck to Zurich: USD $95

If these fares are correct, that adds up to over $800 - a Selectpass Saver - 1st class 3-country pass for 8 days of travel is only $550.

Seems like the pass is the way to go - am I missing something?

bert

If I'm calculating this right, the pass at $550 is first-class and the point-to-point price for second class would be the same ($550 2nd class plus 50% = $800 for first class).

Looks like a "wash", plus I'd get first-class for nothing.

bert

I ddin't add the reservation fee into those numbers, so that would make the pass look better.

Another "plus" to the pass "may be" the ability to use it in the Swiss Alps, where I've heard that some of the private trains that we'll be taking accept a rail pass.

But trying to figure it all out is where I'm having the problems! I don't know if I have the prices right on the point-to-point trains. I may call Rick Steves organization for help!

thanks,
bert

Reservation fees would make a pass look worse, not better. Reservation fees are included in the price of point-to-point tickets. They are add-ons for passholders.

Using national rail sites to calculate them, here are your best 2nd class fares.

Zuerich-Wengen: 76.20 CHF (52 EUR).

Wengen-Bologna: Standard fare is 167 CHF (113 EUR). Advance purchase discount fare booked on the Swiss Rail site is 116 CHF (79 EUR).

Bologna-Venezia Santa Lucia: 8.90 EUR on regional trains, 15.50 EUR on IC trains, and 28 EUR on EuroStar Italia Alta Velocita trains.

Bologna-Firenze: 5.40 EUR on regional trains, 10.00 EUR on IC trains, and 24.00 EUR on ES-AV trains.

Bologna-Innsbruck: Booked well in advance by phoning the Austrian Rail call center, you can get a SparSchiene fare of 29 EUR.

Innsbruck-Zuerich: Booked well in advance by phoning the Austrian Rail call center, you can get a SparSchiene fare of 19 EUR.

Tim,

I really appreciate this information!

Can I ask you for one more piece of information?

What site did you go for the Wengen to Bologna fare? I tried http://orario.trenitalia.com and can't get that routing. The SBB site doesn't have pricing.

thanks,
bert

The prices you have are significantly different from the ones I found.

You're welcome, Bert.

The SBB site does show fares for some international routes. That's where I got both the standard fare and discount fare for Wengen-Bologna. Fares vary for Wengen-Bologna depending upon the route taken. What I gave you were the best fares I could find.