My family, two adults, one child, is traveling in Switzerland and France. I've looked at so many different options that my head is spinning. I thought Eurorail was the way to go, but after reading comments in this forum I'm having second thoughts. Can anyone advise as to what is the best, least stressful, most convenient way to travel? TIA!
Posted by
Chicago
1139 posts
it really depends on your itinerary. Perhaps you can supply that and people will be better able to help with train connections.
Also, when are you traveling? Train tickets are often priced cheaper the earlier you book - depends on the country. Train pass advantage or not can also differ by country.
Would you consider car rental?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
We're traveling from Geneva - Lausanne - Zermatt - Chamonix in July. We looked into car rentals, but it seemed way more expensive than train transportation.
Posted by
Irving
3230 posts
From Genève-Aéroport to Lausanne take a direct train (1h): https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html.
Lausanne to Zermatt, requires a connection (3h).
Zermatt to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc requires three connections (4h 15m).
Are you flying home from Genève-Aéroport? You could also do it in reverse:
Direct bus from Genève-Aéroport to Chamonix (1h 45m).
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc to Zermatt requires three connections (4h which is a bit shorter than the reverse).
Zermatt to Lausanne requires a connection (3h).
Lausanne to Genève-Aéroport (1h) but you’ll be closer to the airport if you have an early morning departure.
Posted by
Wengen
2497 posts
There is no such thing as "Eurorail". There is "Rail Europe" which is a travel agency, and there is the "Eurail Pass" which is a scheme to separate tourists from their money (ok, I exaggerate a bit, but it is generally rather expensive and not very useful).
A few tips:
- Trains are mass transit. All the trips you plan to do you can just go to the station, buy a ticket and travel.
- Mass transit is very good in Switzerland. Switzerland has the highest public transit usage in Europe. But it is pricy. It may be a good option to get the Swiss Half Fare Card. This costs 120,- for an adult, and comes with the free family card. With this card all public transit fares, and most mountain railways and cable car tickets are halved, and your kids (under 16) even go free. Can be a big saving.
Posted by
Freedonia
16283 posts
As stated, you were using a site that is a third party reseller and one that doesn't show all trains. (We know RS recommends it but I think that goes back to the days of when his company was the top seller of rail passes in the country. Most of us with experience traveling by train know to ignore it.)
Use either the SBB site (Swiss Rail Company) mentioned earlier or http://www.bahn.com for train schedules. The Swiss trains are efficient, easy to use and probably your best way of travel.
Purchasing is easy. You can buy online and have them sent to email, download the SBB app and buy then there or just get them at the station. The ticket machines have an English option.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33842 posts
how old is the child?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
My son is 10. Thanks for all the recommendations! It sounds like purchasing tickets for each trip from the train stations is the best way to go. Does anyone know if it's also easy to purchase tickets from Zermatt to Chamonix and from Chamonix to Geneva? Are there any tickets that we should buy in advance?
Posted by
Irving
3230 posts
The further out you buy train tickets the cheaper they are and Switzerland is not cheap: https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html.