Best Train Pass?
 

Hi,

My fiancé (and I are planning our honeymoon from April 25th- May 16th. We are arriving into Paris in the early am on the 26th and leaving from Rome on may 16th. We know it's a pretty aggressive trip as far as locations, but we really want to get a feel for different places. We are active in our late 20s. Our hotels are booked, so now we are looking into trains. We are prepared to rent a car from Florence for Tuscany since no trains go there. Other than Tuscany, we don't plan on renting a car. What rail passes would you suggest we get that would be the most effective for our itinerary? Can we accomplish this all with one pass or will we have to get multiple?

We would prefer flexible times in case we can't make a particular departure, but if we need to actually buy specific times, we can make that work.

Here is the list of cities in order:
Paris- 3 nights
Geneva- 2 nights
Interlaken- 3 nights
Tuscany- 4 nights
Venice- 3 nights
Rome- 5 nights

Last year the Eurail select Flexipass could have been your ticket to ride but France has opted out of that pass so it cannot be used on trains in France.

Here is what I would recommend - buying discounted online tickets for both France to Switzerland and in Italy - and getting perhaps a Swiss Pass for Switzerland - Swiss Passes cover oodles of more things than a Eurailpass does in Switzerland too - like coverage in full on mountain trains from Interlaken to Grindelwald, Laugterbrunnen, Murren and Wengen and gives 50% off nearly all aerial gondolas and covers postal buses, etc.

And Swiss Passes are much cheaper per day than Eurailpass and also come in 2nd class at an even cheaper price. A Saverpass is for two to five names on one pass - cheaper than two solo passes by about 18% - and I believe you can travel during the sale period of Swiss Passes this spring where if you complete your travel before the late May you can actually buy two 4-day passes (either consecutive or flexible) for the price of one - an astounding deal (Only applies to 4-day passes and if you can marshall you train travel into a 4-day period the 4-day consecutive pass would be the best deal per day - cheaper per day than a Flexipass is.

Use the pass to get to the Italian border at Domodossola and then get a discounted ticket from www.trenitalia.com to cover trains to Florence, jumping off point for Tuscany and get the online discounted tickets for your other two trips - you do lock yourself into a specific train that way but if you want flexibility just buy full fare tickets - never a problem getting IME and it should not break the bank.

For France to Geneva www.voyages-sncf.com has so-called PREM fares at deep discounts and to get often you must book weeks or months in advance - get one to Geneva - stay there the night and then start your 4-consecutive-day Swiss Pass to go to Interlaken or take boats on Lake Geneva (covered by the pass as are city trams and buses).


For lots of great info on Swiss trains and the Jungfrau Region by Interlaken I always spotlight these super IMO saites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com (check the latter for details on the Swiss 2 for 1 sale this spring to see if the dates fit the dates you will need to be traveling in Switzerland - that is where I heard about the 2 for 1 sale which has happened during off-season times for Switzerland of late fall and late spring.

Depending on what you plan to do in Switzerland, one of the Swiss passes might be good if you are traveling enough to get the value. Some include transport from the border (France?,Italy?).

>>>We are prepared to rent a car from Florence for Tuscany since no trains go there. Other than Tuscany, we don't plan on renting a car.<<<

Trains go some places in Tuscany so it would depend on where you were going. There are also buses to many hill towns, but generally a car is best. If you are picking up a car, might as well keep it until Venice and drop it there.

You buy Florence/Venice (if you don't keep the car) or Venice/Rome on Trenitalia's website. There are cheap tickets for advance purchase online (as little as 9€ for the fast trains) or the base price listed would also be the walk-up price if you didn't want to book in advance and just take the next train with space (mandatory seating - not included with pass, but included with tickets on Trenitalia).

Buses run frequent services to Tuscan hill towns - if just wanting to see a few take the bus if wanting to spend some days weaving around hill towns take the car but you do not need a car to visit any Tuscan hilltown - buses from Florence run constantly to Siena, to me the finest of all Tuscan hill towns and to many others.

Thank you so much for your replies. We are staying in Siena. It's good to know that we don't absolutely have to have a car. It's so hard wedding and honeymoon planning at the same time, so this is so helpful! I was able to get my train tickets from France to Geneva for 74 euros for the 2 of us! If I booked on rail europe it would have been 200 dollars. I am amazed! I compared the trips side by side on the each websites to make sure nothing was wrong. Based on the comments, I will definitely get a Swiss Pass. It sounds like the best way to go. A 4 day pass will cover our needs since we are leaving Geneva on May 1st and then leaving Interlakan for Itally on May 4th. We also want to do the Gondolas and the mountain trains. I'm looking into the 2-1 deal. It looks like it definitely happened last year, but I don't see anything yet this year. I don't have to book now, right? I saw last year, the LA Times posted an article on March for the deal that started April 1st. Is there any benefit of booking the train pass now or can I wait? Is there a last date that I should book by if I wait or are they available up until departure?

I'm not sure why you would look at the LA Times for current train passes. Doesn't make sense. For Swiss passes, you should look at the Swiss site - Swisstravelsystem. Current special is 4 for 1 (4 days + 1 extra day).

http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/...ss-4-1-en.html

Some hill towns have bus service from Siena, but it's much easier to tour Tuscany by car.

Here's the bus map.
http://www.sienamobilita.it/mappe/Mappa_EXT.pdf

Thanks. I saw an article that the LA times had last year in march letting people know about the pass. I was thinking that maybe the Swiss rail announced the deal in March for April-May travel. I think I am just holding out hope they will do it again, but maybe start offering it later than today. Fingers cross they will do it again. The current deal ends April 30th so it actually wouldn't work for us. How far in advance should I buy the pass?

Thanks for the info on Siena. I think we will rent a car. There are a couple day trips we would like to take and I think it will be easier. What is the best car rental place?

How far in advance should I buy the pass?>

most agents in U S have no mailing fees unless for rush service so order early enough to avoid mailing fees - and check prices in U S dollars for passes sold here and prices in francs for the exact same pass sold at stations in Switzerland - I have been comparing prices for years now and usually the American dollar pricing for passes bought here has been significantly cheaper than for the same exact pass bought in Switzerland - when I checked a few weeks back that waws true again - but it is not always and if as cheap there as here just buy there but figure in any c credit charges for foreign transactions.

The 2 for 2 on selected passes or extra day is always it seems the same regardless of where you buy the pass but also check that.

The 2 for 1 sale has has been offered for several years now for travel April thru late May - call either www.budgeteuropetravel.com or www.ricksteves.com to ask about sale periods if not on those informative web sites or of course look at www.raileurope.com - but it is impossible for me at least to get thru to anyone there by phone.

For info on others last fall's 2 for 1 sale covered only 4-day flexi or 4-consecutive day passes and covered travel only between Sep 1 and Nov 30 - expect the same to be so in 2013 as it has been often during that time period - though exactly what may be offered may be tweaked - sometimes an extra day on some or all passes or free trips to selected mountain tops like Mt Pilatus and others normally ocvered only 50%.

For Swiss passes, you should look at the Swiss site - Swisstravelsystem. Current special is 4 for 1 (4 days + 1 extra day).

http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/...ss-4-1-en.html.

It should be noted that this extra day offer is ONLY for 1st class passes, not 2nd class passes that most folks buy.

The 2 for 1 specials have always been for both 1st and 2nd class passes.

The wedding is over (it was amazing), now I am in full blown honeymoon planning! I am getting ready to book my train pass for Switzerland, train tickets in Italy and car in Italy. I'm bummed that Switzerland isn't doing the 2-1 pass in May this year. I've been checking the site obsessively.

Here is the plan. We arrive in Geneva at 7:30 PM on 4/29. That train is already booked from Paris. Our hotel is walking distance, so we won't use the train. On 4/30, we will not need to use the rail pass at all as are going outside the city to a watch factory and have a car service picking us up and it is an all-day event. On 5/1, we will leave for Interlaken (not sure what time yet). Then on 5/4, we will be leaving for Florence. I will take your advice and take the train from Interlaken to Domodossola and then buy the direct pass on tren italia into florence. We have decided to stay in Florence on the night of 5/4 and pick up a car in Florence on 5/5 in the afternoon to head to Siena. We are staying outside of Siena so need a car.

Questions:
1. What Swiss Pass is the best? It looks to me that the 4 day consecutive pass will work since I won't need anything on 4/29 or 4/30. That will give us 4 days of train from 5/1-5/4. Does that sound right? We will definitely need to go from Geneva-->Interlaken-->Domodossola and we will use the swiss pass for the additional trains in Interlaken which will be cool. There is two travelling together so we will do saver. Do you think 1st class is worth the upcharge? Do we need to book seats in advance on the Swiss trains if we have a pass or just show up?

2. Is the Domodossola train station the same one that we get on for our Domodossola--> Florence train. It's funny bc on the Swiss website it says it is in Switzerland and on the TrenItalia it says it is in Italy. I'm guessing this is because it is a border town. I'm just paranoid so double checking. I don't want to show up then realize I have to go somewhere else to get on my Italy train.

Once in Italy, I will book point to point tickets and have assigned seatings and times.
1. Domodossola--> Florence pre-booked train
2. Florence (pick up car)--> venice Car- drive from Siena to Venice
3. Venice--> Rome pre-booked train

3. Lastly, for the car rental. I am thinking that it may be best to pick up the car in Florence then drop it off in Venice per the earlier suggestion. What company do you suggest? Any tips on renting a car in Italy. I read car theft is high so I won't leave anything in the car. It looks like a 3.5 hour drive if I drive from Siena to Venice and probably makes more sense than dropping off the car in Florence and taking a train to Venice.

I hope this all make sense. I am trying to make sure that I do everything correctly and as economical as possible. Do you have any suggestions to make my itinerary better? Any insite would be much appreciated! I have never planned a trip this long or with so many moving parts.

I don't know if a Swiss pass or a Swiss half-fare card would be best. You would have to crunch the numbers. Current special is 4+1 (you get an extra day free)

>>>nce in Italy, I will book point to point tickets and have assigned seatings and times.
1. Domodossola--> Florence pre-booked train<<<

You can buy this in advance on Trenitalia. You wouldn't have to get off the train at Domodossola. Just take the same train (should be an EC train - check to make sure you get the same number train) using your Swiss pass (you might want to make a seat reservation for this) and stay on. You may have to switch seats at Domodossola to your Trenitalia seat numbers.

Do you think 1st class is worth the upcharge? Do we need to book seats in advance on the Swiss trains if we have a pass or just show up?>

No need to ever IME book seats on Swiss trains and many may not even allow it - anyway you likely will find many empty seats on most trains - would not worry about that.

1st class vs 2nd class - well there is a difference but the difference is not as great in Switzerland IMO as in other countries - but the main difference is that on inter-city trains there will guaranteably be many empty seats in first class where 2nd class could be fairly full or at rush hours full - you can always board and after the next stop fend for seats of departing passengers.

I've always had a first-class Swiss Pass because my employer was paying for it and I always loved having the first-class cars - there are always sparsely full - I can hop from side to side as the scenery dictates - not so easy in a fairly full 2nd class car - even on the mountain trains like from Interlaken to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen I often have had a whole empty section in 1st class to myself whilst the rest of the train was packed to the gills.

Now many folks say that second-class was very adequate for them and this is true - 2nd class is adequate but just not as nearly as relaxed as first class.

Note on some specialty trains only in 1st class are there panoramic observation cars and on lake boats only the open-air upper deck seats are first-class only - so if taking many of these that could be a factor - and yes laying on the top deck in a lounge chair is a bit better than being restricted to the lower deck.

Thanks for your help. I have been doing more research, but I'm not sure if my logic make sense. Assume these numbers are for 2 people and in 2nd class. We may go with 1st class, but for this comparison I did 2nd class.

Do you think it is better to get point to point passes? The 2 main trains I need are Geneva--> Interlaken and Interlaken --> Florence. Based on Rail Europe, the total cost for those two trains point to point is $622 (that would take us directly to Florence). Then we would pay for all of the stuff in between in Switzerland and not take advantage of the all inclusive. We will be using trains/boats/metro/etc. for 4 days. The main trains I want to use are to go to Gimmelwald, Schiltthom, Jungfraujoch. At least in that area (haven't figured out the whole itinerary). I don't think we will use the public transit much in Geneva since a whole day is already taken care of and the next afternoon we are leaving for Interlaken.

The Swiss 4 day pass is $762 for the two of us and then I would have to then buy the tren italia ticket from Domodossola to Florence which is approx $90 for the two of us, so a total of $852.

$852 for the swiss pass plus the ticket to florence vs. not buying the pass and paying $622 plus all other trains that we will take in Switzerland. Do you think the $200 is worth the Swiss Pass? Do you think we will actually get the value of that in those 4 days? I'm not opposed to paying more money if it is worth it; I just don't want to waste money. : )

Thank you so much again for your help!

Why are you pricing tickets on RailEurope when you've already discovered they are more expensive than the national sites?

Have you checked whether there will be a fee for dropping your rental car in a different town from where you picked it up?

Never mind. I am an idiot. The Swiss 4 day pass would be $476 for 2nd class (i put in first class). Dang forum won't let me edit. Looking at those numbers it would make way more sense to do the Swiss Pass plus the ticket from Domodossola for a total of $566. Cheaper and more inclusive. Sorry for wasting your time if you read that. Looking at too many things at once and got confused. Exactly why I am on the forum. People know way more than I do about this stuff.

I looked up the half fare card and basically that is you pay $120 CHF then you get 50% on mostly everything and it doesn't include museums at all, right? So I would buy it and then get 1/2 fair on train from Geneva--> Interlaken and Interlaken to Domodossla ? Clearly my brain isn't ready for any more math tonight, but am I understanding that correctly?

The pricing I got was from Rick Steve's website which went to Rail Europe. So did myswitzerland.com which claims to be "official website of Switzerland Tourism" and the budget europe travel service (BETS) which was listed above. It seems they dead end at rail europe. Is there a better place to go?

I actually haven't figured out the car yet. After I get the swiss pass done, that is my next step. I looked at Auto Europe. From preliminary research, it may look like it would be more expensive to drop it in a different city. They make it seem like it will be the same price and then put a disclaimer saying that it may be more expensive and they will contact you after you book (weird). I haven't done all the research on that yet. Do you have experience booking a car thursdaysd? Any insite would be helpful.

For tickets in Switzerland:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

For general info on buying train tickets in Europe:

http://seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm

I travel solo so I don't rent cars. People here often recommend AutoEurope.

The pricing I got was from Rick Steve's website which went to Rail Europe. So did myswitzerland.com which claims to be "official website of Switzerland Tourism" and the budget europe travel service (BETS) which was listed above. It seems they dead end at rail europe. Is there a better place to go?

RailEurope is part owned by the Swiss Railways and is the only wholesaler of Swiss Passes in the U.S. thus prices are always the same no matter which agent sells them - RE sets the price and everyone has to sell it at that price. The only comparison you should make is to see what that pass costs if bought in Switzerland - check www.swisstravelsystem.com for prices in Swiss francs, keeping in mind any foreign transaction fees for foreign purchases you c c may impose - I have checked often and usually the same pass is cheaper if bought here than there for some reason but not always.

I would pick up the car in Florence and drop it off in Venice. Check Kemwel.com, Auto Europe's sister company and be sure to look at deductibles when comparing prices. Drop the car off at Piazzale Roma in Venice. You can take the vaporetto to your Venice hotel from P. Roma.

When you rent a car in Italy, you must buy CDW -- collision damage waiver. Any credit card coverage doesn't count. Also in Italy, the driver(s) must have an International Driver's Permit, a translation of your license, which is easily and cheaply available at your local AAA/CAA office. About $25 including a photo. Bring both your license and the IDP on the trip.

You can call Autoeurope and talk to them about the drop-off surcharge. If saving money is a priority, look at the Italian site: www.autoeurope.it. It's pretty easy to navigate in Italian.

Congratulations on your marriage!

>>>When you rent a car in Italy, you must buy CDW -- collision damage waiver. Any credit card coverage doesn't count. <<<

There are reports of certain Visa cards allowing coverage in Italy, but most cards exclude Italy (and Ireland).

>>>point to point passes?<<<

No such thing as point-to-point passes. Did you mean p-t-p tickets?

>>>Based on Rail Europe, the total cost for those two trains point to point is $622 (that would take us directly to Florence)<<<

Do not look at RailEurope. It's useless for your itinerary. If you are getting a Swiss pass, then you need to be on the Swiss website, not RailEurope. Do not prices p-t-p tickets on RailEurope, they don't show all trains and the ones they do show are marked up prices.

You need to quite looking at Rick Steves and other sites that roll over to RailEurope.

These are the only websites you should be using for this.

For Swiss passes:
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/home.html

If you don't get a Swiss pass:
www.sbb.ch

For Italy:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD

Do not look at RailEurope. It's useless for your itinerary. If you are getting a Swiss pass, then you need to be on the Swiss website, not RailEurope. Do not prices p-t-p tickets on RailEurope, they don't show all trains and the ones they d>

Wrong- RailEurope often sells the same exact Swiss Pass IME of comparing prices for those sold in the U S in dollars vs those exact same passes sold in Switzerland in francs - and usually RE has been cheaper - sometimes significantly so - so check prices both at www.swisstravelsystem.com and www.raileurope (or any of their agents like www.ricksteves.com or www.budgeteuropetravel.com - all agents have the same prices as RE and may give better service or a lower mailing fee - many have none.

And for biuying in Switzerland not any foreign exchange fees - often 3% you will have to tack on to use your credit card for foreign purchases and to change dollars into francs, etc.

But believe me RailEurope for the past serveral years I've been tracking them has usually been cheaper for the exact same pass - sometimes a lot cheaper - that said do your homework as that is not always true and compare for yourself.

The proper response to foreign conversion fees is to get a card that doesn't charge them, e.g. Capital One, or only charges 1%, i.e. most Credit Unions.

Thanks! I have a chase sapphire preferred card so there are no foreign transaction fees.

Budgeteuropetravel.com is AMAZING! I spoke to Byron today for 45 minutes and he explained everything about the Switzerland trains. Per PalenQ, I will be traveling through Domodossola. Basically from Interlaken --> Spiez --> Domodossla --> Milan --> Florence. The Spiez --> Milan train is the exact same train so I won't have to get off (per KYBourbon). I found the EuroCity Train that has the exact same number, so I will just buy the tickets on Tren Italia to get from Domodossola --> Florence and use the Swiss Pass to get from Spiz--> Domossodolla. Do you think I need to buy them now or just wait until I get to Interlaken to buy? Byron seemed to think there was no need to buy them now, but just want to double check since I am American and used to planning in advance.

Car Rental- I will definitely pick up in Florence and drop off in Venice. About the CDW -- collision damage waiver, I caleld Chase Sapphire VISA. It does include Italy! YAY! It is also Primary Coverage, not secondary coverage. FYI: It excludes Ireland, Irael, Jamaica. I just have to decline coverage collision and loss damage waiver and charge the whole amount on the Sapphire card. Other exclusions: 8 person cars and expensive/luxury cars. I didn't even know declining CDW was an option. Now I am excited because I can save $$. Any cautions out there that I should know about?

The American thing was a joke. I am just completely A type and used to a schedule and having everything done in advance. I realized when I reread whatI wrote that it didn't make any sense without an explanation. Dang email tone.

> Florence and use the Swiss Pass to get from Spiz--> Domossodolla. Do you think I need to buy them now or just wait until I get to Interlaken to buy? Byron seemed to think there was no need to buy them now>

WQell for a cheaper rate I would go to www.trenitalia.cm and see what savings could be realized by booking in advance the DomosdossoLA TO Florence.

but you certainly would not need to buy that Italian ticket in advance if that's what you mean - there will always be availability of seats if that's what you mean -you can buy that ticket at a Swiss station - show your pass and explain you just want a Domodossola to Florence ticket so if you are on a train that moves thru the border - many require a change of trains at Brig - you do not have to get off theat train to buy the ticket there.

And again you can get a discounted fare but only if you book weeks in advance and don't need to change that ticket nor refund it - again check Brig or Domodossola to Florence S M N (Santa Maria Novella - the main station in the center of Florence.)

Thank you. I ended up booking the Tren Italia tickets this morning since we are going on a Saturday, Tren Italia offers 2x1 specials. We have to be in Florence that night because of our hotel reservation so it gave me peace of mind to get it done. I made sure the EuroCity train number alligned with my Swiss train plans which I am not booking in advance per suggestions above.

Back to the Swiss Pass. I have spreadsheeted a bunch of info and have been researching. I am now debating between the swiss pass and the 1/2 fare card. Thank you KYBourbon for bring the 1/2 fare card to my attention. This is all first class for 2 people.

OPTION 1- 4 day consecutive Swiss Pass current rates
Rail Europe- $798
SBB Site- $740 CH ($778 USD. The coversion rate assuming current &1.05/1 CF rate). I have a no foreign transaction fee credit card
*My conclusion is if I went with the Swiss Pass, it would make more sense to buy on SBB site or wait until I get to Geneva to buy assuming the currency fluction stays in the USD favor.

OPTION 2- Half Fare Card- I would use this for the trains from Geneva-> Interlaken and from Interlaken-> Domodossola
Cost of card- 240 CF for two people ($252 USD assuming same conversion as above)
The 2 Point to Point Tickets total (this is the cost after 50% off)-221 CH ($232.44 USD)
The total all in for this would be $484 USD. Then I would have to buy any additional transporation at 1/2 price.

Here are my questions. There is approx a $300 difference between the two options in favor of the half-fare card. In Interlaken, I know we will go to Jungfraujoch which is only 25% off with the swiss pass. I'm not sure how many mountain trains we will take while staying there for 2.5 days. I also doubt we will go to many museums in Geneva or Interlaken. Do you think that we would make up the $300 if we bought the Swiss Pass just by traveling on the mountain trains in Interlaken or do you think buying the half-fare card and getting 50% off individual tickets on the mountain trains would be better? Also, can I only buy the half-fare card at a train station in Switzerland instead of now in the states? I didn't see the half-fare card at all on the rail europe site (may have been an oversight).

There are a lot of options that go into this! I appreciate all the help.

Also, can I only buy the half-fare card at a train station in Switzerland instead of now in the states?>

Not for sale in the U S but only in Switzerland - probably also from www.sbb.ch.

Check out the Swiss Card, sold both her and there - compare prices as this gives you a round-trip train trip between any airport or border station and a place and back and also acts exactly like a Half-Fare Card for all days in between your first and return train trip - could well be a better deal than the Half-Fare Card - same exact benefits TMK but a longish train trip can tip the balance and if arriving by plane you can take the very next train.
Anytime the Half-Fare Card comes into play it should be mentioned that the Swiss Card offers the same benefits plus the rout-trip journey to start and end you trip as this can make it cheaper for the same 50% off benefits.

Without reading all above - do you know that if you buy a 4-day Swiss Pass there is a special that gives you a free 5th day as well? Not sure of when that had to be bought however to be valid. But was good or is good for travel thru the end of May 2013 I believe.

Swiss Card = $312 US in first class and $221 in 2nd class.

What does the half-fare cost to buy? CH 240 for 2 = or CHF 120 per person or about $130 US $s.

So in 2nd class that would make a difference of about $90 - $90 to do a round gtrip in your case Geneva to any station in Switzerland - even Wengen or Murren, etc for $45 each way and you still get 50% off just like the Half-Fare Card - seems a better deal at least in 2nd class.

In 1st class the difference is about $180 so if igt costs $90 or more each way the Swiss Card would be better - well that is the break even point - seems a better deal in 2nd class than 1st though perhaps $90 each way is less than perhaps what a regular first-class ticket would cost but seems not as a guess.

>>>Wrong- RailEurope often sells the same exact Swiss Pass IME of comparing prices for those sold in the U S in dollars vs those exact same passes sold in Switzerland in francs - and usually RE has been cheaper - sometimes significantly so - <<<

You can get varying results on the Swiss website depending on how you are logged on/searching (similar to the function of the French rail site). Sometimes you will see "powered by RailEurope" appear when you are pricing passes on the Swiss site. Some selections will roll over to traintickets.myswitzerland.com for purchase with price in dollars and powered by RE or select a different country (you have to experiment) and it will roll over to swissrailways.com and the prices will stay in chf.

On the swissrailways.com purchase, you have to select either to pick up at the airport (Geneva,Basel,Zurich) or have them mailed. There is no option to pick up at various rail stations. The fee for the airport pick up or mailing is 15chf.

jeno13 - Didn't mean to hijack your post. Just trying to clear up PQ's question about pricing differences.

No worries KYBourbon. There is so much to learn and consider. To comment on your post, the only way I didn't get to Rail Europe was through the sbb.cf site, but it was really hard for me to find the passes for abroad visitors since it seems to be their national site. Once I found it, I did find it was cheaper via the conversion since the Swiss Franc is not as strong to the USD right now. I also learned that RE changes prices based on conversion rates every 2 weeks. That is what someone told me, so don't completely hold me to that, but I found that interesting.

PalenQ- I don't think the Swiss Card actually won't be best for me bc I already have booked by train from Paris--> Geneva so I won't be flying in or entering through a border station. I booked that a while back before I knew about all the options. I bought our train tickets from Paris--> Geneva for super cheap. It was only 74 Euros for 2 people.

The 4+1 special ends on 4/30 and I don't need it until 5/1. You have to use the 4+1 by 4/30 unfortunately.

Right now I am leaning toward waiting until I get to Geneva and buying the Half Fare Card at the station. I'm not sure that I will spend the extra $300 in 2.5 days on mountain trains and museums to make the 4 day swiss pass worth it. Does this make sense to do?

It's OK to buy the Half Fare Card (or the Swiss Pass) at Geneve Cornavin (Geneva town) railway station.
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/home.html
The Half fare card gives more reduction between Wengen/Grindelwald and Jungfraujoch. With the Swiss Pass, all trains up to Wengen. Muerren and Grindelwald are free.
For more details, open http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/...html?id=137558 and load down the pdf area of validity map.

BTW: if you want to go into the middle of the highest glaciers of Switzerland, the train and cablecar ride to Matterhorn Paradise would be cheaper than that to Jungfrau with all knds of tickets and passes.

Right now I am leaning toward waiting until I get to Geneva and buying the Half Fare Card at the station. I'm not sure that I will spend the extra $300 in 2.5 days on mountain trains and museums to make the 4 day swiss pass worth it.>

with such short time why buy the Half-Fare Card either - why not just regular tickets or if doing the Jungfraujoch train the Jungfraubahn Pass (renamed I believe) covers many conveyances in the region that even a Swiss Pass won't cover.

If Half-Off pass costs $130 then you'll have to be doing at least $260 of trains to break even - how are you going to do that without the Jungfaujoch train which alone could make the Jungfraubahn Pass a better deal - or buy nothing at all seems a good option.

Good point, Palen. The http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/offer-2013/ covers the whole area from Montreux/Lake Geneva up to Jungfraujoch and from Lucerne up to Kandersteg and Brig/Italian border. http://www.regiopass-berneroberland....ich_web_13.pdf

But Jeno must go to Jungfraujoch or use many other mountain railways (not all run in May) if he wants to rentabilize the 230 CHF expense.

And he must change a bit his itinerary:
Geneva - Interlaken via Montreux - Gstaad instead of Fribourg - Berne, Spiez - Brig via Kandersteg instead of Visp.

And he must change a bit his itinerary:
Geneva - Interlaken via Montreux - Gstaad instead of Fribourg - Berne, Spiez - Brig via Kandersteg instead of Visp.>

great info - did not realize that the B O Pass reached so far - but on regional trains I guess or secondary routings - but if not in a hurry those slightly longer timewise routes are far far more gorgeous than the mainline routes.

Spiez - Brig via Kandersteg instead of Visp.>

And if you want to see some of the finest scenery along Switzerland's rail lines then take the regional train route that eschews the new long Lotschberg Tunnel - taking you underground around Frutingen and emerging only in Visp to then quickly enter the Simplon Tunnel to Italy - well the regional trains Spiez-Brig go up and over the mountains and even though they do use a short tunnel presents a really scenic ride - one of the finest in Switzerland IME - especially the long long descent down to the Rhone Valley and Brig - seems like you are in an airplane slowly descending to land in the valley far below.

Geneva - Interlaken via Montreux - Gstaad instead of Fribourg - Berne, Spiez>

Again with that pass you must travel this route, according to neckervd, instead of the fastest route via Bern and Fribourg - the slightly longer route is that of the fabled Golden Pass scenic train and goes thru lovely valleys from which on the south rise tall Alps - around Gstaad very high Alps. In deed you can take the Golden Pass train (well not sure with the pass described - may be only for local trains meaning you'd have to take much longer than on the GP which makes fewer stops and has coordinated changes of trains where normal-gauge tracks become narrow-gauge at Zweissimmen.
But on this route the scenery is much more scenic than on the mainline route via Bern and Lausanne and the descent into Montreux at the end is stunning as the train twoists slowely down thru vineyards the last few miles.