Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Mixed ticket and pass trip

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Mixed ticket and pass trip

We will be flying to Pisa, then taking a train to Florence where we will stay a week. We will then take a train to Boltigen, near Bern, where we will stay for a week, then a train to Venice for our last week. My research makes me think that our only travel in Italy will be a train from Pisa to Florence, and half of each trip between Italy and Switzerland. If we get a Swiss pass or card, can it be applied to the Swiss half of the trip from Florence to Boltigen when we buy the tickets in Florence? I had assumed so, but thought it best to check. Boltigen is a very small village and it is hard to calculate the cost of tickets, since it doesn't show up on a lot of the scheduling services. It will be our first visit there, and we are keeping flexible, as we don't know how much mountain walking will appeal to us. It is close to everything and we will possibly be taking a lot of day trips. A eurail select saver pass costs less than the Italian tickets and the Swiss pass, but the Swiss pass and card offer a lot of extras on the trains and cable cars up to the peaks, so I think we will get either the Swiss pass or card. Any advice is welcome.

William, The Swiss Pass or Swiss Card will work from the Italian/Swiss border in Switzerland. You only have to buy your ticket in Italy from Florence to Brig (is this your route? I think yes.) Give us an idea what the Eurail Pass and the tickets in Italy cost and we can calculate a little for you. It is true, the Swiss Pass and the Swiss Card offer a lot of reductions for cable cars, gondolas, etc. But there is also the Berner Oberland Regional Pass. Maybe an option. As I wrote ... let's calculate. BTW, would be helpful to know if you are planning to do excursions to Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn or so. Ingo

From my research, the train from Pisa to Florence is 23 (I think all these figures are in Euro's which, for planning purposes, I am equating to the US dollar). From Florence to the border (Brig) is about 89. From Stresa to Venice is 68, for a total of about 180. An eight day Swiss saver pass is 289, bringing the total to 469. By contrast, an eight day eurail select saver pass is 378, and the ten day pass is 428. We do plan to visit Bern and take the excursion to Interlaken and up to, I believe, Jungfraujoch. We may also go to Luzern a day or two, and possibly to Gstaad, which is just up the line from Boltigen. For planning, I assumed we would be taking a train for six of the seven days we will be in Boltigen, but if it is a nice as the pictures, we may just hike for a few days.

I am curious if you have used www.railsaver.com - - I have tried it with some itineraries involving Switzerland - - and they do show a benefit of a Swiss pass in cases where I would not have expected it. But then, I have never traveled by train in Switzerland. It seems that you are on the right track. Best wishes, Rex

I had trouble with railsaver.com because I was using the actual arrival date in May 2003 and after I laboriously put in all the steps it gave a run-time error. Finally I put in the data with dates in 2002 and it worked. Their recommendation was to buy a ticket from Pisa to Florence, and then cover the rest of the travel with a six day eurail flexpass three-country companion saver pass, at $322, for a total of $344 (in going back over this, I converted everything into dollars). Buying tickets for everything would cost $159 for the Italian portion and $466 for the Swiss portion, for a total of $625 (I had to estimate the ticket from Boltigen to Stresa as $50; the Swiss web site kept trying to sell me a ticket without giving the price). With a Swiss eight day savings pass at $289 and the Italian tickets at $159, the total would be $448. With a Swiss card at $155 and the Italian tickets at $159, and the half-fare tickets in Switzerland ( $183 and no cost for the entrance or exit legs) the total cost would be $497. What I can't calculate is whether the extra values of the Swiss pass or card (we might decide to take a boat ride, and will certainly want to ride a cable car) are worth the higher cost of these passes. Another question arises from my inexperience. I plan to buy reservations for the trips from Florence to Boltigen and from Boltigen to Vienna. When I go to the train station in Florence, if I have a Swiss pass, can I buy a reservation beyond the border, or shouldn't I worry about that? What most concerns me is the trip from Boltigen to Venice, where we will be taking a high speed train from Milan to Venice, and my sense is that reservations are essential on those trains.

William, very difficult to calculate. There is a mistake in your calculation. The 8-day Swiss Pass costs 340 Sfr., if you are travelling two people together you get a reduction of 15 %, so it is 289 Sfr. = 195 USD for each. The Swiss Pass covers all the railways, buses and boats in Switzerland and gives you a reduction of 25 % for mountain railways (Jungfraujoch) and cable cars, gondolas etc. The Swiss Card offers 50 % for both railways and mountain railways, cable cars etc. The travels from the border to Boltigen and back are free. So let’s calculate: 180 USD for Italy Swiss Pass: 289 Sfr. Brig-Boltigen free Boltigen-Bern round trip free Boltigen-Lucerne round trip free Boltigen-Jungfraujoch round trip (free to Wengen) 100,50 Sfr. Boltigen-Gstaad round trip free Boltigen-Brig free Total: 389,50 Sfr. = 259 USD Swiss Card: 165 Sfr. Brig-Boltigen free Boltigen-Bern round trip 27 Sfr. Boltigen-Lucerne round trip 41,50 Sfr. Boltigen-Jungfraujoch round trip 99,20 Sfr. Boltigen-Gstaad round trip 14,20 Sfr. Boltigen-Brig free Total: 346,90 SFr. = 231 USD You can see that the Swiss Card is a little cheaper. But there are only four days with travelling in the calculation. In case you should do an excursion to Montreux / Lake Geneva, which I highly recommend, the Swiss Pass covers this excursion, but with the Swiss Card you have to pay 50 % of the fare. So the expenses might be the same finally. The Swiss Pass offers another advantage: You can hop on the trains without purchasing tickets (except Jungfraujoch and cable cars). You definitely would need an eight or ten day eurail saver pass for all the travels you mentioned. For Jungfraujoch you have to calculate at least 90 USD with this pass. My recommendation is to purchase the Swiss Pass for eight days and point-to-point tickets (or is there a three-day saver pass from the Italian railways?) for the rest. I am sure you can make reservations in advance if you have a ticket or pass. No personal experience in Italy, though, only in Switzerland and Germany. BTW, Boltigen is beautiful! Great wooden Chalets in the entire valley and fantastic scenery. Ingo

Thanks for correcting my calculations. I agree that the Swiss pass offers the best combination of savings and flexibility. You are the first person, other than my family, that has known of Boltigen. My ancesters emigrated from there many years ago and I am eager to see it.

It's a very good idea to visit the place where your ancestors lived. You will love it. I am assuming you already found this website: www.simmental-diemtigtal.ch Unfortunately it is only in German, but you might have a look at the pictures. May is probably too early in the year for hiking at higher altitudes. Most of the cable cars in the surrounding will be closed, too. Make sure to visit the church in Erlenbach (frescos) and have a look at the beautiful Chalet "Knuttihaus" in Därstetten. I don't know if you already booked accommodation. Although I have not stayed there I think Hotel Restaurant Simmental is worth a recommendation. It is a very old beautiful Chalet. I enjoyed excellent food + wine in their restaurant and I asked them if I could see one of the rooms. They did not mind. I found the room to be rather basic but cosy, with a relatively small but well equipped bathroom. Clean, familiar atmosphere, not outstanding but a good home for a week. Their website is http://www.hmoser.ch/simmental.htm Unfortunately in German only, but the pictures say a lot. Have a great time! Ingo