Need an advice on train pass for Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany!
 

Hello, Fellow travelers!

My family (5 persons) is planning 2 weeks of winter trip in Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany. We need an advice on which train pass is suitable for us. The following is our plan for the trip:

Fly out from Istanbul on 21st of December
DEC 22-25 Rome, Italy (Christmas in Vatican City)
DEC 26-27 Firenze, Italy (Pisa Tower and Cathedral)
DEC 28 - Venice, Italy (Gondola and Art Museum)
DEC 29-30 Lucerne, Switzerland (Alps and Old Town)
DEC 31- JAN 1,2 Paris, France (New Year's Eve and Museums)
JAN 3,4,5 Berlin (World War Memorials and City Center)

As you can see we are in a very tight schedule, we would really appreciate your help and any comments on our trip arrangement.

Sincerely yours,
Jay

I would not necessarily buy ANY pass. You may very well be better off with point-to point tickets purchased as far in advance as possible.

Thanks for your reply! We really appreciate your advice.

We are also considering airways from Paris to Berlin, Venice to Paris. Do you think it is better option than using railways?

Thanks,
Jay

Venice - Paris:
you may choose between planes
http://www.easyjet.com/EN/
http://www.transavia.com/hv/fr-FR/accueil
and night train
https://www.thello.com/?iLangID=3

The train journey from Venice to Lucerne lasts 7 1/2 hrs, that means a full day.

>>>As you can see we are in a very tight schedule,<<<

Too tight. You will be spending a big chunk of your time on travel. You should dump a couple of locations. Two nights somewhere equals one day to sightsee. You cannot see Florence and Pisa in one day unless you are just intending to "walk by" and not actually visit things.

Venice to Lucerne requires taking a train to Milan and then changing to a train to Lucerne. As neckervd pointed out, 7-8 hours which wastes a day of your vacation.You should drop Switzerland and add that time to Venice/Florence. Fly Easy Jet from Venice to Paris Orly.

With so much travel in such a short time, you need to factor in the logistics/complications of checking in and out of hotels, getting to and from hotels to sites, to and from hotels to train stations or airports in each city, with new transport to figure out each time.