Need help deciphering benefits of Swiss train pass vs German 25% off...
 

Hi all,
We are traveling from Berlin to Hildesheim, Germany, to Lucerne Switzerland, to Montreux, Switzerland, to Barcelona. Clearly making stops and visits in each place, from Sept 22 thru Oct 4.
I've been researching train fares on both the German barn.de card system, as well as the Swiss sbb system. Can anyone shed some light for me on the similarities and differences between these two card systems? I guess I need a primer!
Many thanks!
G

You are probably looking at the "Bahn Card" in Germany, not a rail pass. Neither one is what you want for Berlin - Hildesheim - Lucerne.

What you CAN do is shop for Savings Fares. These tickets require no special "card" for discounts. Anyone can buy them online. You get the good price by locking in trains for the date and at the time that you select. Buy ASAP since prices will rise as tickets sell - but be sure you can commit. Refunds will cost you, and could be difficult.

At the DB itinerary search page, enter the From/To cities, the number of passengers, and travel date/time for journey. A number of itineraries will pop up. Then look under the "savings fare" column for the price.

For the sample date of 9/25, I found a savings fare price of €48 for two adults for Berlin - Hildesheim. For the sample date of 9/27, I found a savings fare of €78/2 for morning departures on the nearly 7-hour trip from Hildesheim - Lucerne.

Here's the page: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

I can't help you with the Swiss Railways site for the other 2 journeys; I do know they offer supersaver fares within a couple of weeks of departure. They've saved me some Euros in an expensive country.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-an...r-tickets.html

Passes are rarely beneficial financially for those over youth fares. As mentioned, if wanting price benefits, advanced purchase works best. can't help directly on this, but there are travel websites with Train Travel forums, or review seat61 dot com. He is the man for Europe train information.

A Swiss Travel Pass will be of no benefit if you trabvel only from Lucerne to Interlaken - Gstaad - Montreux - Geneva. Things would change if you intend to do some day trips into the Swiss mountains or if you travel with kids.

Hildesheim, Germany, to Lucerne Switzerland, to Montreux, Switzerland>

ditto to neckervd's take -no to Swiss Pass unless doing a lot more than that. Just regular tickets - discounted from www.sbb.ch if available. but if stopping some days in Lucerne and Montreux then yes the Swiss Pass may be a good deal, depending on what you will do transport-wise there - boat trips are covered by Swiss Pass and are a joy on either Lake Lucerne or Lake Geneva as are mountain train excursions from either.

You can take the official Golden Pass scenic train with vaunted panoramic/observation cars from Lucerne to Interlaken to Montreux or regular trains -with pass both 100% covered.

See www,sbb.ch for ordinary fares to compare-for trains at least -boats can be pricey if very long.

And the Switzerland-Germany Railpass is also out of the question for what you are doing. For lots of info on German and Swiss trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

A BahnCard is a German rail pass mostly bought by residents, which allows for a discount on any tickets bought. You can buy an introductory BahnCard as a foreigner although the assumption on the part of Deutsche Bahn is that you will keep buying the BahnCard every year after that, and it costs a lot more than the introductory one (which is obviously only able to be bought once). It is not usually worth purchasing a BahnCard unless you plan to travel a lot by train, and is often bought by people who commute between cities. You would have to do the maths yourself to see if a BahnCard was worth it. I have bought one in the past and there was a very narrow margin of discount (I did a lot of rail travel that trip). However I didn't keep subscribing (I think they wanted bank account details and I wouldn't have used it in the following 12 months).

Often there are special tickets that can net you a good discount anyway (such as the Quer-durchs-Land ticket for regional trains), and you might see if any of these are up your alley:

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/...-ANGEBOTE_LZ01

On your trip to Hildesheim: have you got accommodation there yet? We stayed in the Van der Valk Hotel on the main square. Wonderful, wonderful hotel; if you can find it for a good price, do it!

Lavandula

Regional trains however are slower and not nearly as comfy as ICE trains for long distances - must change more - good for short trips but not long ones - do the discounted ticket route thru bahn.de/en and book as early as possible. This limits you to a specific train on a specfic time and date and non-changeable but a lot more than full-fare.