fun4all4

Message: HI!
I am new to this forum so please excuse me if I breach any etiquette.
This summer, my husband and I, along with our 2 sons (11 and 14), will fly into Zurich. We will then go to Wengen for 3 nights where we plan to visit Jungfrau, Schilthorn, Trummelbach Falls and such. We will then head to Milan where we will rent a car for 10 days in Northern Italy. I am having trouble determining the best train pass/tickets for this trip. Should we do a Swiss Saver Flexi Pass with a point-to-point to Milan? A two country pass? We need train from Zurich to Wengen, around Berner Oberland, and then train to Milan. We may also take a train from Verona to Bolzano or Venice.
Thank you for any suggestions or advice you may have!

bobthenavigator

I am not a rail expert, but I doubt if you will need any pass for those legs. The pt. to pt. will likely be cheaper. Have you looked at www.sbb.ch

Edward2005

For just 3 nights in the Alps, I think the best option might be the Half Fare Card. It is valid for 1-month and gets you 1/2 off any Swiss rail, gondola, lift, boat, etc. It costs 99 SF and I believe can only be purchased in Switzerland at any train station or TI. It will practically pay for itself with the discount you get for the Jungfraubahn.

I've done a fair amount of research lately on the various Swiss options since I am also going this summer, but I haven't done it from a family perspective because it's just me on my trip. There may be some family-pass options I don't know about.

Here is one from the official Swiss rail website:

"If you have children be sure to ask for a free Swiss Travel System Family Card. It will entitle your children up to 16 years of age to free travel, as long as minimally one parent is accompanying them. Non-family members between the age of 6 and 16 receive a 50% discount on all Swiss Travel System tickets."

http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reiselust/i...ilienkarte.htm

This Rick Steves page has some good advice on how to figure out the best pass option:

http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/ausswitz.htm

fun4all4

Thanks so much. I will check out the links you provided and work through the options.

Hagan

We did something similar in the fall of 2003, although we came in from Geneva.

We bought Swiss Passes for 4 days, trained from Paris to Geneva and began using the pass there. We continued on to Lauterbrunnen, via Interlaken, and stayed 3 nights. We went took the trains to Grindelwald, Lucerne, Wengen, funicular to Murren, cable back down and then bus to our hotel, all with the passes. We then went to Milan, and just had to pay a small supplement for the Italian portion of the trip on the 4th day.
We also went back and forth on which pass to buy, but we were glad we had the Swiss Pass, as we felt free to go just about anywhere we wanted, and our travel throughout Switzerland was covered. We might have paid a little more, but the convenience was great.

You'll get many different opinions on this, just go with what makes you most comfortable and then don't worry about it!

fun4all4

Thanks! I will compare the options, but if a pass is just a bit more, I think the freedom and ease of a pass would make it my first choice.