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Requesting information on Paris - Interlaken - Rome Train travel

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Requesting information on Paris - Interlaken - Rome Train travel

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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 03:58 AM
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Requesting information on Paris - Interlaken - Rome Train travel

Hello Friends, I’m travelling solo this November and Paris will be my base. I’ll visit Paris for a few days and then return to the same city at the end to catch my flight back home.



Now, I’m planning to travel to Interlaken to visit Jungfraujoch and the nearby villages and then proceed to Rome for another few days. I have a total of 3 weeks and I believe visiting the aforementioned three places would be easy [earlier I thought I could go to some other city too, like Munich/Barcelona for example].



I understand the below is possible but does this plan sound good, or could you please suggest a better idea as this is my first time visiting Europe?
  • Take train from Paris to Basel [using 4 days global flxe Eurail pass] and then take local train to Interlaken.
  • Purchase single day pass to Jungfraujoch [expensive but I’m not buying Swisspass as I’m just spending 4 days in the country with not many visits to mountain tops or intercity travel].
  • Take a local train to a nearby city like Bern/Spiez and change over to a fast train to Rome. Can I reach Rome in a day if I take early trains from these places?
  • Return to Paris from Rome and if I have any spare days, detour via another country, or just go straight to Paris. Are there any direct trains or few changeovers?
So based on the above plan, would you recommend buying Eurail global flexi pass [4/5 days]? I checked the direct train tickets via Omio or Trainline website but they seem to be close or dearer than the Eurail pass. Am I missing something here to find cheaper tickets?



Thanks in advance.
sudhaeci is offline  
Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 07:21 AM
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Biggest efficiency would be to fly home from Rome using a multi-city ticket. It would save a lot of time and maybe even money.
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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 08:00 AM
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To see the OP's original questions (and so we don't reinvent the wheel) here is a link to the earlier thread. First time travelling to Europe, requesting suggestions
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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 08:04 AM
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Ask the mods to combine your threads - helps to keep things in one thread when you're working the same itinerary.

Check out this very helpful website on European train: https://www.seat61.com/ I believe he discusses passes, too.
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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 08:10 AM
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Have you noticed how long the train rides are??? Paris to Interlaken is 5.5 to 6 hours, Interlaken to Rome is 6.5 to 7 hours, Rome to Paris is 10 to 10.5 hours. Each journey involves a connection or two or three.

It's your trip, but IMO Rome doesn't make sense if you can't or won't fly home from Rome. To reduce one long transit, you could fly Paris-Rome and work your way back to Paris, but that might put you in Switzerland rather late in November. Not an ideal time to visit.

https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/swi...climate_text_1

Buying train tickets... you might want to study this website:

https://www.seat61.com/european-trai...ets-online.htm
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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Travel_Nerd
Ask the mods to combine your threads - helps to keep things in one thread when you're working the same itinerary.

Check out this very helpful website on European train: https://www.seat61.com/ I believe he discusses passes, too.
IMO combining the threads could get confusing since the first one was asking about multiple options all over Europe and this one is focusing on a specific itinerary. On long, meandering threads like that some tend to respond to the OP and don't notice the topic has changed..
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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by janisj
IMO combining the threads could get confusing since the first one was asking about multiple options all over Europe and this one is focusing on a specific itinerary. On long, meandering threads like that some tend to respond to the OP and don't notice the topic has changed..
I see your point, but also find it confusing when both threads get responded to at the same time. The older thread will still be on the front page for a while...
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Old Sep 7th, 2023 | 03:07 PM
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I don't know anything about the Eurail Global Pass, but I just skimmed the website to see what is covered and this caught my eye:
  • The pass covers travel on premium panoramic trains in Switzerland
  • Pass holders get 25% off most mountain excursions in Switzerland
  • Pass holders also get a 25% discount on the Berner Oberland Railway

This might help as well if you've not already seen it:

https://www.myswissalps.com/eurailglobalpass/validity

Keep in mind the Jungfrau is weather dependent. I wouldn't buy a ticket until you know what the weather will be like. Schilthorn is a good, and less expensive alternative.

Agree that November isn't the best time to visit Switzerland. Prepare for lots of closed hotels, restaurants and cable cars, etc due to between season maintenance.

Last edited by Melnq8; Sep 7th, 2023 at 03:10 PM.
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Old Sep 8th, 2023 | 12:36 AM
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Thanks for the details mate and that web link. I understand whenever I use EUrail pass, a day is deducted from the total number of travel days allowed. So if I use that pass for a 25% off for a mountain ride, is that counted towards a day? Or if I take any of the free trains using that EUrail global pass, will that deduct again?

Thanks.
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Old Sep 8th, 2023 | 06:23 AM
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Can't help with that sudhaeci, as I've only used a Eurail Pass once and that was about 100 years ago. It stands to reason though, that yes, any day used is a day used.

Having said that, taking mountain excursions is why people visit Switzerland, so perhaps you might consider a longer pass?

Last edited by Melnq8; Sep 8th, 2023 at 06:26 AM.
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Old Sep 14th, 2023 | 06:31 AM
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A train trip from Paris to Jungfraujoch and from there to Rome is perfectly possible all the year round, at least until next summer, when the railway line Domodossola - Milan will be closed for works.
But be aware that in November, you will have a 50 per cent chance to sea nothing but fog and rain (snowfall in higher areas) in the Jungfrau region.
The Eurailpas is not valid on mountain railways in the Jungfrau area. Except the Kleine Scheidegg - Jungfrau railway, all of them will be closed anyway until the beginning of the winter season.
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Old Sep 14th, 2023 | 05:13 PM
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Thanks everyone for your kind reply. I've gone with the EUrail global 5 days in a month pass. I'll share how I went with the trip here once I complete the journey.
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