I feel like I need an engineering degree to figure out these Swiss Passes. I'm traveling in Switzerland over a period of August 14-19 (4 days of travel, not consecutive). My itinerary is as follows:
*Milan to Bern
*4 days in Bern with side trips to Interlaken and Gruyere and possibly the chocolate train
*Bern to Lucerne - overnight in Lucerne
*William Tell Express from Lucerne to Lugano
*Lugano to Milan.

As best I can tell, it's 4 days of train travel. It's me, my mother and my two kids under the age of 10. I looked at point-to-point prices and it looks like the 4 days Saver Flexi pass is cheaper if it covers all of our routes. Are we eligible for the Family Pass so the kids travel free (even though it's my mom that is the 2nd adult)? We are planning to do the William Tell train so it looks like that is included in the price of the Saver Flexi 4 day pass.
We plan to do a mountain excursion from Interlaken and it looks like we'll get a discount on that. (Do these need to be booked in advance or is it pretty obvious once we arrive in Interlaken?)
Also- Gruyere isn't listed as a stop - any advice on getting there from Bern?

If you haven't already purchased the pass(es) be aware that you can, if you wish, avoid agency processing and shipping fees by buying the pass(es) at most any train station once you arrive in Switerland. The pass(es) themselves aren't any cheaper since agencies such as RailEurope are bound to sell the passes at railroad-determined prices.

The "family pass" option requires ONE parent to accompany the traveling children under the age of 16. That pass comes free of charge..ask for it when you order from the agency, etc.

Assume you know that although the Swiss Pass is good for some routes out of Canton Valais that cross northern Italy on the way back into Canton Ticino, you'll neeed point-to-point supplemental tickets to get you all the way to Milan.

Have a great trip.

Hi, there are better 'is a pass worth it and which one' advisors here than I, so I'll just contribute info re Gruyeres. It's about an hour and a quarter Bern to Fribourg, Fribourg to Bulle, Bulle to Gruyeres. Train, bus, train. But if you want to see Gruyeres, don't be scared off by the changes. Everything is lined up and synchronized. See sbb.ch for the timetable. J.

From what you have listed, it looks like more than four days of train travel, which could throw your calculations off. There are so many varieties of passes that it is difficult to compare them all, but the half fare card is frequently recommended here.

I would be hesitant to commit to one of the mountaintop excursions in advance, because you never know what the weather will be on a given day. We went to Lauterbrunnen one day intent on taking the train to Jungfraujoch, but they had closed circuit TV at the station showing that there was no visibility at the top, so we opted to take the cable car to Schilthorn, which was only partially socked in. This was in May, and perhaps the weather will be more cooperative in August, but the weather at the top of a mountain is always unique.

Just one note - from my understanding, there is a supplemental, mandatory cost for the Tell Express even with the Swiss Pass to cover the meal, which is about 45CHF I think. You can go from Lucerne to Lugano by "regular" train route, rather than the Express, and aviod the charge (and the need for a reservation) - and it's still a beautiful ride. Also, the trip to the Jungfrau, even with the Swiss Pass, is expensive - you're only covered as far as Wengen, and then you have to pay from there.