Hello - My family of four (2 adults, 2 kids under 14) will be in Switzerland in mid-May for 4 days (3 nights). We're arriving from Milan on day 1 and then making our way to Köln on day 4. Was about to purchase the Swiss Flexi-Pass until I saw this sentence in bold on their website description of the Swiss Flexi-Pass: "On the days between the first and the last activated day, your Swiss Flexi Pass offers a 50% discount on train, (postal) bus and boat rides, as well as on most mountain-top excursions." I'm confused as what this means. How does this impact our first and last days of travel - when we're making our way from Milan to Murren or Murren to Köln? Would it be better then to purchase the Swiss Pass instead of the Swiss Flexi Pass?

Is it possible my coffee hasn't kicked in and I'm not reading this right? Ack.

Thank you in advance, Swiss train experts!

You have to save your last unlimited travel day to use for your last journey because when you use up your final unlimited travel day your pass expires - no good anymore.

for lots of stuff on Swiss Passes check out www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com and www.swisstravelsystem.com.

If you are going to be there 4 days then I'd look at the 4-consecutive-day pass - for one thing there I believe is a sale where you get 2 for the price of 1 - only on 4-day consecutive or flexipasses - you must complete travel by the end of May - check sites I give above for details.

Do you know how a Flexi works? If you have a four -day pass that means you can use it for four different days during a SPECIFIED period of time. I know this seems obvious but on any day that you use it you have to "activate" the pass FOR THAT SPECIFIC DAY by putting that day's date in a box on the pass.

The policy means that on the days between the first and last when you don't "activate" it you can still use it to get 50% discounts as I understand it.

I think you'll probably do better with a regular Swisspass (not flexi). And did you know that kids are free?

No two - for- one deal on Swiss Passes this year. Instead, the promotion is buy 4 days, get one free. It is for travel through the end of April.

MKECityMom's inbound and outbound days are fully covered (the portion in Switzerland) with either pass. And either one will cover the mountain lifts ( above Mürren and Wengen) at 50 % or 25% ( Jungfraujoch).

They will definitely want a family Card for free travel for the kids.

Thanks for the feedback. I've been studying the websites and know that kids 6-15 are free w/ family card (which is free cuz the kids are traveling with parents) plus we get a 15% discount with purchase of 2 or more adult passes. Now that I've had my coffee and I've read your comments and website with a clearer head, it appears the main difference between the two passes is that the Swiss Pass is for CONSECUTIVE travels days while the Swiss Flexi-Pass is for NONCONSECUTIVE travel days. Since we'll be traveling on days 1 and 4 days, plus taking lifts and trains on days 2 and 3 to explore the region, it makes sense for us to purchase the Swiss Pass rather than the Swiss Flexi-Pass. (I'm only being so detailed in case someone else is/was as confused as I was!)

Sound right?

Danke sehr!

That is basically it. With the Flex Pass you choose when to use the "covered" days. All other days between first and last are 50% off. We take advantage of that and use a 3-day Flex for longer trips, when we are only raveling on certain days and hiking on others.

For you,mthe 4-day Swiss Pass for consecutive days is probably best.

No two - for- one deal on Swiss Passes this year. Instead, the promotion is buy 4 days, get one free. It is for travel through the end of April.>

Well I am talking of the usual next sale that I have seen on one of the sites I mention - for travel in May - the one they've had gthe past years both in May and mid autumn - slow seasons for tourists in SwitZerland, especially in Alpine climes.

But I could be wrong - one person who will definitely know if there is to be a 2 for 1 4-day pass sales, as they has often been would be Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - I have bought various passes from him for years and he will IME know anything of that sort. And yes a 4-consecutive-day pass sounds best and if there is a 2 for 1 all the better. With the Family Pass you get with the adult passes kids never pay anything - even on conveyances adults normally get a discount on.

Do you know how a Flexi works? If you have a four -day pass that means you can use it for four different days during a SPECIFIED period of time.>

Just to be clear here - there is NO specified period of time - when the last unlimited travel day is used up the pass expires - could be after 4 days with a 4-day flexipass or up to the max time period of one month - there is no specified time period.

Thanks PalenQ. I talked to Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com a couple days ago and he was incredibly helpful about not just our Swiss leg, but also various train times in Italy and Germany. I'll see if he's aware of any upcoming May Swiss Pass special offers. Our trip in Europe begins and ends in May.

As an FYI to other travelers, there are a variety of train pass sales going on right now for spring European train travel (typically for travel ending by May 31st). (e.g. German rail pass special until March 31 for spring travel[ending May 31].

Oh to have the time and money to travel more! As it is, we do this every 5 years when we've amassed enough FF miles for the family. This is our lucky year!

marking for myself!

Let us know what Byron says about the special promotion, because my understanding is the only one to be offered for 2013 is the 4+1 (one extra day free with a 4-day Swiss Pass) which is for travel from 1 February to 30 April 2013, and 1 November to 31 December 2013.

I think they must have decided they don't need to give away free passes (like 2 for 1) for May and October.

We went to Swiss Tourist Ofc (some benefits living 30 miles west of Manhattan) re this question on our trip end of August. With the flexipass you need not use them on consecutive days; on the 'in between' days when you are not using it for a 'real' trip, you can use it to get free buses, and discounts on the very expensive high mtn trains (cog, etc.) We will need 8 days of destinations, so the flexi did not work for us. They max out at 6 days/mo. Rick Steves' book on Switz outlines rail coverages the very best. We will buy our Swiss passes there, no advantage to buy in the States now (for Sept.) They're also the Berne Oberland Regional passes, but if the weather is not great, why go up there?

Let us know what Byron says about the special promotion, because my understanding is the only one to be offered for 2013 is the 4+1 (one extra day free with a 4-day Swiss Pass) which is for travel from 1 February to 30 April 2013, and 1 November to 31 December 2013.>

this extra day offer is valid only on first-class passes, right - not the 2nd class passes most folks buy - that was my understanding at least after looking at a link someone posted recently.

Greetings and here's the scoop. Just talked to Byron (again, he's an amazing resource!) about the Swiss and German passes. I'll post this in the Germany forum as I think it's useful info for travelers to Germany. Brace yourself. It's a long message:

SWISS PASS
The only special right now is for 1st class travel, 4 Day Swiss Pass + 1 extra day free. Travel from February 1 to April 30, 2013 and November 1 to December 31, 2013. LAST year, they offered an amazing buy 1/get 1 free Swiss Pass in the spring. But this is not currently being offered. Byron is only notified of new promotions 24 hours in advance, so he doesn't know if this deal will be offered again.

Because shipping of the pass only takes 2-3 business days, I can safely wait to purchase the Swiss Pass until a couple weeks out from our departure date, giving me time to see if SBB makes another tremendous buy 1/get 1 free deal. If not, our party of 5 (myself, husband, son 13, son 11, and my 74-year old father) will just purchase the 4-day Swiss Pass. This pass covers travel all train travel from the Swiss border. For our train ride from Milan, the Swiss Pass will kick in at the Swiss border and the remainder of that travel leg will be included in our Swiss Pass.

If a super special promotion is offered, Byron recommended purchasing the special promotional Swiss Passes quickly, as they often stop selling them ahead of the advertised "buy until this date" time. They only have so many, and if those tickets at that rate are all sold out, the promotion is over. Byron is not informed of how many tickets they have at that rate, so it's better not to dilly-dally if it's a good deal.

German Pass
Right now there's a special promotion for 5 or 6 day German Passes. It's 20% off. Must be purchased by March 29 for travel until May 31, 2013. We examined point-to-point options, but ultimately concluded that it was cheaper and more flexible (but cheaper was the real attraction here) to purchase the 5-day German pass for us. While we'll only be in Germany for 4 days, we want to do a lot of little train trips on days 2 and 3, plus we'll have a long ride in from Basel, Switzerland to Cologne (at estimated cost of around $161 per person).

The current promotion is 20% off. However, if you are two people traveling together, that constitutes a twin pass, giving you even more savings (I don't recall the % savings). Because we are 5 people travelling, I purchased two twin-passes of the 5-day promotional German Pass. Each of those passes (good for 2 people each) cost $358 2nd class. My 11 yr. old has a 1/2 price adult pass (that includes 20% promo). It was cheaper for my 13 yr. old to be on the adult twin pass than to buy an individual youth pass. The total price for all 5 people: $837. This equates to $167.40 per person. Divided by four days, it's $41.85 per day per person. If we were staying in Germany for 5 days, it would be $33.48 per day. Amazing! This gives us total flexibility to take whatever train we want, at anytime, with no reservations required. It was a no-brainer. Plus, the KD Rhine River boats are included, so we can take the boat down the Rhine River and then the train back to Cologne (where we're staying).

Byron did mention that we may want to make a reservation for a long-leg of our journey (e.g. from Basel, Switzerland to Cologne) if we want to sit together. This costs extra. But this isn't necessary. We won't be kicked off the train, although we may need to hunt around for a free seat or, worse case, stand.

Whew. Hope this is helpful. I repeat: Byron is amazing and well worth the phone call. Even though you pay slightly more by purchasing your tickets through their agency (like, $5 more per ticket), the time he spent with me and detail of info. makes it a bargain.

Oops I added this to your German thread by mistake - meant to put it here:

Thanks for clearing that all up - no 2 for 1 at least of yet but in the past they have sprung it on short notice - perhaps as to boost sales if lagging, etc. Nearly no one buys a first-class pass for Switzerland but I guess a 5-day pass for the price of a 4-day first class I could consider it - there are certain folks who will benefit from first class - those taking some boat rides will find that 1st class lets you on the open-air upper deck - off-limits to 2nd class ticket/pass holders.

And to get the vaunted VIP seats on the Golden Pass train between Montreux and Zweisimmen you need a first class ticket - VIP seats have you sitting in a compartment right next to the driver so you can think you are driving the train.

And some scenic trains may only have domed panoramic cars in first class only or more in first class

The Chocolate Train is first class only.

In all case however with a 2nd class pass you can pay an upgrade on board or when buying the ticket - the difference between 1st and 2nd class pricing - on the Chocolate train that is about $40 or more I believe.

PalenQ, no upgrade will be required for our second class SwissPass to ride the Chocolate Train, it is covered in total. Not sure of your source. We are going early Sept. when it only operates Mon, Wed & Thurs.

Until now, nobody spoke about the highly discounted tickets you can get in the web. A smart2 ticket from Milan to Spiez costs 32 EUR instead of 62 EUR and a super economy ticket from Milan up to the border station of Domodossola costs just 9 EUR instead of 21 EUR
A Europe Special ticket from Interlaken to Cologne costs 49 EUR instead of 145 EUR.
BTW: the Jungfrau railway gives only 25 per cent discount to Swiss Pass holders.