swiss rail pass
 

2 persons will arrive in Zurich, Bern, Lugano and Geneva in Oct. '11 for 2 wk. trip.
Can't see advantages to the Swiss Pass, I believe it is cheaper to just pay as we go.
Came up with under $300 for both of us. 2nd class will run about $700 for Swiss Pass.
Would appreciate any insight to set me on the right road. Thanks

Suggest you take a look at the Half Fare Card.

seat61.com

great info on this for you

I never save on pass point to point regional train

always best for me...

Always just buy at station and hop on...

U have correctly deduced that rail pass for me

is the second biggest scam in europe after moneychangers

Thanks for your help. I will wait until we arrive in Zurich and probably buy half fare.

Here are the prices for the various Swiss passes. You will have to crunch the numbers to see if it pays to buy one.
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/c...ickets/prices/

I have found the Half Fare Card (at 110 CHF) to be the most economical for my past two trips, but I have also used the SwissSaver Flexipass in the past ("spending" the covered days on expensive trips, and paying point-to-point on cheaper trips).

It is not cheaper to pay as you go if you are taking daily excursions and using the Half Fare Card.

Which pass you use (or not using a pass at all) depends on how much train travel you intend on doing. No one here can really help you because we DO NOT KNOW your intin.

You have to go to www.sbb.ch and plug in your daily train routes using half fare card pricing to see if you come out ahead or not.

Not to sound like an evil shrew but many who post here ask vague questions that are IMPOSSIBLE to answer.

Pippy-tschuss

marking for later comment

In many ways IMO a 15-consecutive-day Swiss Saverpass may be a good deal for you - would cover virtually everything that moves and you ride from get there to get go - never having to go wait in lines at ticket windows but just hopping on any train anytime.
For conveyances to mountain tops the pass gives typically 50% off just like the Half-Fare Card.)

The pass also gives free entry to over 400 Swiss Museums, like in places like Bern and Lugano which have famous museums - OP has some fairly long rail rides between bases.

Check out these sites for great info on Swiss trains, passes, lake boats, specialty scenic trains, etc - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.sbb.ch - official site of Swiss Federal Railways to check regular fares to compare to pass or half-fare card (actually for your plans IMO the Swiss Card may be a better deal than the Half-Fare Card - giving the exact same benefits but covering 100% trains from any Swiss border station or airport to anyplace in Switzerland and then from any place in Switzerland to any airport or border point); www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Swiss Passes have typically been significantly cheaper if bought in North America than for the exact same pass in Switzerland much of the last several years but this is not always the case so check prices both in dollars bought at home and those in CHF or Swiss francs bought there - and if your credit card charges 3% for foreign transactions as many do factor that in as well.

And a thing I have found about a pass is that you may well travel more once in a base than previsioned - like it you are up in some cozy Alpine village in the Jungfrau Region and rain sets in as is not unusual at any time of year, then you may want to day trip to nearby places like Lucerne or other cities that can better be enjoyed in foul weather.

Here are the prices for the various Swiss passes. You will have to crunch the numbers to see if it pays to buy one.
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/c...ickets/prices/

Well be SURE to check prices for Swiss Passes in dollars at home as well as they are often significantly cheaper than the same pass in Switzerland - so do not compare only pass prices in Swiss francs to regular fares - check on pass prices in dollars as well - and yes add 3% if your credit card tacks that on as many do for foreign purchases.

Thanks to you all for the info. We plan to use train just on the days we relocate from city to city. Not planning to go up many mountains - maybe one. We have no set itinerary.
Just looked at a guided trip for 10 days @ $3k per person.
Most of the time was spent on a train looking at mountains.
Poor value for the money.
Have circled the perimeter of Switzerland for years and now plan to have fun investigating. We are seasoned travelers i.e. old.

ympepe - you can then easily figure out what is best for you - Swiss Card (at times a better value for Half-Fare Card and provides also 50% off everything), Swiss Pass, Swiss Transfer Ticket or just regular tickets or regional passes like the Jungfraubahn Pass, etc.

U have correctly deduced that rail pass for me

is the second biggest scam in europe after moneychangers>

'The Swiss Pass is the 2nd biggest scam in Europe" - well for anyone to say this just means they are talking a bunch of nonsense - the Swiss Pass may not be the best deal for everyone but it certainly can be for many - I mean to say that is just so much garbage and it is incredulous that someone could come up with that - simply not looking at facts or reason.

Have returned from 14 day trip that covered Zurich, Lucerne, Bern, Lugano, Montreux, Lausanne, Gruyere, Geneva.
Bought the 1/2 price card for $110/person.
We spent $650 total for 2 persons.
The cleanliness of the country along the RR tracks was impressive.
Same as Japan, where there are no trash barrels. Citizens are trained to dispose of their own rubbish. What a novel concept!

Curious did the $650 total spend on train travel include the $110 cost of the Half Fare Card?

PalenQ - Yes it did.

I might also add that the cost of dining is quite expensive so we took Rick Steeves advice and ate almost all meals at Manor Dept. stores. They have takeout and a very large restaurant buffet in each store in the larger cities. Two of us were eating for $20 and not feeling hungry.
We would buy takeout for breakfast and our rooms had coffee makers, so lunch would be at Manor or Coop (same food setup.
Coop has a wonderful rooftop restaurant in Lugano and a smaller menu, but just as delicious. This is how the natives eat. Pizza is $20 and Coke is $5-$6. McDonalds Fish Sandwich is $9. Did not buy any of this.
However, the 5 meals in restaurants were excellent.

>I might also add that the cost of dining is quite expensive so we took Rick Steeves advice and ate almost all meals at Manor Dept. stores.<

Well, Rick Steeves stole that advice from those of us who have been going to Switzerland for years.

Fodorites have been advocating buying food at Coop or dining at the department stores in Switzerland long before Rick Steeves came along.

You can learn a lot more here from us Fodorites and you don't have to buy some lousy travel guide.

And it looks like you changed your tune about travel passes after getting advice here.


Thin, who can skate circles around Rick Steeves

PS If you paid in American dollars, you paid more than $110 for your half-fare card. I was in Switzerland a few weeks ago and I paid something like $136 for my half-fare card.

Thin

"Coop has a wonderful rooftop restaurant in Lugano and a smaller menu, but just as delicious. This is how the natives eat."

That's not really true. People in Switzerland don't eat at Coop or Manor all the time, think how monotonous it would be. In Lugano, for not much more than a Manor/Coop meal, you can have a wonderful lunch with lovely local wines at a (dog-friendly) wine bar, with a vibe and service Manor/Coop could never hope to match.