Alright awesome, that was my next question. How much of a difference in terms of 1st class vs. 2nd class.

Is it more about the comfort/amount of room? Or is it more for the better views? Because if it's the latter, we will certainly spend a little more for the 1st class tickets.

better views? Well obviously no but the chances of snagging a window seat would be much easier and with often lots of empty seats in 1st IME you can easily hop from side to side as the scenery dictates.

And on some scenic trains first class is more likely to have ballyhooed glass-domed observation cars.

But to me the main advantage of first class is being able to hop on and being able to have empty seats - 2nd class can always be quite full.

I'm one of those who finds 2nd class perfectly adequate. Switzerland is expensive enough as it is. In all our trips to Switzerland we've always travelled in 2nd class and have never had an issue getting a seat and we always manage to find luggage space too.

The Swiss Travel Pass is indeed a wonderful thing, although on our past few visits we've found the Half Fare Card better value. It's easy to use - there are automatic ticket machines at even the most remote train station and when boarding a bus you just tell the driver you have a 1/2 fare card and he/she works out the fare you owe. Pretty painless.

First class is most useful for boats and heavy ridership routes between cities. There is no first class on some local lines (pretty much all the high mountain lines). We opted for first class on our 15 day pass and didn't regret it. But, if you are real budget conscious, there's nothing wrong with 2nd class.

In Switzerland, the difference between classes, though significant as always IMO, is much less than that in many countries - Melanq8 is a very reliable source IME and if she says she has never had any problems finding seats in 2nd class take it as fact.

The beauty of a pass to me in Switzerland is that you can, with few exceptions of tourist-oriented scenic trains like Glacier Express, just show up at station and hop on and find seats- in many countries much easier in 1st cl IMO - unfortunately that benefit of a pass in more and more countries is being negated by mandatory seat reservations before boarding but in Switzerland just hop on.

Half-Fare Card is great if you know exactly what you will be doing and then you can do the maths and see which is best (but still if 1/2 Fare Card is not much cheaper all in all than pass go for the pass-I always do more than I envision- like when foul weather sets in in Apine areas like Interlaken region - can then easily day trip to say Bern or even Lucerne without worrying about cost -even 1/2 off can be pricey.

And even though getting 1/2 fare tickets for trains is easy as Melanq8 says and not time consuming it is still nice to just head to the train - which maybe is leaving shortly after you arrive at station.

And flexipasses are cheaper than consecutive-day passes and are valid for up to a month - thus a 3-day/1 month Swiss Flexipass plus Half-Fare Card could be much cheaper all in all (even to OP) than a consecutive-day pass -especially for folks who will only take 3 longer train trips. And then you get into things like the Swiss Card which gives a ticket from any airport or border station to any place in Switzerland and back to any border station or airport - and in between gives 50% off just like a Half-Fare Card - folks buying Half-Fare Cards should always investigate a Swiss Card along with it -especially for folks going to one place and not traveling around.

I also thought 2nd class fine.

Also, should we rent a car or use the rail system?>

One thing for SURE for Alpine areas you are going to the train is best - cars not even allowed into Zermatt and much of Jungfrau Region - Wengen for example cannot be reached by private vehicle.

definitely the trains. [and boats and trams and buses and funiculi, and cable cars - we used them all].

If under 26 you can get a discounted Swiss Travel Youth Pass (like annhig says good on boats, city trams and buses, trains and gives 50% off on most cableways) - check it out!

I also thought 2nd class fine.>

Most folks do - does not mean 1st class ain't even finer but again in Switzerland the difference between classes ain't as great as is many countries - and especially on local trains like those in Alpine areas.

I also thought 2nd class fine.>

kja is another Fodorite I put a lot of faith in for such observations!

@ PalenQ: :-)