Which Train Pass for France and Switzerland?
 

I am trying to figure out which train pass to purchase. Do we need the Swiss Saver Pass, the two country Eurail Pass, or just point to point tickets? My family of 5 will be traveling to Europe in May. We fly into Paris and will catch a train to Luzern, Switzerland the same day. While in Luzern we would like to do the Golden Roundtrip to Mt. Pilatus one day, and another day take a train to Interlaken / Jungfraujoch (weather permitting). If the weather does not cooperate that day we will possibly take the train to Gruyere, etc. On our final day in Switzerland, we will return by train to Paris for several days. Approximately 3 of these days we will be taking the train for day trips outside of Paris. We will have 3 adults and 2 youths (under 26). I am looking for the most economical way to do this and am quite confused as to which pass would be our best option. Thank you for any help!

Hi LL,

Enter your itinerary at www.railsaver.com and click "only if it saves money". If it tells you that point to point is cheaper you can believe it.

PtP tickets for your kids depend on their ages - there are family passes as well as the Swiss Saver Pass.

You have to do the numbers.

Enjoy your visit.
((I))

You can buy point to point tickets from Paris to Switzerland and back at www.tgv-europe.com (if you're from the USA, select Canada to avoid being bumped to Rail Europe).

I'm seeing 78 euros fare Paris-Luzern in April on a random date I tried.

For your itinerary eschew any Eurailpass like the two-country France-Switzerland pass and opt for the Swiss Saverpass, which IMO is a no-brainer for you and your plans. For one thing man in seat 61 illustrates how you can buy the France to Switzerland tickets and then in Switzerland use the Swiss Pass (actually try for cheaper fares Paris to Basel or Geneva or Lausanne if available and use the Swiss Pass from those Swiss frontier stations (well Lausanne is not but almost).

Anyway the Swiss Pass passes for a lot more once in Switzerland than does the Eurailpass - for example Swiss Pass will give you 50% off the pricey trip up Mt Pilatus - Eurail don't - and in the Jungfrau Region above Interlaken Eurail gives a 25% discount only on a few trains whilst the Swiss Pass covers you 100% to remote places like Wengen, Lauterbruunen, Murren and Grindelwald and then gives 50% off nearly all cableways to mountain tops, etc.

Anyway for loads of great stuff on Swiss trains and passes and alternatives like the Half-Fare Card, Swiss Transer Ticket and Swiss Card I always spotlight these info-0laden sites: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.sbb.ch - Swiss Federal Railways site to compare regular fares to the pass - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com. The beauty of a pass is also you can hop on zillions of trains without having to go to the ticket window and once in a place like the Jungfrau Region you may well travel more the previsioned - like on a whim on a noice day taking a lake boat ride on either Lake Thun or Lake Brienz - the two idyllic lakes bookending Inter-Laken - covered 100% by a Swiss Pass (and Eurailpasses as well).

If you have a Swiss Pass you are also eligible for a Pass 2 fare for Paris to Switzerland trains - giving you a discount off full fare for having a railpass that covers a portion of the trip, even though in the case of Basel and Geneva the Swiss portion is but a few miles long.