Hi. im planning to visit Switzerland and Germany this december. i have few questions:
1) may i know if the pass include the fare ride Glacier Express?
2) And does the eurail pass travel pass include regional and local train in both country as well?
3) Is it worth it to buy German + Swiss Travel pass OR Eurail travel pass only?
thank you
Glacier Express is not included, you have to pay a reservation for this train. But on the same route there are regular regional trains, albeit with changes, but you don't have to pay anything for them, they don't require a reservation. I traveled this way on this route with regional trains.
In Germany, there is no mandatory reservation on all trains, including ICE. In Switzerland, you can also travel on almost all trains without a reservation. These are two of the most convenient and hassle-free interrail and eurail travel countries.
Glacier Express is not included, you have to pay a reservation for this train. But on the same route there are regular regional trains, albeit with changes, but you don't have to pay anything for them, they don't require a reservation. I traveled this way on this route with regional trains.
This is very important to write it correct, because trains where it is not included, but you get a discount do not need a travel day and have not to be added to the pass.
On the route of the Glacier Express you can avoid the Express and use local trains instead, that do not need a reservation, but you have to change some times the train.
Keep in mind that the SWISS TRAVEL SYSTEM pass included all sorts of public transport in Switzerland like trains, bus, tram and metro. The Eurail One Country Pass Switzerland or Eurail Global Pass include only trains in Switzerland, with a few exceptions.
In your case I would look if a Eurail Global Pass will cost less than two Eurail Passes (one for Switzerland and one the Eurail German Rail Pass Pthis pass includes trains in Germany and to Brussel (Belgium), Salzburg, Innsbruck (Austria), Bolzano, Verona and Venice (Italy)]).
@2: in Swiss MOST=not all of the multitude of regional small trains is included-some only offer discount. The most imptt for most USA are those south of Interlaken-which somehow about anyone seems to want to use-these are NOT included in these pass-only discount, making them still expensive in stead of very expensive. The Swiss travel pass as such cost more but gives much better value. But even on that tipical lines that go steeply up the mountains without any village will cost.
In DE=Germany_this has a multitude of various train operators, though about all long-dist. trains are by DB and run as ICE or IC. (a very few bright green FLIXtrain is excluded=a low-cost operation always late). Nearly all accept passes (again except a very few tipical mountain lines), but NOT the U_bahn=metro/underground in all main cities. S-bahn is.-confusingly in some major cities these also run underground.
Glacier Express is not included, you have to pay a reservation for this train. But on the same route there are regular regional trains, albeit with changes, but you don't have to pay anything for them, they don't require a reservation. I traveled this way on this route with regional trains.
This is very important to write it correct, because trains where it is not included, but you get a discount do not need a travel day and have not to be added to the pass.
On the route of the Glacier Express you can avoid the Express and use local trains instead, that do not need a reservation, but you have to change some times the train.
Keep in mind that the SWISS TRAVEL SYSTEM pass included all sorts of public transport in Switzerland like trains, bus, tram and metro. The Eurail One Country Pass Switzerland or Eurail Global Pass include only trains in Switzerland, with a few exceptions.
In your case I would look if a Eurail Global Pass will cost less than two Eurail Passes (one for Switzerland and one the Eurail German Rail Pass Pthis pass includes trains in Germany and to Brussel (Belgium), Salzburg, Innsbruck (Austria), Bolzano, Verona and Venice (Italy)]).
thanks for the replies. When you mentioned that glacier express reservation cost. may i know how much the reservation cost?
Here is info about the reservation fee for the Glacier Express if you choose the GE trains.
https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/travel-planning/
As
If travelling a long distance with luggage you might want to consider GE to avoid the changes of train on the local services. The local trains are in my opinion just as good for sightseeing as GE. The GE is also worth it if you want a restaurant car meal served at your seat when you travel through the amazing landscapes but you must reserve in advance. It all comes down to your budget. If money is not a problem take the GE and have the full meal! It’s expensive but so is everything is Switzerland!
We recently travelled from Chur to Tirano on part of the route of the Express. We did it using the regional trains (included in our Global Pass) with a change at St. Moritz. It was a fantastic journey but we did it as a continuous journey bar the stop at St Moritz. With hindsight we should have made a day of it and broken the journey at at least one or more stations eg Fillsur to look up at the famous viaduct; the next station (Bergun) that has the railway museum; Morteratsch for a walk up to the toe of the glacier; and/or the Bernina stops with cable car links up the nearby mountains. Also grab yourself seats in the newer carriages that also provide access for wheelchairs as these have the best large windows for sightseeing.
Also grab yourself seats in the newer carriages that also provide access for wheelchairs as these have the best large windows for sightseeing.
Wouldn’t agree with this - if you really wanna fully enjoy the ride, go in the old carriage with windows to open. Then you can take the best photos and also enjoy it the most (IMO).
thank you very much everyone for replying to me kindly!
3) Is it worth it to buy German + Swiss Travel pass OR Eurail travel pass only?
If you have a Eurail pass you don't need a German Rail pass as the Eurail pass includes everything that the German Rail pass includes.
The Swiss Travel pass also includes local transportation and the yellow post buses which takes you where the trains don't go and gives better discount (50% instead of 25%) on the travels in the Jungfrau-region compared to the Eurail pass. With the Swiss Travel pass you also have free entrance to some 100 museums.
What is the guarantee of getting a seat reservation on GE if I book 2 days prior to my journey? TIA.
No guarantee at all, it is usually full weeks in advance.
But you better take hourly regional trains along the same route : they are reservation-free so simply board and find a seat. They do not take longer at all. It is the way to go, the price of the Glacier Express reservation is not worth it.
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