Point to point tickets, bought in-country, seem to be the way to go. Ticket prices are cheap, and it is easy access to buy them. I have totaled up the anticipated costs beforehand, and the actual costs after the trip, and we are never even close to the cost of a Eurail Pass. So I have been thinking, why do people get a pass?
I suppose the convenience of having a pass in your pocket is nice. No waiting in line or trying to figure out the ticket machines. Or maybe it is kind of like people who still use Traveler's Cheques; it's just the way you do it.
At any rate, I was looking at ticket prices for two weeks of travel in Switzerland. Every web site and book I picked up mentioned the Swiss Pass as a great way to save money, so I thought I'd better look into it.
Well, about a half hour of research told me this: an eight day Swiss Rail Pass, at the "saver" rate would cost $362 each ($343CHF). For that you get unlimited train travel, bus, tram and boat travel, free entrance into every Swiss museum, and some lifts (ski lifts) free, others at a 25-50% discount.
Sounds great.
I got on the Swiss Railway (SBB) website and punched in the routes we would travel: Paris to Bern, Bern to Interlaken, the towns around Interlaken, then to Luzern and finally out to the Zurich Airport.
Counting all the "free" train trips, and reduced fares, it would cost me the $362 and I would save a total of $230 in train fare. Even adding 20% for mistakes and a few museums, I would still be losing money buying a pass, verses just paying for the tickets as we go.
I ran across a guy who mentioned, as a side note, that he is in Switzerland quite a bit and always uses a Swiss Half Fare Card.
So, on a whim I googled that and found out a half fare card costs $125 each ($120CHF) and it gives you a 50% discount on everything (bus, train, boat, lifts, urban transportation and so on). If it moves, it is half price.
So I ran back through my numbers and figured out that with the Half Fare Card, it will cost me $120CHF but I will save a total of $227CHF ($113 USD).
So, I guess this year, for the first time, we will travel with a "pass" of sorts; the Swiss Half Fare Card.
My point is this: Don't just go out and get a Eurail pass, just because, well... hey... it's Europe.
Look into it a little. Take some time and gather prices, find out all the options.
Don't be afraid to just go there and buy the tickets as needed.
It is not that hard to read the schedules and buy tickets, but that is a different blog post. But be assured, you can do it.