The closest airport is Berne, but that’s a small airport without direct service to Barcelona. You would be better off taking train to BSL or GVA for Easyjet to BCN.

O.k. a quick update after I posted the sentence above. Bern-Belp Airport actually does have nonstop service to Barcelona, but only 3 days per week, with some as cheap as 95 CHF one-way. https://www.skywork-…

Thanks Don! The info was really helpful.

Just a quick question:
Other then DB Bahn, is there any other site you know of that has information about trains that go to Berne or the other two cities?

http://www.sbb.ch/
is excellent for routing in Switzerland. They even include boats, buses, cable cars, and short walks. You can switch it to English on the flash page.

Yep, and there’s a full list for national rail sites across Europe pinned to the top of this forum.

If you have not looked at Swiss rail prices before, just be prepared for some sticker-shock. Depending on much rail travel you will need, it could be worth it to buy one of the half-price cards.

Thanks clevelandbrown and Don.

I will be traveling by train from Venice to Munich, then Munich to Gimmelwald, and after that Gimmelwald to Berne to catch the plane to Barcelona. Is that worth buying the half-price card? Does the half-price card only apply to Switzerland or various countries?

Swiss Rail sell a half-price card for travel within Switzerland. Last time I was there it was 99CHF and not worth it for basically a trip from Zurich to Gimmelwald, and back out. If I had planned to do another segment — or more — by rail, then it might have been worth it.

I shopped it extensively 2 summers ago, and the best break I found was by starting travel outside of Switzerland, and/or buying it if DB showed a special fare on the route. So in your case, it might not be as bad if you book originating in Munich from Bahn.de.

This seems like the type of trip the Swiss transfer ticket is designed for, but I think it will be more expensive than Don’s suggestion. http://www.railpass….

I think the transfer ticket is good for a round trip from your entrance point to your destination, and back, but not for a second leg that goes to a different exit point.

There seem to be thousands of rail passes offered for use in Switzerland, but you have to be an expert on their transportation system just to understand what the various passes cover. My feeling is that the cost, in terms of planning time, of getting a pass is not worth what a pass will save you. The exception, to me, is the Swiss half fare card: 99 CHF for a thirty day card; 150 CHF for a one year card (and I think they have two and three year cards also), but you have to be a pretty heavy user to make the card worth it. We have one-year cards which saved us hundreds of CHF, but we were concentrating on Switzerland and made three visits within a year totaling about 10 weeks.

For this poster, I don’t think of a Swiss rail pass that would be worth it. That’s not to say that a multi-country pass covering the rest of your trip and Switzerland would not be worth it; I don’t know enough about those passes to offer advice.

Don, oldlady and cleveland thanks to you all for the help and various alternatives suggested.

We will be traveling through Europe for a month. We have also thought of the possibility of maybe acquiring a 3 country euro rail pass since we will be traveling through Italy, Germany and Switzerland by train. According to eurail, a 3 day pass costs $299. I’m not sure if it will be worth it though. We will be traveling from Rome to Vernazza, Vernazza to Venice, Venice to Munich, Munich to Gimmelwald. From Gimmelwald we want to go Barcelona and as Don suggested we will probably be taking the train to Bern from Gimmelwald in order to fly to Barcelona.

I haven’t looked at individual prices of train tickets from one city to another. I tried to look at the italian rail site to check the schedules but I don’t think they are up yet. So far I have no idea how much it’s going to cost each individual ticket hence I can’t compare to know if it’s worth buying the pass.

Does anyone know if it comes out cheaper to travel by train to those cities with the 3 day pass?

If you aren’t willing/able to buy special fare tickets for exact dates and times several weeks in advance some kind of pass will probably save money. Venice to Munich (standard fare 98 euros, including seat reservation = $ 133) and Munich to Gimmelwald – (roughly $190), so the pass would save you a little money on these two trips and give you a third trip “free.” There’s a 43 euro special available on the Venice to Munich overnight train for as low as 53 euros ($72) for a seat or 68 euros for a berth in a 6 couchette if you book before it sells out for your date. Bahn.de shows specials as low as 43 euros, but I think there’s a 10 euro surcharge for the Italian part of the trip. I had to find the pricing for Munich to Gimmelwald for the reverse trip on the Swiss rail website and did not see any specials.

You realize Munich to Gimmelwald is about 9 hours with 4 or 5 connections (usually including at least one bus) and no direct overnight train…..