youth friend day pass to Milano

Weesoumi71

Will the swiss youth friend day pass apply to the journey from Spiez to Milano? If I bought one pass, my friends and I can just jump onto any train right? But I believe it won’t do as in the case to Milano. I am just wondering when I should pay for the part out of Switzerland. Will there be a station as the last station before leaving Switzerland where I can pay for the remaing part of my journey?

What’s more, after I bought this youth friend day pass, do I need to purchase a ticket or simply make an order with the pass before setting out? The ticket receipt, I believe, will help when I apply for a visa since I should prove that I won’t stay in Switzerland forever.

RolandP

Hello Weesoumi71

You should apply for the Schengen Visa with the country where you will stay the longest period of time; this does not have to be the country where you will arrive first. Once you have entered the Schengen territory, you are free to travel in all Schengen countries.

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en

Kind regards,
Roland

Jimmy Deesh L

the youth friend pass is valid as far as Domodossola. So you need a ticket to Milan.

Now it depends a little on how exactly you want to travel to Milan. There are 2 routes, one with the EC and one with the regional train.(RE)

Reservations are compulsory on the EC and you must have a reserved seat from Domodossola at the latest. You can buy this via sbb.ch. Of course you can board the EC in Spiez and travel just your seats while only be reserved starting from Domodossola . The cost here is around 25 francs per person.

With the Regio you have to change trains in Domodossola and need to have a valid ticket from there. You can also buy this via sbb.ch. The cost here is around 11 francs

The purchase is only possible via sbb.ch and not on the app

Weesoumi71

Jimmy Deesh L Hi thanks for your reply!
As you have mentioned, there are two routes from Domodossola to Milano, but I have to first travel to Domodossola right? If the first journey delayed or cancelled, then there would be possiblities that I fail to catch the second train. So I prefer a direct journey.
If I have to take 2 journeys, however, I found no tickets from Spiez or Interlaken to Domodossola. Actully I just intended to travel to Milano somewhere nearby Interlaken, no matter what the departure station is.
Let’s still take the Spiez - Milano trip as an example - with a youth friend day pass can I just jump on the train? Am I able to pay for the journey after Domodossola at the station or on the train(despite the fact that the train won’t stop at Domodossola)?

Krist

The pass can be used on all public transport in Switzerland. It is your ticket. You do not need to do anything except have it on you, and show it when requested.

But it is not valid outside of Switzerland, so when travelling from Spiez to Milano you will need to buy a ticket from Domodossola to Milano. That you can do online, or at any station in Switzerland.

However if all you are doing is travelling Spiez - Milano then I would not buy a pass for that. Just buy a ticket Spiez - Milano. Bought in advance you can get a good discount. But I also would not buy non refundable tickets or passes without having the visa already. I doubt that buying a ticket that is essentially intended for locals will have impact on your visa application.

Weesoumi71

Krist Thank you for your reply! But why did you say the Spiez - Milano ticket is essentially intended for locals? As a tourist, can I buy this ticket? BTW I have checked the official website the Spiez - Milano ticket in April is now 44 pounds, is that a good price? If I buy a youth day pass and we are a group of 3, then it would be cheaper to buy a pass, none to mention we may have other travels that day.

Jimmy Deesh L

Weesoumi71 So if we are talking about direct trains which are in this case the EC. There you need to have the ticket before departure since you need a seat reservation. There is no way to buy a ticket at Domodossola or on the train.

Weesoumi71

Jimmy Deesh L Ok got it. “Of course you can board the EC in Spiez and travel just your seats while only be reserved starting from Domodossola .” Does this mean that with a youth friend day pass, and 4 tickets with seat reservation from Domodossola to Milano, all 4 of us can just jump on a direct EC train from Spiez to Milano, and all being fine? How could I recognize the train is EC or not? Is there any other condition worth attention? Thank you for your patience and time! It really means a lot to me.

Jimmy Deesh L

If you have a Ticket from Domodossola -Milano you can board the train at Spiez and travel to Milano without any issues.Just make sure you take your seat at the latest when departing Domodossola.Be aware that the ticket is only valid on the booked train.

You can find the connection in the timetable on sbb.ch or the SBB app. The trains are marked as EC.

There are only 3 direct connections from Spiez per day. They leave Spiez at 08:05, 14:05 and 19:05. For arriving times you can ad 2 hours 30 to the departure time.

Weesoumi71

Jimmy Deesh L Thank you so much! I am 100% clear about what tickets and pass I should purchase. If I wish to take the 19:05-21:40 train from Spiez to Milano, then I should buy the 20:17-21:40 EC ticket Domodossola-Milano at 25CHF!
However, I have never travelled across the borderline by train so I am a little bit curious about when will I be checked passport and given an entry stamp? Will it be on the boarding in Spiez or Domodossola?

Jimmy Deesh L

Generally speaking, Switzerland is within Schengen. Within Schengen people can travel “without borders” meaning there is not always a passport control at the border. Like if you go to the US. However the border patrol can and are doing random checks on trains or at train station.

I however can not answer if you are allowed to travel or not. In general if you are an Citizen in a Schengen or you have a Schengen visa you should be good. No guarantee. If you wanna be sure pls check with your local embassy

Weesoumi71

Jimmy Deesh L Thank you so much for all your answers. Good night!