Book tickets online at the Rail Europe Web site (see the Resources section below). You can also call Rail Europe at (888) 382-RAIL (382-7245). You must purchase railpasses in the United States or Canada before you travel throughout Europe.
Determine your departure and arrival cities in Portugal and Switzerland, along with dates and times of travel.
Make your way to a major Portugal city like Lisbon to personally book travel into Spain or France. From there, book a ticket to your destination in Switzerland.
Plan for a full day or longer to make the trip from Portugal to Switzerland.
Leave time for connections between trains, preferably 30 minutes or more. The trip from Portugal to Switzerland requires more than one train.
Plan to spend the night on a sleeper car for the longest leg of your journey. Tickets for these accommodations require separate booking.
Reserve specific seats or purchase standard tickets. The latter are less expensive, but you may not get a coveted window seat.
Make your way to the Portugal station. Here you can pay to reserve seats or purchase supplements for faster trains. Arrive early, since the lines are often quite long.
Find your train's platform on posted monitors. Look for the train number and corresponding platform number.
Read the destination signs on the sides of the cars to verify the correct train and car before boarding. Some trains include cars heading to separate destinations. These cars split away during the journey, so be sure you're seated in the right car.
Watch for your connecting train stations, since conductors do not always announce arrival cities.
