[lhm17]

20 December 2010 at 11:05:28 #804634

Hello,
We are a party of four adults who will be visiting Switzerland to and from Paris in 2011. After reading about the various Swiss passes and cards, we are still unsure about which one to buy for our trip. Can someone here please help us to decide based on our itinerary below? Thanks in advance.

Day 1(30 May) – Paris to Berne(via Basel); overnight in Berne
Day 2(31 May) – Berne to Zermatt; side trip to Gornergrat; overnight in Zermatt
Day 3(1 Jun) – Zermatt to Lauterbrunnen; we will get off at Interlaken for a short visit before taking the train again to Lauterbrunnen; possible side trip to Jungfraujoch(undecided due to high cost); overnight in Lauterbrunnen
Day 4(2 Jun) – Lauterbrunnen to Lucerne; side trip to Mt Titlis; overnight in Lucerne
Day 5(3 Jun) – Lucerne to Colmar(via Basel); overnight in Colmar

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[Annika]

21 December 2010 at 4:35:13 #833988

Hi lhm17, and welcome to the forum! According to my calculations, a Swiss Half Fare Card is the cheapest option, whether you decide to include the trip to the Jungfraujoch or not. It costs only CHF 99.00 and allows you to make all your trips with a 50% discount.

If you decide not to get up to the Jungfraujoch, the price difference between a Swiss Half Fare Card and a 4 day Swiss Saver Pass is quite small. A 4 day Swiss Saver Pass wouldn’t cover your last and least expensive trip from Lucerne to Basel, but it would allow you to travel for free on regular trains, without the need to purchase tickets for each trip, during the first 4 days of your stay. A 50% discount applies to the Gornergrat. The total costs for this solution would be CHF 290.00, whereas the total costs with a Swiss Half Fare Card in this case would be CHF 273.20.

I hope this helps you out!

[lhm17]

23 December 2010 at 3:00:53 #833989

Hi Arno,
Thank you for your reply. Apparently, we can buy the Swiss Saver Pass at a cheaper price in our country via a travel agency, so i guess getting the said pass is a forgone conclusion. One more thing, i read from somewhere that the Swiss Saver Pass is valid on urban transportation in Swiss cities but it is NOT VALID on the electrobuses in Zermatt. Is this true? Aren’t the electrobuses part of the urban transportation in Zermatt which i understood to be car-free? Thanks again for your reply.

[Annika]

27 December 2010 at 4:59:32 #833990

Hi again. The Swiss Saver Pass indeed offers free urban transportation, but only in some major towns and cities, and Zermatt is not included. So you will have to pay for urban transportation in Zermatt. The towns in which free transportation is offered, are indicated by a red/white circle with a red dot on the map we link to at the Swiss Pass page. I hope this clears things up!

[Removed user]

9 January 2011 at 17:24:01 #833991

Hi my wife and I will be visiting Switzerland again in January from 17th to 1 Feb.In the past we have hired a car but have decided to use the railway instead as the car sometimes stands for days unused.We have purchased 2 Swiss cards and hope we have chosen the right option.We are staying as usual in Lautersrunnen for the 15 days and require help in purchasing the correct passes to go on the Swiss mountain trains and the cable cars from Lauterbunnen.As we are there for 15 days is it possible to purchase tickets for them both for 10 or 12 days which will enable us to travel at any time between 18 Jan and 31st or must the tickets be used on consecutive days.

[Annika]

10 January 2011 at 13:06:02 #833992

Hello hazmel, and welcome! Your Swiss Card will grant a 50% or 25% discount on many mountain railways and cable cars in the Lauterbrunnen area, so this may suffice. Please take a look at the map linked to on the Swiss Card page, which gives an exact overview of the Swiss Card’s validity in this region.

If you plan to travel very intensively on some days, you could supplement your Swiss Card with either a Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland or a Jungfrau Railways Pass. The Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland is valid during either 7 or 15 days, and contains either 3 or 5 days of free travelling within the Bernese Oberland on days which don’t have to be consecutive. On the remaining days, a 50% discount applies (but your Swiss Card provides comparable discounts). The Jungfrau Railways Pass allows 6 consecutive days of free travel within the Jungfrau region.

I doubt whether purchasing one of these passes is more economical than simply using the discounts your Swiss Card offers. Only if some long and expensive journeys will be made, this might be the case. Exact calculations, based on a detailed list of your travel plans, would have to be made to figure this out.

[Removed user]

3 May 2011 at 0:32:28 #833993

Hello,

We are a couple travelling to Switzerland from US for 4 days in June 2011. Can someone here please help us to decide which pass to buy (Swiss Pass or Half Fare card) based on our itinerary below? Thanks in advance.
Day 1 – Zurich to Bern (round trip)
Day 2 – Bern to Lausanne (round trip)
Day 3 – Bern to Interlaken (round trip), Lauterbrunnen; ; possible side trip to Jungfraujoch
Day 4 – Bern to Lucern (round trip)
Thanks

[Arno]

3 May 2011 at 8:41:21 #833994

Hi pkohli, welcome to this forum!

This FAQ explains how to select the most economical pass. A 4-day Swiss Saver Pass would be your best option. It would cost you less than half the amount regular tickets would cost.

[Removed user]

25 June 2011 at 19:01:41 #833995

Hello there

I’m in need of a huge help. I’m a medical student currently studying in Moscow. I’ve booked for a short vacation to Switzerland in 2 weeks time and I am having a huge difficulty deciding between the “Swiss Youth Pass” and the “Half Fare Card”. I spent an entire day checking the prices according to a rough itinerary but failed miserably, due to the unclear fares ( for both cable cars & train rides) in the Bernese Alps. The following is my rough travel plan:

a) Geneva-Lausanne ( i noticed it cheaper traveling from the town instead of a direct train from the airport; as i have no interest in exploring Geneva, I’m in a dilemma )
b) Lausanne-Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen ( 2full days in the Alps, including Jungfrau, Murren, Wengen, Mannlichen, Grindelwald)
c) Interlaken – Luzern ( Mount Pilatus ) ; 2days in Luzern
d) Luzern- Zurich ( 2 full days)

One last question is: Would u personally from experience and prefrence, advice Schiltorn or Jungfraujoch, as i could only choose either from?
Please do advice, this would be my first trip to Switzerland. I would appreciate it very much. Thank you in advance.

[Arno]

26 June 2011 at 5:23:04 #833996

Hi sfbb28, and welcome to the forum!

The fares for the Jungfrau region can be found here. I would say that the Swiss Half Fare Card is the cheapest option as it provides more discount on the Jungfrau. But you can calculate exactly if you want, using this FAQ and the link to the fares I just provided. If you want to be flexible and be able to do more trips than just the ones you listed, a Swiss Youth Pass is definitely better. It would, for example, allow you to do a free boat trip from Interlaken or Luzern.

Pick the Jungfrau if you’re interested in a magnificent piece of railway engineering and want to see a glacier up close. Otherwise, the Schilthorn is great as well: a beautiful 360 degree view across the region. Both are great but very different.

I removed your other post as it contained the same questions. Also, feel free to open a new topic rather than attaching your questions to an old one. More people will notice that way. Please check our forum rules for details.

Have fun!

[Removed user]

26 June 2011 at 13:39:43 #833997

Hello Modarna

Please forgive my blunder, i wasn’t familiar with the forum rules. Rest assured i will abide closely to the rules. Thank you for the prompt reply. Say if i decided to go ahead with the Swiss Half Fare Card, do i need to purchase it online in order to buy the super saver tickets currently offered by the sbb?Would there be any additional charges for that? I am also worried about the card delivery charges, and if the card would reach me on time. Please advice. Thank you once again.

[Arno]

26 June 2011 at 14:04:20 #833998

Hi sfbb28,

All purchase options (local and online) are listed on the Swiss Half Fare Card page, including delivery fees and delivery dates. It does not matter how or when you purchase your Swiss Half Fare Card in order to get the reduced Super Saver Tickets. As long as you posses it when boarding the train, all is fine.

[Removed user]

23 August 2011 at 20:40:49 #833999

Hi Arno..

I’m actually heading to Switzerland next Friday and was hoping you might be able to help me out w/ which pass to get as well. I’ll be traveling w/ my mother.. so I was deciding between the Swiss Saver Flexi Pass and the Half Fare Card. My itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 – Zurich Airport to Lucerne
Day 2 – Lucerne + Mt. Pilatus excursion
Day 3 – Lucerne to Wengen (one way)
Day 4 – Wengen to Jungrau (round trip)
Day 5 – Wengen to Bern (one way) + Bern to Zurich (one way)
Day 6 – Evening train to Munich

Thank you in advance for your help!
Maki

[Annika]

24 August 2011 at 15:40:25 #834000

Hello Maki, and welcome! The Swiss Half Fare Card seems to be the best choice for your trip, since you’re mostly making rather short trips. You could make some calculations to know for sure.

By the way, would you mind opening a new topic for your questions, rather than attaching them to an older post, as asked for in our forum rules? Thank you!