[Removed user]

12 February 2015 at 14:51:16 #806882

We plan to get a Swiss Flexi Pass and travel from Tirano to Celerina on a Sunday in September on the Bernina Express. Not quite sure which station to alight to have the shortest walk in Celeriina. We plan to stay 2 nights, then board a train to Lucerne for 3 nights. Our next stop is Lauterbrunnen 3 nights, and on to Kandersteg 3 nights, before moving on to Zermatt for two nights. Then train to Montreaux for 3 nights finally one night in Geneva. This will use up seven days of an 8 day pass so we will have one day to do a side trip along the way….any suggestions?

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[Annika]

13 February 2015 at 14:56:41 #841738

Hi travlbug,

Welcome to MySwissAlps! Please note that a Swiss Travel Pass Flex only provides free and discounted traveling on the (in your case) 8 travel days. I assume you will make day trips by cable car and local trains from all your base towns. Regular prices apply to those tickets. I would recommend to check whether a Swiss Flexi Pass with Swiss Half Fare Card Combi makes sense for you, or just a 15-day Swiss Travel Pass. The latter may actually turn out to be the cheaper option if you do the math. All information about the passes is on the below pages. As you can see there, it’s cheaper to buy your pass online.

• myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassflex
• myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass

To reach Celerina, you travel from Tirano to Samedan and change trains there. The timetable shows all the details.

[Removed user]

20 February 2015 at 2:45:57 #841739

We have now finalised our itinerary

Tirano to Celerina via Samedan. Celerina to Lucerne, Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen.

Lauterbrunnen to Kandersteg. Kandersteg to Zermatt. Zermatt to Montreaux and. Montreaux to Geneva. The daily cost of the Swiss Flexi Pass exceeds the cost of the point to point fares even allowing for the short day trips. We would not be using the pass for Museums etc.,

In addition to the travelling days we hope to take short side trips to Grindelwald from Lauterbrunnen. Mt Rigi from Lucerne and Gruyeres and Broc from Montreaux. We think the half price card will be he best option price wise.

Am I right in asuming that we can buy tickets on line with the half price card once we have bought it. Especially the train Tirano to Samedan.

[Arno]

20 February 2015 at 14:00:02 #841740

Hi travlbug,

Are you sure you have found the correct prices for regular point to point tickets? Please note that the timetable shows half the fare of a single trip by default, so you should double that number for the full fare of a single ticket. It’s explained here, and this page explains how to compare passes. You can best compare the Swiss Travel Pass and Swiss Half Fare Card. The Swiss Travel Pass Flex fits very few itineraries and is relatively expensive. Be sure to spell Montreux correct to get the correct fare. Study the pass maps very well as details can make a major difference (like the Mount Rigi trains which are free with a Swiss Travel Pass).

You can buy half price tickets whenever you want. You don’t need to own the pass yet. As long as you have both when you board the train it’s fine. Trains don’t need to be booked in advance in Switzerland. Please see here. The Bernina Express is an exception, in case you prefer that train over the regular ones from Tirano to Samedan.

Does this help you out?

[Removed user]

21 February 2015 at 6:21:51 #841741

Hi Arno, Thanks for your reply. I checked the fares on line using the “no reductions” and for our planned itinerary it amounts to CHF 390.60 each, full fares including the Grindelwald and Broc side trips. We don’t seem to have any extremely expensive journeys.

Two half fare cards at CHF 120 each and half fares of CHF 390.60 it comes to CHF 630.60 which is better than the Swiss Flexi 8 day pass for two of us at CHF 814. So thank you for your help. Even paying for the Mt Rigi at half price it is less than the cost of the pass, and we can still get half prices on the local buses every day during our three week stay in Switzerland. I hope I have got this right now, We don’t mind having to use the ticket machines to get our tickets before boarding.

It is not quite so straightforward to work out, especially for seniors not so familiar with the Internet.

[Arno]

22 February 2015 at 8:09:37 #841742

Hi travlbug,

Indeed it takes quite a bit of time to compare passes, but it seems like you did a good job and the Swiss Half Fare Card fits your needs. Further details about it (prices, discounts, how to use it) can be found on myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard.

Have a great time in Switzerland!