3 Weeks in Bernese Oberland – best travel plan

Short summary – read this first

A traveler is planning a three-week hiking trip in Switzerland this September. They seek advice on the best travel passes, as the 3-week rail pass is no longer available. Their itinerary includes hiking in the Bernese Oberland and day trips to nearby cities.

Key takeaways:
  • Consider getting two 10-day Bernese Oberland Regional Passes and a Swiss Half Fare Card for cost-effective travel.
  • The 15-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex Combi is an option, but it may require additional ticket purchases for day trips.
  • Plan your hiking routes to maximize the use of regional passes, especially in the Bernese Oberland.
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InfoAI-generated summary
  • Anonymous
    Inactive
    83503 posts
    20 June 2015 at 15:26:37 #807424

    Hello,

    We are returning to Switzerland for 3 weeks this September.Our objective is to hike and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Since the 3 week rail pass is no longer available we need an alternative.

    here is our itinerary

    1)Arrive Zurich travel to Konstanz ( 5 days in Germany with car )

    2)Return to Brienz for 3 weeks –plan to mainly hike in the area — Grindelwald,Wengen,Lauterbrunnen,Planplatten,Neiderhorn,Meiringen — with day trips to Thun,Bern and Lucern and Kandersteg.

    3)Return train to Zurich airport

    We like to be spontaneous and don’t like standing in line to buy tickets. A 15 day plus 8 day Swiss Pass is very expensive ( plus won’t cover many mountain lifts )If we are calculating correctly a Half Fare Card plus Bernese Oberland Pass ( 2x10days ) plus rail tickets at half fare would be our best bet — Hopefully still keeping transportation costs for 2 adults for 3 weeks around $2000 CDN?

    Is this our best solution. Appreciate any input as things have changed so much this year. Thanks.

  • Arno
    Moderator
    15730 posts
    Reply 1 of 3 • 21 June 2015 at 11:36:13 #843878

    Hi lovetoswiss, welcome to MySwissAlps,

    I also think that two 10-day Regional-Passes Bernese Oberland and a Swiss Half Fare Card is a good option. The price for these passes is CHF 690 (CAD 922) per person. You won’t need many additional tickets. Please see here for what’s included. The discounted regional passes and the Swiss Half Fare Card can be purchased through http://www.swissrailways.com/ en/products/ regionalberneseoberlan dpass.

    There is an alternative: the 15-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex Combi. It allows 15 days of unlimited traveling within a month, plus discounts of 50% on the remaining days. This option is around CAD 615 per person, but you would need to buy more tickets for your day trips. With your plans being mainly in the Bernese Oberland, I think option 1 suits you better.

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    User
    Inactive
    83503 posts
    Reply 2 of 3 • 21 June 2015 at 13:29:03 #843879

    Thanks Arno,

    You make travel in Switzerland easy.

    Appreciate the help. Have ordered the passes from the site you suggested.

    Will let you know how our trip progressed once we return.

    Annika
    Moderator
    7328 posts
    Reply 3 of 3 • 21 June 2015 at 16:55:01 #843880

    A trip report would be wonderful, lovetoswiss. You can post it here.

    Enjoy Switzerland!

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