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Hello,
I am a bit hesitant to use our 15 day Swiss travel pass( we haven’t buy this pass yet) upon arrival in Geneva. So we arrived in Geneva airport around 1pm and from there we go directly to Zurich stay there for 2 nights. So my question is if we use and start our STP that day , we think it’s going to be a waste for 1 day from our 15 day stp . Can we buy point to point that day ? save our 15 day Swiss travel pass for the rest of the trip?
Our itinerary: 2 nights in Zurich, 2 nights in Lucerne, 8 nights in Wengen, 4 nights in Zermatt, 1 night chamonix and 1 night Geneva.
I was looking for Oberland Pass and half fare card but this is our first time and what if I buy the ticket wrong so.. we decided to Swiss travel pass. What do you think?
Thank you all for your time.
Karen
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Hi Karen,
Have you considered getting a Swiss Travel Pass Flex? With the Swiss Travel Pass Flex (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass-flex/) you can choose your free-travel days and they don’t have to be consecutive days.
Alternatively, if you prefer the standard Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/), you can purchase a Saver Day Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) to cover your journey from Geneva to Zurich on the first day.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it.
Karen
Hi Karen,
In addition to Anna’s suggestions, here are my thoughts.
If this were my itinerary, I would go with your original idea of a Berner Oberland Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/) and a Swiss Half Fare Card (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/), due to the substantial amount of time you are spending in Wengen.
The full-fare rate for an 8-day Berner Oberland Pass is CHF 395. With a Swiss Half Fare Card, you get the Berner Oberland Pass for CHF 287. So paying CHF 120 for a Swiss Half Fare Card gets you a discount of CHF 108 on the Berner Oberland Pass, which means your Swiss Half Fare Card effectively only costs you CHF 12.
This is how I would use the Swiss Half Fare Card and Berner Oberland Pass:
- Day 1: Geneva to Zürich – Saver Day Pass @ Half Fare Travelcard rate
- Day 2: Zürich – Swiss Half Fare Card + ticket/s
- Day 3: Zürich to Luzern – Swiss Half Fare Card + ticket/s
- Day 4: Luzern – Swiss Half Fare Card + ticket/s
- Day 5: Luzern to Wengen – Berner Oberland Pass day 1
- Days 6-12 Wengen (7 days): Berner Oberland Pass days 2-8
- Day 13: Wengen to Zermatt – Saver Day Pass @ Half Fare Travelcard rate
- Days 14-16: Zermatt – Swiss Half Fare Card + ticket/s
- Day 17: Zermatt to Chamonix (for the sector within Switzerland): Swiss Half Fare Card + ticket/s or Saver Day Pass @ Half Fare Travelcard rate, depending on the route you take
- Day 18: Chamonix to Geneva – Mostly within France, so full fare ticket
I hope I have understood your itinerary correctly and that this is helpful! If you decide to get any Saver Day Passes, get them as soon as possible for the best price. The price increases the closer it gets to the travel day.
You seem to be a bit worried about having to buy individual tickets. Regardless of which pass you decide to buy, you will still need to buy a ticket every now and then. If you could explain your concerns, we might be able to help further in that regard.
Alpenrose
Karen, our trip is sort of similar in that we too are spending seven nights in Wengen, as well as another week or so in other Swiss areas.
After literally months of adding up and Excel spreadsheets, definitely for us the Half Fare Card and the Berner Oberland pass work out considerably cheaper than the Swiss Travel Pass. I was surprised by this, but it is what it is.
We will also get a couple of Saver Day Passes (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) for the longer journeys and these too are considerably cheaper with the Half Fare Card.
HI @alpenrose: Thank you for the detailed suggestions, it seems that Half fare card and Berner Oberland Pass is the right pass for us. Do I need to buy the half fare card now so that I can buy the saver day pass and Berner Oberland pass for half price?
Hello @Debh: Thank you for the response too. I am just concern if we buy a ticket is it the right ticket kind of thing but when I play around the SBB it is simple.
Thank you again!
This website is a Blessing for first timer in Switzerland.
Cheers,
Karen
Hi Karen,
You can purchase the Berner Oberland Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/#tickets) at a reduced price without purchasing the Swiss Half Fare Card first. Just make sure you have both when you travel.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Karen,
Note that you won’t need tickets for the trips that are free with your Berner Oberland Pass: see “How does the Berner Oberland Pass work?” at https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/.
The below resources explain how to buy discounted tickets with your Swiss Half Fare Card. No worries, it’s pretty easy :-):
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/; see “How does the Swiss Half Fare Card work?”
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/regular-ticket/
Thank you all so very much! I appreciate you all for the help.
Cheers to all of you!
Karen
One more please. From Zermatt to Chamonix I am planning to get the Saver Pass with Half fare card. Can I buy the ticket now for the France section?
Hi kAYEN,
It depends when you are travelling. The Saver Day Pass can be purchased up to 60 days in advance: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/. However the Saver Day Pass is not valid for travel in France. From the Swiss border to Chamonix you will need to purchase a separate ticket. You can check out further information about travel and tickets between Switzerland and France here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/france-switzerland/
HI Anna,
I bought the saver day pass for July 19 from Zermatt but where can I buy ticket for France section? Can you help me please? I just want to make sure that I did it right.
Thank you in advance
Karen
Hi Karen,
You will find purchase options for your France section in the link that Anna provided above (last link in her reply). Just key in the Swiss border town, most likely “Le Châtelard, Valais”, in your case to your destination, Chamonix.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
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