[Anonymous]

22 February 2019 at 5:44:22 #820052

Hi,

Myself, husband and 3 children aged 12, 11, 8 are planning on a trip sept 2020 from NZ. We are not in switzerland long but here is a rough plan: From zurich airport take the train to Interlaken. Day 2 Train Jungfrau. Day 3 Train and gondola Schilthorn Day 4 we leave – Train to Modena

What I am having trouble with is which pass and which lines to take – i have done the pass calculator and it just isn’t helpful. I look on the map and get confused with the towns i am supposed to go through – eg some say go through Klein Scheidegg from Jungfraujoch but im going to interlaken?

We want to see Jungfrau and we want to end up in Modena. Any suggestions would be fantastic – I know we are not spending long enough in the country but we just cannot afford any longer.

Thanks in advance! Kia Ora from NZ!

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[User]

Reply 1 of 3 • 22 February 2019 at 17:31:56 #904759

Hi Kia and welcome to MySwissAlps!

Great trip you are planning – you will still be able to see a lot in 4 days specially where you are going!

As a rule of thumb you are looking at one of the following:

• Swiss Travel Pass – 4 day ticketless travel! http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass
• Bernese Oberland pass + point to point tickets: http://www.myswissalps.com/re gionalpassberneseoberl and/validity
• Jungfrau Travel pass + point to point tickets: http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrautravelpass

I’m sorry you don’t find the spreadsheet helpful, however the only way to get the best pass is to check each and every part of your itinerary and cross-reference it with the validity area of each pass and do the math if you want to be sure you are getting the most value for money 🙂

You might also need the help of our timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

If you don’t want the hassle, then the easy way out is to get a Swiss Travel Pass and read up on the validity for which extra trip(s) you’ll need to purchase.

For example, there is no pass that covers Jungfraujoch 100%, this is because it is one of these destinations that suffers from over-tourism and limits travellers to 5000 a day to not spoil the landscape. Still, it is one of the best views of the Alps on a clear day and most people find it worth the money! You can see what discounts you get with what passes in the following comprehensive section: http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch (particularly the tickets section).

More about the area in general: http://www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland

For your kids, the Swiss Family Card allows them to travel for free provided the adults get a Swiss Travel Pass – http://www.myswissalps.com/sw issfamilycard

The regional passes will allow discounted travel but not free travel, so again the Swiss Travel Pass would make most sense, specially since there are 3 of them!

Hope this is helpful for your planning, and have a great trip to Switzerland!

Maria.

[User]

Reply 2 of 3 • 22 February 2019 at 23:31:59 #904760

Thanks so much. I sat down with the spreadsheet and think I understand now, it is helpful. Can you please confirm kids will have to pay if we don’t have the pass but if we do they are free? So getting the pass means kids are free yes?

Thanks again

[User]

Reply 3 of 3 • 23 February 2019 at 9:09:58 #904761

Hi Barneygirl33,

The kids will travel free if you buy the Swiss Travel Pass and then get the free Swiss Family Card added on to your purchase. Be sure to read Maria’s link on the family card. It can’t be added on to regional passes.

If you buy other rail passes as Maria noted as options, there are child versions of the pass you must buy as well (though quite inexpensive) but the Swiss Travel Pass and Family Card probably works best and is the simplest option.