Swiss Half Fare Card:Mt. Rigi, boat trips+tickets?
A traveler is planning a trip to Switzerland and has chosen the Swiss Half Fare Card to maximize their experience. They are looking for advice on a lake cruise between Lucerne and Interlaken, and how to effectively book a visit to Mt. Rigi involving various transport options and tickets.
- You will need to buy a discounted ticket for boat trips, and the Swiss Half Fare Card is valid for these rides.
- For the Mt. Rigi visit, the Swiss Half Fare Card gives you 50% off on transport; you can purchase tickets for each leg separately.
- No need to book boat tickets in advance unless it's for a special cruise. Just buy them when you arrive.
AI-generated summary-
Based on your information concerning the STP vs. Half Fare..I elected for the Half Fare and now want to maximize our Switzerland experience.
1. Lucern-Interlaken train on 6.30.23 @ 9:06 arriving 11:06. I am consideing that before we go to up to Wengen (hotel), we should take a lake cruise.
a. Do I need to book a ticket? and how to do that. Is Half Fare card valid for boat rides ?
b. Which Lake? Thun or Brinze? leaning towards Brinze.
2. I am still confused on how to book Mt. Rigi.
a. Lucern to Rigi Klum via Vitznau with return trip Weggis to Lucern. I am having trouble with the return–how to enter Weggis.
**say you want to go from Luzern to Mt Rigi by boat to Vitznau then the cog train to the top. The SBB journey planner would normally route you by train to the other side of the mountain and up on that side. So you need to add via Vitznau and click on “advanced search”. Then deselect all the train and bus boxes. Then click search and you will see all the ways by boat and the prices.
b. is the Half Fare accepted for the Mt. Rigi entrance fee?
3. Thanks again for your guidance!
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Brienzersee (Lake Brienz):
Get of the Luzern – Interlaken train at Brienz, where train and boat serve the same station, then take the boat to Interlaken Ost. You will need a half fare card discount ticket for both the train and the boat.
Rigi:
The Swiss half fare card entitles you to purchase reduced rate tickets on all ‘day to day’ public transport lines. The routes up to the Rigi massif are all normal public transport routes as Rigi is an area of farmland and small hamlets – not a rocky peak.
The simplest way is to buy each leg separately – they are valid on any service throughout the day on each line
You will need a reduced rate ticket Luzern – Vitznau – Rigi (boat Luzern – Vitznau, train Vitznau – Rigi), then Rigi – Rigi Kaltbad First (train), Rigi Kaltbad First – Weggis (Cable car).
Compared with all the above, buying one Saver Day Pass valid all that day and on all routes would save you the trouble of buying individual tickets – much simpler!
Hello Hummingbird2,
That’s great you have chosen the Swiss Half Fare Card for your trip here.
In answer to your questions:
1a. For your boat trip, yes, you’ll need to purchase a discounted ticket and yes, your Swiss Half Fare Card is valid. No need to book tickets in advance, unless it’s a special cruise you are wanting to join. Here’s the coverage map so you can see what is and isn’t included.
1b. You can read about both Lake Brienz and Lake Thun boat trips in the below links.
2a. See attachment for return to Lucerne via Weggis.
The Swiss Half Fare Card will grant you 50% off all travel to Rigi, whichever route you choose. I am not sure what entrance fee you referring to? Yes, you’ll have to research if a Saver Day Pass is available on your travel date, it could work out cheaper than the individual tickets required to reach Rigi. Have a look at the below link and the tabs within:
Cable cars, cogwheel trains and funiculars are not included but there are a few exceptions and Rigi is one of them, travel is free with a Saver Day Pass 🙂
Kind regards,
Yolanda
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