Combination of Swiss Travel, Berner Oberland and Tell-Passes?
Big Dad and his group of 4 adults are planning a trip to Switzerland from September 8 to 29, focusing on various regions and activities. They seek advice on using three different travel passes, including the Swiss Travel Pass, to maximize convenience and minimize costs while traveling among cities, mountains, and museums.
- The Swiss Travel Pass is great for flexible travel across multiple regions, but ensure you use it wisely to avoid extra costs.
- Consider upgrading to first class for scenic train and boat experiences, especially on popular routes like the Glacier Express.
- Make seat reservations early for trains such as the Bernina Express and Glacier Express due to high demand.
- Purchase your regional train tickets to Zurich from Lucerne separately, as the Tell Pass does not cover the whole trip.
- Always check the coverage of your travel passes to capitalize on discounts and ensure the best use of your itinerary.
AI-generated summary-
My Swiss Alps Team,
I’ve reached the conclusion that I need to purchase different Passes in order to take advantage of the activities that are unique to different regions. I have used the financial worksheets to determine what combination of Passes appear to be the most affordable, but that doesn’t address the convenience factor when I am wanting to jump between mountain excursions, trains, museums, while skipping lines to purchase tickets that aren’t fully included in a Pass. I would like to get your quick observation that what I am considering makes sense based on your experience.
My group of 4 adults will be visiting between September 8th – 29th with the following itinerary and Passes:
I) The Swiss Travel Pass (STP), 15-days, 1st class: We fly into Zurich and visit the city for 3-days. We take the Gotthard Express from Lucerne (boat) to Fluelen then onto Lugano (train) with 2-days in Lugano. Then the Bernina Express from Lugano to Tirano Italy (bus) and onto St. Moritz (train) with 3-days in St. Moritz (including the travel day). Then we take the Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt for 5-days including the 8-1/2 hour train travel. Then to Interlaken for 4-days in the Bernese Oberland Region. My 15-day STP ends after my first day in Interlaken, leaving 3-days for the next Pass.
II) Berner Oberland Pass, 3-days: I will be in Interlaken for 4-days and want to revisit Grindelwald First, Schynige Platte, Harder Kulm, etc. I haven’t decided on visiting Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn which are not included in the Pass but are discounted. My 3-day Berner Oberland Pass will begin on my second day of my 4-days in Interlaken.
III) Tell Pass, 4-days: My last leg of the journey includes taking the Luzern-Interlocken Express to spend 4-days (including the travel day) in Lucerne (Central Switzerland region), including trips to Mt. Rigis, Mt. Pilatus, Mt Stanserhorn, and the old town area of Lucerne.
IV) Purchase regional train tickets: We will travel from Lucerne to Zurich Flughafen to fly home. The boundaries of the Tell Pass don’t include the complete trip to Zurich Flughafen, so it seems to make sense to just purchase a ticket on the regional train without the expense of a Pass.
Let me know if based on your experience that my approach makes sense. If you generally agree, then I might be getting the hang of this. If not, I have more to learn.
Thanks again,
Big Dad
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Hello ‘Big Dad’
I have been visiting Switzerland for over fifty years. I always buy a first class Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/ ) However the maximum length of my visits is two weeks. Normally I go for 11-12 days, always basing myself in one place, usually (nowadays) Zurich ( https://www.myswissalps.com/town/zurich/).
Your basic overall plan strikes me as brilliant. I would, subject to anything the moderators may say, make the following observations.
Your STP expires on 22nd September. You will therefore not be entitled to the STP discount on the regional passes.
The BOP ( https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/) has a first class version, the Tell Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/tell-pass-summer/) does not. I know from personal experience that the Interlaken-Luzern trains can be very busy even in late September! I would therefore suggest a FOUR-day first class BOP. First class also gives you access to the top decks of ships on Lakes Thun and Brienz.
Wether you get a three day or four day Tell Pass depends on your exact plans for 26th September.
On 29th the closest the Tell Pass will take you to Zurich is a small town called BAAR. The trains leaving Luzern at 09 past the hour do not stop at Baar. Those leaving at 35 past the hour do stop there. To be sure that you are doing the right thing, buy Baar-Zurich Airport tickets from the staffed ticket office at Luzern station. I expect the second class fare to be about 20 Franks per person. There will be no need to get off the train at Baar.
(Also note that there are currently no through trains from Luzerm to Zurich Airport. A change at Zurich Hauptbahnhof will be required. The Luzern trains arrive at an above ground platform. The trains towards the airport go from below ground platforms, usually platforms 33 or 34.)
I am hoping that a MySwissAlps moderator will look at your plans and my suggestions.
Very best wishes
Roger Sexton
Hi Big Dad,
I always travel in Switzerland for more than 15 days at a time, and always visit Luzern and the Berner Oberland first before other areas such as Valais, Ticino and the Engadin.
So I organise my itinerary to start off with a Tell-Pass, followed by a Berner Oberland Pass, followed by one or more 2nd-class Swiss Travel Passes to cover the rest of my itinerary. On occasions, when travelling with luggage or when 2nd class is too crowded for my liking, I upgrade on the spot to 1st class for particular trips. (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/train/classes/)
The way you have arranged to use your passes makes good sense to me! Regardless of whether or not that is the most economical solution, it is certainly the most convenient one. Just be sure to be familiar with the full coverage of your regional passes so that you can make the best use of them if poor weather scuppers your original plans.
Enjoy your trip!
Alpenrose
Hi Big Dad.
Hi and thankyou to Alpenrose555.
WOW! I am sure, Big Dad, that you have noticed that what Alpenrose does is the same as what you are doing, except they do it ‘the other way around’, using the regional passes first!
I entirely agree with Alpenrose’s last paragraph, and also the point about upgrading to first class. This might be useful for the Luzern-Baar-Zurich Airport journey. Certainly upgrade if travellling before nine in the morning on a working day. There are loads of commuters between Luzern, Zug, Baar and Zurich!
Best wishes on your travels to both of you
Roger
Hello,
We are planning for another trip to Switzerland for 34 days, beginning at Schaffhausen, Luzern and Bernese Oberland areas based at Grindelwald. For the first 15 days we’ll use a Swiss Travel Pass which will get us to Lugano in Ticino. For four days we plan to use the Ticino Ticket for free travel in the Ticino area. (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/ticino-ticket/)
For the final 15 days covering St Moritz, Zermatt, Montreux and Solothurn areas, including our trip to the airport, we’ll use the second 15 day Swiss Travel Pass.
We’ve done our calculations and even with having to pay extra for some mountains trips, have found the Swiss Travel Pass comes out cheaper.
As we’ve purchased the STP on previous occasions we do enjoy the convenience of this Pass.
Of course it also depends on how many high mountain trips you plan to do.
Happy travels!
Mageo
Hi Big Dad,
Lots of very helpful replies. You have researched well and obviously spent a lot of time comparing passes with your travel plans here. You have definitely become quite the expert in rail passes and their coverage 🙂
I agree, the combination of the three passes certainly offer the convenience factor which is important and for many is worth its weight in gold when on holidays.
Just some quick comments.
You may have done so already but a heads up to purchase / secure your seat reservations for the Bernina Express, Glacier Express and Gotthard Express train journeys. More details in the links below:
- Bernina Express: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/bernina-express/
- Glacier Express: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-express/
- Gotthard Panorama Express: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/gotthard-panorama-express/
Yes, that’s right with the Tell-Pass, your trip to Zurich airport is not fully covered. Per Roger’s reply, just ensure you travel a route via Baar or there are also routes just via Zug. In this instance, you would need to purchase either a ticket Baar-Zurich airport or Zug-Zurich airport and you are all set.
Online purchase options here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/regular-ticket/#tickets
Finally, should you need any trusted online purchase options for your various passes, you can find some here:
- Swiss Travel Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/#tickets
- Berner Oberland Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/#tickets
- Tell-Pass Summer: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/tell-pass-summer/#tickets
Have a great trip.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
My Swiss Alps Team,
A special thank you to everyone for sharing your knowledge (Roger, Alpenrose, Mageo, Yolanda). It is amazing to receive so much advice and I learned something from each of you.
Since my reservations have already been made for hotels and ‘seat reservations’ on panoramic trains, I need to stay with my original routes, but next time I will consider Alpenrose’s suggestion regarding visiting various Regions first because I see some advantages in this approach.
I now appreciate Alpenrose’s comment, that the way I’ve organized my Passes may not be the most economical solution, but it is convenient. My original intent for purchasing the Swiss Travel Pass (STP), 15-day (consecutive days), 1st class, was that my group of 4 wanted to ride in first class on the panoramic trains so they could have a little more space. But in reflection I see that both the Gotthard Express and Bernina Express could have been purchased for 2nd class and save some money because the trips aren’t that long. (There are other benefits for having 1st class). The Gotthard Express is sold as 2nd class (I have made lunch reservations on the boat & the train is only 2nd class from Fluelen to Lugano), and since half of the Bernina Express journey is via a bus, then I could have just stayed with 2nd class for the ride from Tirano to St. Moritz and saved some money. I now am aware of the technique where I could purchase 2nd class and “upgrade” to 1st class for the full day journey on just the Glacier Express where having extra space would be appreciated for an 8-1/2 hour journey. Let me know if I am wrong in this thinking. I will research this question, but: How do your Upgrade and does it make sense? Also, can you purchase two Swiss Travel Passes (non flex), say an 8-day, 2nd class STP, plus another STP for another 8-days, for 1st class? If you can, then this would provide some schedule flexibility in mixing Regional Passes and tailoring use of the STP for different reasons. Maybe this is getting too complicated.
Thanks to Roger for reminding me to purchase 1st class for the Berner Oberland Pass because I may have overlooked that one. When riding a boat, there is a definite advantage to sitting on the top deck for better viewing that you can only get by having a 1st class pass. Then there is the insightful idea to extend my Berner Oberland Pass (BOP) by one day and include my Interlaken-Luzern Express. I understand that this protects me from any congestion that I could experience on the train from Interlocken to Lucerne. However, I thought the Interlaken-Luzern Express was 2nd class only because the Tell Pass offers only 2nd class tickets on their website. The Tell Pass website also says you can “upgrade” for a specific excursion, but I can’t find how to do that or the price. Can the Team provide explanation or links on the topic of ‘upgrading’? Per Alpenrose, I checked the map to verify the coverage areas of my passes and saw that the Interlaken-Luzern Express is in the middle of the BOP coverage area.
I will also pursue Mageo’s comment about taking advantage of the Ticino Ticket for free that allows you to travel that area. I will look into that with my hotels in the other areas I will be staying. I would have not given strong consideration to that one.
My last concern was getting from Lucerne to the Zurich Airport on a timely basis in the early morning, which fortunately is a Sunday and not a working day. I had heard that there is a direct train, but I now understand that it will stop at the Zurich HB, switch trains, then continue on to Zurich Flughafen. Roger’s comment about navigating the different levels at Zurich HB was very helpful, because last year I got lost in the Munich HB because of the level changes. For clarification, I will not have a Tell Pass on that Sunday, which seems to eliminate the need to buy a Baar-Zurich Airport ticket from the Luzern station. Instead, it appears that I could use the SBB Mobile App and buy a train ticket to the Zurich Airport knowing that it will transfer at the Zurich HB.
My next comment is unrelated, but is intended to benefit others who read these threads. It is really important to know how to get ‘seat reservations’ on panoramic trains because of their high demand. Many months ago My Swiss Alps Team shared a tip that allowed me to secure ‘four 1st class seat reservations’ on each Panoramic Train, with the most challenging being the Glacier Express. Your tip for the Glacier Express was to be ready 93-days prior to my departure date, which required me to be ready at 14:00:01 (1-second after) when the tickets for my departure date became available, and conduct practice sessions over a couple weeks to make sure I can complete the transaction quickly. I followed this advice and secured the few remaining 1st class seat reservations in a group of 4. I actually went back 4-minutes later and found that there were no longer any 1st class seats available where 4 people could sit together. These ‘seat reservations’ are presold to travel agents and significantly reduce the number of seats when 93-days roll around and it is your turn. I understand that some of these presold seats might be released later to the public, but I would not want to depend on that. I just thought it is important to share my experience.
Again, what an amazing site to get this much great information.
Thanks,
Big Dad
Hi Big Dad,
>>> I will consider Alpenrose’s suggestion regarding visiting various Regions first because I see some advantages in this approach.
I think your existing route, and order of using your passes, is perfectly good and makes efficient use of the passes.
The reason I travel in the order I do is because I either fly into Zürich or arrive by train from the north, so Luzern is a logical first-stop for me, and as I always spend some time in the Berner Oberland, that is geographically the logical place for me to go next. Where I go after that, and in what order, varies from trip to trip.
>>> The Gotthard Express is sold as 2nd class (I have made lunch reservations on the boat & the train is only 2nd class from Fluelen to Lugano)
The Gotthard Panorama Express train is first class only, so anyone with a 2nd class pass or ticket needs to buy a class ugrade for the train sector (and a mandatory reservation of course). (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/gotthard-panorama-express/)
>>> Also, can you purchase two Swiss Travel Passes (non flex), say an 8-day, 2nd class STP, plus another STP for another 8-days, for 1st class? If you can, then this would provide some schedule flexibility in mixing Regional Passes and tailoring use of the STP for different reasons.
You could do that, but it wouldn’t make financial sense. A 15-day Swiss Travel Pass for either 1st or 2nd class would be more economical – the shorter the duration of a pass, the higher the average daily cost.
- 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass, 15 days: average daily cost CHF 30.60
- 1st class Swiss Travel Pass, 15 days: average daily cost CHF 48.20
- 1st class Swiss Travel Pass 8 days plus 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass 8 days: average daily cost CHF 67.75
>>> Thanks to Roger for reminding me to purchase 1st class for the Berner Oberland Pass … When riding a boat, there is a definite advantage to sitting on the top deck for better viewing that you can only get by having a 1st class pass.
Bear in mind that mountain transport is all second class, so with a first-class pass, you are paying an unnecessary premium if mountain transport is the main use you will be making of the pass.
If you take a boat trip, you can upgrade to first class just for that trip. You can do that at the ticket office on the boat dock, at the ticket counter on the boat (before going upstairs), at any railway station, online, or in the SBB app.
I seem to have been luckier than most other people when it comes to boats. I’ve travelled countless times on boats on Lake Zürich, Lake Lucerne, Lake Brienz, Lake Geneva, Lake Lugano, Lago Maggiore and Lake Biel, but always 2nd class, and have never been on a boat that was so crowded as to be unpleasant, or so that I couldn’t sit or stand wherever I liked. And I’ve always been perfectly happy with the views from the lower deck. Many people do mention the crowds, but I’ve just never experienced that myself. Unless it’s a winter trip, I usually travel in Switzerland between the end of August and mid-October.
>>> Then there is the insightful idea to extend my Berner Oberland Pass (BOP) by one day and include my Interlaken-Luzern Express.
Both the Tell-Pass and the Berner Oberland Pass cover the train trip between Interlaken Ost and Luzern.
In your case, I would recommend the Tell-Pass for this trip, because you can use it for the rest of the day after you arrive in Luzern. If you use the Berner Oberland Pass for this day, it only covers you to Luzern station, no further. Going in the other direction, I would recommend the Berner Oberland Pass for a similar reason.
>>> The Tell Pass website also says you can “upgrade” for a specific excursion, but I can’t find how to do that or the price.
This is from the Tell-Pass website:
Prefer 1st class? Treat yourself to a class upgrade on the boat or train. Half Class upgrades with the Tell-Pass can be performed on the spot.
https://www.tellpass.ch/en/shop/ticketshop
The cost is half the difference in price between a first-class ticket and a second-class ticket for the relevant sector.
>>> Instead, it appears that I could use the SBB Mobile App and buy a train ticket to the Zurich Airport knowing that it will transfer at the Zurich HB.
Yes, buy the ticket from Luzern to Zürich Flughafen. No need to buy separate sectors due to the transfer at Zürich Hauptbahnhof.
The lifts to the underground platforms at Zürich Hauptbahnhof are near the ends of ground-level platforms. At the link below, you can see the lift to Platforms 33 and 34. This lift is at the end of Platforms 7 and 8. You can swing the view around to see Platforms 7 and 8.
Hope this helps further in addition to all the great suggestions you have already received!
Alpenrose
Hi Big Dad, Alpenrose and all other readers.
Thank you Big Dad and Alpenrose for your brilliant insights!
FIRST CLASS ON TRAINS AND BOATS. As Alpenrose has just pointed out the mountain railways such as Rigi, Pilatus and Jungfraujoch are second class only. However, (and in marked contrast to neighbouring Austria) almost all ‘normal’ Swiss trains, including suburban S-Bahn trains, have a first class section. Even the ‘tram-train’ which runs Appenzell-St Gallen-Trogen has a first class section.
Unlike Alpenrose I do have (very recent) experience of a boat very crowded in the lower deck second class. On Wednesday May 1st 2024 (NOT a public holiday in Luzern) I was on the 09 12 boat out of Luzern. The lower deck looked uncomfortably crowded. There was about (at most) fifty of us on the first class upper deck. I now strongly suspect that a lot of the second class passengers were Tell Pass holders who did not realise they could buy an upgrade to first class.
TELL PASS or BOP for Interlaken to Luzern. I take Alpnenrose’s point entirely to use a Tell Pass ‘because you can use it for the rest of the day after you arrive in Luzern’.
LUZERN TO ZURICH AIRPORT. Munich and Zurich Hauptbahnhofs are both very complex stations. Like Big Dad, I have fairly recent experience of using Munich Hbf. In June 2022 I got lost at Munich Hbf twice in the space of about two hours! It was a good job I can speak a bit of German!
But Big Dad, DO NOT WORRY. The walking distances at Zurich are much shorter than at Munich. The sign posting is excellent at Zurich – not so at Munich.
I can end with some good news, though it will not help Big Dad travelling in September 2024. The 2025 Swiss timetable will restore through trains from Luzern to Zurich Airport.
Very best wishes to everyone!
Roger
Thanks to everyone,
You’ve been informative and patient with my questions. You’ve straighten me out on a number of items. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Before I wear everyone out, I just want to say thanks again to a great team.
BigDad
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