Best pass for hiking in Bernese Oberland

Dear Arno and Annika

We are travelling from the U.K. to Switzerland on Sunday 3rd July, flying in to Basel airport. We have accomodation booked in Grindelwald for 8 nights and so spend 9 days in your beautiful country, flying home again on Monday 11th July.

Once in Grindelwald we hope to take long walks/hikes in the mountains most days, possibly travelling to Wengen and Meiringen and walking back to Grindelwald and so cannot decide which pass will be the most useful. The 8 day Swiss pass will finish a day too soon for our homeward travel and will only give us discounts on cablecars etc. We have also been told about the Regional Bernese Oberland Pass and the Jungfrau travel pass. These seem to give free travel on the mountain networks but not on the Basel-Grindelwald journey. We are a bit confused, please help.

Also, is there any particular walk which we really shouldn't miss whilst being based in Grindelwald or nearby surrounding area as we want to make the most of our time there.

Many thanks

Hi 19angie66! Welcome to MySwissAlps.

I suggest you look into the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland as it provides excellent coverage for the region you'll be exploring. Quite some cable cars and mountain trains are for free. The validity map shows all details. The Jungfrau Travel Pass may be too limited for your plans. Meiringen, for example, is not included. Moreover it only comes 3, 4, 5 of 6 day variants whereas the Regional-Pass has 8 and 10 day variants too.

As the validity maps shows, the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland won't cover the entire inbound and outbound rides from/to Basel Airport, but part of it. Traveling between Bern and Grindelwald will be covered with a valid pass, so you'd need additional tickets Basel EuroAirport-Grindelwald on your way in. If I were you I'd get an 8 day Regional-Pass and pay the additional full fare for Grindelwald-Basel EuroAirport on the 9th day. I just checked and this would be slightly cheaper than getting a 10 day Regional-Pass and only paying for an additional ticket Bern-Basel EuroAirport.

Of course there are alternatives, such as the Swiss Half Fare Card or the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi (easier but slightly more expensive than the Swiss Half Fare Card in your case), but these only provide discounts and no free traveling. That doesn't seem to be what you're looking for.

Thanks Annika

That's really helpful. Should we buy it in advance from the U.K. or when we get to the station at Basel?

Hi 19angie66,

Buying your Regional-Pass in advance is easier than getting off the train along the way in Bern (where validity starts) or Basel and spending time on a purchase there. Shipping to the UK is for free if you order through www.swissrailways.co. uk/en/products/ regionalbernese oberlandpass and there are no additional handling costs either, so an online order isn't more expensive than a local purchase.

Thanks Annika

I will order one online. Looking forward to our trip.......not long to go now!!