Best Swiss Pass to buy

Hi! I'm traveling to wonderful Switzerland from 31 Aug to 10 Sept 2014 and I need some expert on which train swiss pass to get suitable for my trip.

Here's my itinerary:

Zurich Airport --> Lucern --> Interlaken --> Wengen --> Jungfraujoch --> (Maybe around the small towns in Jungfrau region) --> Bern --> Montreux --> Zurich

Thanks so much and hope to hear from someone soon! :)

Hi totalneo,

I would recommend to look into the Swiss Flexi Pass and the Swiss Half Fare Card. The links will give you all information about them, and if you want a detailed comparison, please see here.

Note that you pay less for your pass if you buy online and use the promotion discount that is valid until August 27, see here.

Hi Arno, Thanks for the reply. One question though: why not consider buying the Swiss Pass? but rather the flex or half price ones you were talking about.

Hi totalneo,

Sure you can consider the Swiss Pass too. From the itinerary you provided, I assumed that you will have longer trips on a few days and short ones on other days, hence the Flexi Pass/Half Fare Card should work out best. But you know the details of your plans, so daily free traveling may be better for you. Please see here for all the pass information: www.myswissalps.com/swisspass. You can include the Swiss Pass in the detailed comparison and you will soon see which one works out cheapest in your case. The Swiss Pass is the most convenient one for sure, as you don't have to buy tickets for most trips and can just board trains, boats, etc. as you like.

Hi Arno, thanks for the comment. I was just considering that because the Swiss Flexi pass seems to cost more than a swiss pass. (6 days flex vs a 8 day swiss pass).. But yeah, I will go check out the links to see which one might suit me the most, was just hoping there was a sure-fire answer to my itinerary.

Here's a more detailed itinerary:

Zurich Airport --> Lucern (31 Aug)

Lucern --> Interlaken (2 Aug)

Interlaken --> Wengen (4 Aug)

• Wengen --> Jungfraujoch --> Wengen (5 Aug)

• Wengen --> around the small towns in Jungfrau region (4-5 Aug)

Wengen --> Bern (6 Aug)

Bern --> Montreux (7 Aug)

Montreux --> Gruyeres --> Montreux (8 Aug)

Montreux --> Zurich (9 Aug)

Hi totalneo,

Your itinerary shows that you will only make a short trip on your first day. A Swiss Flexi Pass makes less sense as it needs to start and end with a free travel day, which is best used for long trips. I think it's either a Swiss Half Fare Card or a 15-day Swiss Pass that would fit your plans, but you can do the math to be sure. Be sure to decide quickly if you want to save money on the Swiss Pass. You can only get the discount online.

For your information: a 6-day Swiss Flexi Pass is more expensive than a 8-day Swiss Pass because it's valid for up to one month, whereas the Swiss Pass is just 8 days.

I hope this helps!

Hi Arno, thanks for that. I think what might make more sense would be to get the 8 day Swiss Pass, and then only activate it after Luzern. So for the first trip I would just buy a standard train ticket from Zurich Airport to Luzern. and then after the 8 day pass will get me through the remainder of the trip.

That's a good idea, provided that you stay in town during your days in Lucerne, or only make inexpensive trips. If you plan to visit mountain tops by cable car/funicular or do long boat trips, expenses will add up quickly without a pass. The Swiss Pass includes free boat trips, 50% off mountain trips, and Mount Rigi is free. Also many museums are free (e.g. the Glacier Garden in Lucerne).