[Removed user]

13 June 2018 at 15:49:12 #816625

My wife and I arrive in Zurich September 4th and will stay in Zurich for three nights. We then will travel by train to Lauterbrunnen and spend six nights there, and finally return by train to spend our last night at a Zurich Airport hotel? While in Lauterbrunnen, we hope to take the Jungfrau trip, Schilthorn, Wendgernalp, Wilderswil/Schynige Platte and the Lake Breinz boat trip. First, what would be the best travel pass for us? Second, can any of these excursions be sold out by the time we arrive in Lauterbrunnen?

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[Snowman]

13 June 2018 at 19:42:52 #888211

Second: No, they won’t be sold out. At worst, some waiting time (Schilthorn cable car). Lake Brienz boat trip possibly crowded if there is a large group, but in September you don’t have to worry too much.

[Removed user]

13 June 2018 at 20:39:41 #888212

Thank you Snowman! Given my travel plans as described, do you have any recommendation on which travel pass would work best?

[Removed user]

13 June 2018 at 23:15:08 #888213

All of the services you describe are walk on. The only thing that you have to deal with is queues and/or queueing systems, but in September the number of toursists will be reduced compared to high summer.

Note that ‘Wengernalp’ is part of the Jungfrau line. The green train that takes you from Lauterbrunnen up towards the Jungfrau railway is the Wengernalp Bahn (WAB).This runs Lauterbrunnen – Kleine Scheidegg – Grindelwald.

All the excursions from Lauterbrunnen (and much more) are covered on the Bernese Oberland (BO) pass – definitely the one to get in this case. https://www.myswissalp s.com/regionalpassbern eseoberland

My wife and I had a BO Pass and we did the Schynigge Platte (https://www.myswissalp s.com/schynigeplatte) in the high summer season last summer and got on no problem, despite this being a railway with very old trains (around 100 years for some of the locomotives). Most mountain railways have duplicate trains with trains running up the line in pairs or sometimes even three – with a few minutes gap between each. On Schynigge Platte, get ready for this eventuality and you will get a great picture of the other train from the one you are on

[Removed user]

14 June 2018 at 5:30:49 #888214

Hi Den and welcome to MySwissAlps!

To know which rail pass is the best for your specific itinerary you need to plan out all trips you will make (train, bus, boat, cable car) and compare the prices for regular tickets to the rail pass price (and which routes/mountains are free or discounted). Once you have that information you can read our page here on how to choose the best rail pass. There is a spreadsheet there to help with the math. 🙂
https://www.myswissalp s.com/train/ticketspas ses/practical/choosera ilpass

[Removed user]

14 June 2018 at 12:21:37 #888215

Lucas, I tried that spreadsheet but couldn’t figure out how to make it work. When I check the various websites regarding travel passes, they leave me totally bewildered. My travel plans are recited in my original post as above. I think the easiest choice is the Swiss Travel Pass though it may not be the most economical. I need to resolve inasmuch as my frustration level is at its apex. Many thanks, Den

[Removed user]

14 June 2018 at 18:06:08 #888216

Yeah, working those spreadsheets isn’t fun. 🙁

Based on your itinerary I’d only look at the Swiss Travel Pass or the Swiss Half Fare Card. Even if the Swiss Travel Pass is a little more expensive it pays for itself in convenience.

If you want to try the spreadsheet in the end use you Swiss railways timetable for all prices (the first price you see is for Swiss Half Fare Card holders; double it for the regular, one-way price. https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable

Plug in those regular prices on the first column (option A)

Then the Swiss Travel Pass prices for Option B (most city to city routes are free but most the mountain routes are discounted between 25% and 50%). Mt. Rigi and Mt. Schilthorn are two notable exceptions and are free with the Swiss Travel Pass: https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass/ validity

Finally plug in the prices for the Swiss Half Fare Card for Option C (all 50% off). Then see what each column totals (plus purchase price of the rail passes).

Like I said before, if it is too annoying to bother with just go with the Swiss Travel Pass. 🙂
https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass/ price