Choosing right pass for itinerary

I will be traveling to Switzerland from Frankfurt in early September and spending five or six days in Lauterbrunnen Valley-Grindelwald region before flying from Zurich. My thought was to get a half-fare card as I will hike between villages as much as possible, and only take train or other transportation when not practical otherwise. I may go to Schilthorn, and definitely want to go to Jungfraujoch. I plan to go from Frankfort to Basel and then onto Interlaken. Can I buy the half-fare pass in Basel and can I use it to reduce the fare from Basel to Interlaken Ost? Also, does it make sense to buy a regional card if I have the half price pass. I estimate spending about CHF 322 on railways in region without half-fare discount. Thanks for your help. So many options!

Hi Donna831, welcome to MySwissAlps,

The amount of CHF 322 feels like it's too low for 5/6 days that include the Jungfraujoch and the Schilthorn. These two excursions alone will cost close to CHF 300 without a pass. Are you sure you didn't note down the half fare prices and assumed it was the full fare? The timetable defaults to half fares, so it's a bit tricky. It's explained here.

You need a pass in any case. I think you'd best look into the Swiss Half Fare Card and the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland, which also includes part of the incoming/outgoing trips (from Bern) for free. See the links for what's included, how to use the passes, prices, where to buy, etc. See here for how to compare.

Both passes can be purchased online (see the links) or in Switzerland. I noticed you're from the US, so you qualify for this Swiss Pass promotion. Just want to make sure you've seen it.

I hope this helps. If not, just let us know.

Hi Annika,

Thank you for this useful advice. You are correct. I did not realize I was looking at half-fare prices. I am persuaded to buy the regional pass. Can I buy the pass in Lauterbrunnen or Interlaken Ost? If its only good for four days, I might want to wait to buy it when I am going to get the most use. Also I am still wondering if there is an advantage to buying the half-fare card as well since most of my travel will be in the one region.

Hi Donna831,

You can get the Regional-Pass in Lauterbrunnen or Interlaken Ost, but if you wait until then you can't use it for your incoming trip. It includes free traveling from Bern, so you would only need a regular ticket to Bern, and not as far as Lauterbrunnen. You can download the map from our pass page and see exactly where's it's valid. Likewise, on the way to Zurich, you could travel via the Golden Pass line and have free traveling until Lucerne. All of this assumes you would purchase the 6-day Regional-Pass.

Another option is getting the 4-day Regional-Pass and a Swiss Half Fare Card. As you can see here, that will give you a 25% discount on the Regional-Pass. You can calculate whether that works out cheaper than the first option.

As you can see in the Price sections of the various pass pages I linked to in my previous post, the passes can all be purchased either online or locally at a station. If you purchase them through the Swiss Railways webshop, you can activate the pass(es) yourself so you don't need to consult railway staff and can board any train right away.

I hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Arno