Best rail pass for my 4 day Switzerland itinerary

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    30 November 2017 at 13:18:19 #813753

    Hi, I’m confused about what pass would suit me best for my holiday plans.

    My (unbooked) itinerary December 2017:

    Dec. 23 – Fly into Geneva Airport from U.K.- take a train to Grindelwald to stay overnight.

    Dec. 24 – Train from Grindelwald to Interlaken to stay overnight.

    Dec. 25 – Train from Interlaken to Geneva City Centre to stay overnight.

    Dec. 26 – Unknown transport to Geneva Airport. What’s best – bus or train from city centre? Are the costs included in a rail pass? How much would it be on it’s on?

    I am concerned about how the trains will run over this Christmas period?

    Do I buy a Swiss Travel Pass or The Swiss Transfer Pass or just tickets? Not sure if the Transfer pass would be best since we want to go in Interlaken and Grindelwald?

    I am confused how much this may cost as it was only showing in dollars. I’m not sure what dollars? But I’d prefer British pounds.

    How close is the Geneva Airport to the Geneva train station that I need to get to Grindelwald?

    Please answer as soon as possible.

    Thanks,

    Carrie

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    30 November 2017 at 16:27:47 #872448

    Hi Carrie and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    My first thought is to not move hotels on the 23rd and 24th. Why not stay in Grindelwald for both nights?

    There is a train linking Geneva city to Geneva airport – less than 10 minutes.
    Use the Swiss railways timetable here to plan out all your trips.

    Trains will run normally on all days with slightly less service on Dec.25 and 26 but nothing major. You can check the schedule on the timetable link above.

    I’m not sure which website you are using to check prices – We have a list of retailers here with pricing in Swiss Franc and Euros. Most of the time once you are on a retailers website, like HappyRail, you can change the currency to GBP or any other (in the bottom of the site in this case).

    If you are traveling regularly on your 4 days the Swiss Travel Pass (4 day) is the most convenient for sure. I Otherwise I would look at the Swiss Half Fare Card.

    The Swiss Transfer Ticket can be an option but probably only if you aren’t using buses, trains, cable cars etc after you arrive in Interlaken/Grindelwald (ie they are most popular for ski holidays in 1 destination).

    To compare costs and find out which rail pass is the cheapest for your itinerary use our Excel spreadsheet here: How to choose the best rail pass.

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    30 November 2017 at 21:29:41 #872449

    Hello Carrie,

    A full-fare round trip Geneva Airport – Grindelwald – Geneva will cost almost as much as a 3-day Swiss Travel Pass so that’s the way I would go. A 4-day Pass is probably not warranted as the train fare from Geneva to the Airport is only CHF 3!

    I would also recommend that on your return trip Interlaken to Geneva you follow the Golden Pass Line (http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass) via Zweisimmen and Montreux.

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