Swiss Travel Pass or Bernese Oberland Pass – help

  • Removed user
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    29 April 2018 at 3:09:48 #815589

    This will be our first trip to Switzerland. I’ve read much of this website and forum postings. I’ve downloaded the spreadsheet from this website (great tool!) and calculated costs for our trip.

    BUT, I’m still confused as to which train passes to buy. I think my main question is about the various high-altitude trains, cog trains, gondolas, etc in the Bernese Oberland and which pass is best for them.

    Our plan for 15 days total in Switzerland (for 2 adults):

    Tues Aug 28 – fly to Zurich and immediately get on a train to Luzern, where we stay for 3 days. Probably take a boat ride on the lake, maybe a train ride up a mountain?

    Fri Aug 31 – train to Wengen on the Bernese Oberland, where we stay for 7 days. RT day trip to Murren, RT day trip to Gimmelwald, RT day trip to Grindelwald Via Kleine Scheidegg, RT day trip to Schilthorn mountaintop, RT Wengen – Jungfrau mountaintop ??, RT Wengen – Interlaken Ost, boat ride to Brienz – a lot depends on the weather and our energy levels.

    Fri Sep 7 – train to Montreax (Golden Train?), where we stay for 4 days. Maybe a boat ride on the lake, a train up into the mountains, some other train rides around the area.

    Tues Sep 11 – train to Geneva, where we take a bus to Annecy FR and start our 2 weeks of travel in France. That’s 15 days total in Switzerland.

    So I’m considering either the 15-day Swiss Pass (CHF 485 each) or the combination of Half-Fare pass plus Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, total cost CHF 385 each. When I add up our plans, it seems be about equal EXCEPT for the high-altitude transport in the BerOber.

    Am I right that some of the various gondolas, cog trains, etc in BerOber are only discounted 25% or 50% with the Swiss Pass, but are covered entirely on the Regional Pass? This would make a big difference in our costs, especially considering how expensive those rides are.

    Any clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    29 April 2018 at 4:20:35 #883519

    Hi Bpascal and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    Have you looked at the validity pages for those passes? That will tell you the discounts offered by each pass:

    Generally yes, the discounts are better for cable cars in the Bernese Oberland with the R.P. Bernese Oberland. But once you have all the discounts and prices you can enter them in the spreadsheet and know for sure.

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