Confused wether a pass is worth the money

Hi, appreciate if you could advise if a pass is worth the money for our short trip to beautiful Switzerland. We are planning to arrive in Zurich by train from france(tickets purchased). In Zurich we will stay 2 days only then traveling to Lucerne for 2 days where we may take the Mt. Pilatus trip or part of it. Then we will travel to Interlaken area where we will stay for 5 nights and return to Zurich the night before the flight. In Interlaken we plan to take the jungfrau train 1 day, lake brienz by boat and rothorn steam train another day, possibly lake thun boat too. We tentatively booked hotels in wengen and Grindelwald. Is it worth to purchase a pass? We are a family with a 5 yr old child. Also really appreciate if you could suggest where is best to be based and enjoy the holiday wengen or Grindelwald. Thank you so much! Crina

Welcome to MySwissAlps, Crina!

Yes, a rail pass is certainly a good choice. I think you should look into a Swiss Half Fare Card. It gives 50% off pretty much all trips, including mountain transportation. Your child will travel along for free. If you want to make a detailed calculation to make sure which pass is most economical, you can follow these guidelines.

Both Grindelwald and Wengen are great for a family holiday. They're situated beautifully, right at the base of the gorgeous mountain range. Grindelwald is somewhat larger, thus providing more services, and more touristy. In my view, you can't go wrong with either choice. This matter has been discussed in previous topics that might be interestig to you. Some examples:

• Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald
• Grindelwald vs Wengen in September

I hope this helps you prepare for your trip!

We stayed in Wengen last year and loved it. We bought the half fare card and had the 6 day Jungfrau pass included in our hotel deal but even if we had paid for it it would have been worth every penny - the luxury of just being able to hop on and off of trains, boats, cable cars etc was priceless. It also means that if you want to take a ride on a particular cable car etc just for your child to have the experience or to see the view - or maybe re-visit a place - it doesn't cost any extra. I would say if you can afford it get a pass!

Thanks for you tip, swisscat!

Crina, if you plan to use public transportation in the Jungfrau region intensively, the Jungfrau Railways Pass mentioned by swisscat can be a valuable addition indeed. You'll get a 25% discount on this pass if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card.