May 31, 2010 - 2:55 PM
Hi hamlet, and welcome to the forum! In order to see what's included or discounted for a specific rail pass, you can review the detailed map linked from the page of the Swiss Pass, Swiss Card, or any other pass. The second step to select the best pass would be to find the exact regular prices of your travel plans versus the prices when using a specific pass. In your case, these are the prices per person:
Regular fares:
- Zurich - Lucerne: CHF 23
- Lucerne - Engelberg - Lucerne: CHF 32
- Engelberg - Titlis - Engelberg: CHF 82
- Lucerne - Interlaken: CHF 30
- Interlaken - Thun - Interlaken by boat: CHF 65
- Interlaken - Jungfrau - Interlaken: CHF 181.80
- Interlaken - Bern: CHF 26
- Bern - Basel: CHF 37
- Basel - Paris: not covered by Swiss rail passes. The price varies with the chosen train/time.
This adds up to CHF 476.80.
These are the fares with a 4-day Swiss Saver Pass:
- Swiss Saver Pass: CHF 221
- Zurich - Lucerne: free
- Lucerne - Engelberg - Lucerne: free
- Engelberg - Titlis - Engelberg: CHF 41
- Lucerne - Interlaken: free
- Interlaken - Thun - Interlaken by boat: free
- Interlaken - Jungfrau - Interlaken: CHF 111.75
- Interlaken - Bern: free
- Bern - Basel: CHF 37 (as this is day 5)
- Basel - Paris: not covered by Swiss rail passes. The price varies with the chosen train/time.
This adds up to CHF 410.75.
These are the fares with a
Swiss Half Fare Card (a Swiss Card would be more expensive):
- Swiss Half Fare Card: CHF 99
- Zurich - Lucerne: CHF 11.50
- Lucerne - Engelberg - Lucerne: CHF 16
- Engelberg - Titlis - Engelberg: CHF 41
- Lucerne - Interlaken: CHF 15
- Interlaken - Thun - Interlaken by boat: CHF 32.50
- Interlaken - Jungfrau - Interlaken: CHF 90.90
- Interlaken - Bern: CHF 13
- Bern - Basel: CHF 18.50
- Basel - Paris: not covered by Swiss rail passes. The price varies with the chosen train/time.
This adds up to CHF 337.40.
So, a rail pass is a good investment. The Swiss Saver Pass would be more convenient as you don't have to purchase that many separate tickets. A Swiss Half Fare Card would be cheaper in your case. The purchase options for the passes can be found on the pages of the
Swiss Pass and
Swiss Half Fare Card page. Please click your country of residence to start ordering.
Booking seats is not necessary, except for the leg Basel - Paris. You can book seats while ordering your
point to point ticket to Paris. Other tickets can be purchased at the local rail stations/lift stations.
I hope this helps!
Last modified on Jan 27, 2020 - 11:19 AM by Arno