How does the Family Card work for mountain trips?

Hi

We plan to buy 2 half fare cards for my husband and for myself. I understand that with it the family card comes free which entitles children 6-11 to travel free if accompanied by an adult. What about Jungfrau and Titlis? Is the family card valid on these trains? Do the children get 50% reduction or free travel with family card for mountain trip please?

Thank you

Hi shulien81,

The Swiss Family Card allows children to travel along for free on all routes, including mountain transportation such as the Jungfraujoch train and the Titlis cable car.

You can get both your Swiss Half Fare Cards and your Swiss Family Card online through one of the retailers listed here. The easiest option would be www.swissrailways.com, allowing you to receive online print at home passes without any additional shipping or handling fees.

Thank you Annika! We still undecided whether to go for Half Fare Card or Bernese Oberland Regional Pass. We will have our car with us and the plan itinerary is as below

Tuesday 12/7 - Drive to Lucerne from Colmar. Sightseeing Old Town and if we have time we plan to do Golden Round trip. Overnight in Lucerne (Radisson Blu)

Wednesday 13/7 - Check out from Radisson Blu and drive to Ballenberg Open Museum. Spend half a day there. Afterwards drive to Grindelwald. We will stay in Grindelwald for 3 nights (Hotel Bodmi)

Thursday 14/7 -Jungfraujoch (weather permitting) -half day. Then sightseeing Grindelwald

Friday 15/7 - Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Wengen (is this possible in one day?) - no hiking but mainly nature photography +/- Schilthorn

Saturday 16/7 - Check out from Hotel Bodmi early then drive to Lake Blausee. Spend couple of hours there then drive to Zermatt. Check in Chalet Hotel Schonegg in Zermatt. We will stay here for 3 nights. Sightseeing Zermatt after check in hotel.

Sunday 17/7 - Matterhorn (weather permitting but not sure how far is Gornegrat from the hotel - do we need to take train from Zermatt or just walk?). Is Klein Matterhorn doable on the same day too?

Monday 18/7 - Walk around maybe do easy trails with the kids.

Tuesday 19/7 - Check out from Chalet Hotel Zermatt then drive to Chillon castle. Spend couple of hours there (not planning to go inside the castle but mainly taking photos). Then from there drive to Reims for overnight stay before crossing the Eurotunnel the following day back to UK.

Which pass do you think would suits us best? I was thinking if we have some sort of pass we will park our car at the base hotel then travel around with public transport. Is it worth getting Tell Pass as well? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi shulien81,

A Swiss Half Fare Card makes most sense, as it's valid throughout the country. You plan to visit several regions, so this is easier than purchasing several regional passes. And in the majority of cases the Swiss Half Fare Card is the best choice for those traveling with a car. Minimizing the amount of car traveling, leaving the car at your hotel/in your base town and enjoying local trips by public transportation, is a good plan. Mind to check parking options and costs in advance.

As for your further questions: yes, you can easily combine Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen, Muerren and Wengen within one day. On most summer days, skies will be clearer in the early morning, so if you want to visit the Schilthorn it could make sense to do this first. This is just a general pattern though, and checking short term local weather forecasts is important.

The cog train to the Gornergrat leaves right next to Zermatt's railway station. Please find information on our Gornergrat page.

Thank you Annika for your advice. May I ask you one more advice if thats ok please. I was just wondering is it possible to cover both Ballenberg open museum and Lucerne old town sightseeing in one day? We have two options so far

Option 1

Arrival day - stay in Lucerne for 1 night. Lucerne sight seeing.

Following day - check out from hotel in Lucerne then drive to Ballenberg open museum. Spend half day there then straight to Grindelwald (our 2 base for the next 3 nights)

Option 2

Arrival day - Lucerne sightseeing then to Ballenberg open museum. Drive to Grindelwald afterward and stay there for 4 nights.

which option is better do you think please? thank you

Another question is does the family card valid for travelling in Zermatt mountain areas? I read on the Zermatt website and it only mentions Junior Travelcard so I thought I check with you here. Thank you

(Junior and Grandchild Card benefits