[hannahsmom]

20 June 2018 at 3:05:26 #816764

Hi, I will need a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass-Flexi and a 10 day Berner Oberland Pass for my 2 week stay in August. I’m trying to figure out where to buy these. If I buy directly from the SBB site, they are both paper and they don’t offer a discount on the regional pass in conjuction with the Flexi Pass. They do give a discount if you have the STP for the same days…but why would anyone do that?

Happy Rail offers a discount on the regional pass if you’re also buying a Flexi Pass. And they offer a print at home option for the regional pass–the Flexi pass is paper and can be mailed. Which sounds great, but my inner skeptic is wondering how a re-sale company can offer a discount that the Swiss Rail organization cannot, and also offer a print at home version regional pass that isn’t available on the SBB website.

Would like some assurance that Happy Rail is legit, that the print at home passes work, that they have a decent customer service if there are problems…etc. Any reviews/testimonials would be appreciated.

Also, Thank you My Swiss Alps, for all the great information. This will be my second trip to Switzerland in 2 years.

Leah

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[Arno]

20 June 2018 at 5:26:57 #888853

Hi Leah,

HappyRail is perfectly legit; we only list trustworthy websites on MySwissAlps. I know their team personally. No worries there!

As for the discount: the discount on the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland only applies if you actually use your Swiss Travel Pass Flex on the same days. This is a very expensive use of the pass so not recommended in reality, please see http://www.myswissalps.com/re gionalpassberneseoberl and/price. It can be combined with a regular Swiss Travel Pass or a Swiss Half Fare Card though. I’ll ask HappyRail to be more clear on that on their website.

Both SBB and HappyRail offer the same discounts if combining passes. The only difference is that SBB does not list Swiss Travel Pass Flex, probably because it’s a theoretical option only.

• HappyRail: https://www.happyrail. com/en/pass/europe/swi tzerland/regional-pass-berner-oberland
• SBB: https://shop.switzerla ndtravelcentre.com/#/e n/overview/regionalPas ses

A different combination of passes might be better for you? Perhaps the Swiss Half Fare Card instead of the Swiss Travel Pass Flex. The Flex pass is a relatively expensive option, even aside from the above limitation on the discount.

http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard

[Slowpoke]

20 June 2018 at 9:28:08 #888854

Hi Hannah-

Happy Rail gave me excellent, attentive and personalized service on a a specialized reservation a few weeks ago.

They spent a lot of time on a very small sale and helped me figure out how to do it.

Highly recommended.

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

20 June 2018 at 12:36:39 #888855

I recently bought 4 BO passes from Happyrail with no hassle, and the website is easy to use. I received an email to print our passes in less than 24 hours. I only had to confirm the payment once to make sure it was not a fraudulent transaction. Unlike SBB website: it took me more than 10 attempts.

[hannahsmom]

20 June 2018 at 17:28:43 #888856

Thanks to all for the replies. I’ve been doing the math and looking at different pass configurations. We’ll mostly be in the Berner Oberland region: Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Brienz, Kandersteg and want access to the cable cars/gondolas etc without having to pay more.(will be going up First, Pfingstegg,Mannlichen-Kleine Scheideg,Murren,Allmendhubel,Schynige Platte, Oeschinsee, and Brienz Rothornbahn). We used that pass last time and it worked well for us. This time, we’ll have a day in Luzern at the beginning of the trip, and a couple days in Thun/Bern at the end of the trip, plus transport to and from Zurich airport. I was also thinking about a trip to Schilthorn while we’re in Lauterbrunnen(depending on weather), which is about halfway through the trip. That’s why I was looking at the Flex Pass- to cover the first day, the last two, and the ride up to the top of Schilthorn.

This is my first time relying entirely on public transportation. Last time we had a car in addition to the regional pass. Unless there’s a huge savings using another pass combination that I’m missing, I’ll likely go ahead w/ the Flex pass, as part of my priority is to not have to stop and buy individual tickets. I will go through the math again though.

And I’ll go ahead with Happy Rail, as I would like to have the passes before I arrive. Glad to hear people have had good experiences with them.

Thanks so much!

Leah

[Removed user]

21 June 2018 at 10:27:44 #888857

Usually the STP Flex is not the most economical option; but the math will tell you.

However, if you want to avoid buying tickets outside the Bernese Oberland region then it is your only option really.

You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass Flex from HappyRail here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpassf lex/price