Help with ticket cost for 7 day Swiss itinerary!

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    22 April 2018 at 17:50:07 #815468

    I am traveling with my husband & 2 kids (10, 14) in early June. Flying into ZRH & staying in Wengen. We have never been to Switzerland before and wanted to get your thoughts on,

    1 – If we have picked good activities with a mix of experiences – Trains, Cable cars, cruises, hikes & playgrounds for kids & adults 🙂

    2 – What is the best rail pass or passes to get – Swiss family or half ticket passes and/or Jungfrau travel passes

    Our broad plans below…

    Day 1 – US – ZRH – Wengen (Activities – Settle in, explore Wengen – perhaps head out to Trummelbach falls)

    Day 2 – Wengen – Lake Brienz – Wengen (Activities – Cruise on lake brienz, Giessbach falls, Ballenberg – Open air museum)

    Day 3 – Wengen – Jungfraujoch – Wengen (Activites – Top of Europe, Ice Palace, Sphinx observatory)

    Day 4 – Wengen – Lake Thun – Wengen (Activities – Cruise on Lake Thun, Visit a one/couple of castles in the area)

    Day 5 – Wengen – Murren – Schilthorn -Wengen (Activities – Allmendhubel “Flower Park” Playground, Muggestutz Storybook Theme Trail, Bond Museum)

    Day 6 – Wengen – Grindelwald – Wengen (Activities – First Cliff Walk, Alpenspielplatz park at Grindelwald First, one of Bachalpsee Lake (hike there) or Maennlichen (hike the romantic Maennlichen trail)

    Day 7 – Wengen – Lake Lucerne – Zurich (Activities – Zurich City walk or cruise Lake Lucerne if we decide to go via Luzern)

    Day 8 – Fly back to US

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    23 April 2018 at 1:44:30 #882945

    Hi Ina, and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    >> I am traveling with my husband & 2 kids (10, 14) in early June … If we have picked good activities with a mix of experiences – Trains, Cable cars, cruises, hikes & playgrounds for kids & adults

    It looks like a good itinerary. You are the best judge of how well it meets your family’s interests 😉

    >> What is the best rail pass or passes to get

    On the face of it, the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland looks like a good choice, although you would have to supplement it with tickets between Zürich and Bern or Luzern/Lucerne. It is also not valid for boat trips on the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne).

    Some differences between the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Travel Pass:

    • Ballenberg – free with Swiss Travel Pass (STP); 25% discount with Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland (RPBO)
    • Oberhofen and Hünegg castles – Free with STP; 20% discount with RPBO
    • Schilthorn – Free with STP; 50% discount with RPBO
    • Swiss Family Card – Free if ordered with Swiss Travel Pass for parent/s. Not available for use with RBPO, but can buy a Child RPBO for children at CHF 30 each.

    On the whole, the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland would be a convenient choice, but if you want to know whether it is also the most economical choice, you would need to do the sums: plan your itinerary in detail, including all trips by train, bus, boat and cable car. Then look up the full-fare cost of all these planned trips and compare the total cost of separate tickets with the cost of doing the same trips with the Swiss Travel Pass, Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland, Swiss Half Fare Card etc.

    You can find fares in the Swiss Timetable.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

    (Use the timetable on the right with the red SBB logo)

    It is important to be aware that the fare shown for any trip in the Swiss Timetable defaults to half fare, as most Swiss residents will have a Half-Fare travelcard which entitles them to this discount. Your calculations need to be based on full fares, which are double the default fare that comes up.

    There is information and a spreadsheet here to help you:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

    >> Day 4 … Visit a one/couple of castles in the area

    Schloss Hünegg and Schloss Oberhofen are open (but closed on Mondays). Schloss Schadau is closed for renovation until June 2019.

    >> Day 5 – Wengen – Murren – Schilthorn -Wengen (Activities – Allmendhubel “Flower Park” Playground, Muggestutz Storybook Theme Trail, Bond Museum)

    The funicular from Mürren to Allmendhubel is closed for maintenance from 9 April until 22 June 2018.

    The Muggestutz trail is near Meiringen.

    >> Day 6 Bachalpsee Lake (hike there) or Maennlichen (hike the romantic Maennlichen trail)

    The trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is usually not open before about 15 June. The local tourist offices will be able to advise you which trails are open when you are there.

    Alpenrose

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    24 April 2018 at 5:00:50 #882946

    Alpenrose, A Big Thanks for your very detailed reply ! It is good to know in advance that some of the activities that we were planning to do will not be available (e.g. Funicular to Allmendhubel or the Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg & 2 castles).

    Will it make a difference on the type of pass that you have recommended if we did not do the cruise on Lake Lucerene ?

    Thanks

    Removed user
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    24 April 2018 at 12:58:10 #882947

    Hi Ina,

    >> Will it make a difference on the type of pass that you have recommended if we did not do the cruise on Lake Lucerene ?

    Everything I said in my previous post still stands if you don’t do a boat trip on the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne).

    Please remember that, although the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland would be a convenient choice, unless you do the sums as I recommended, you can’t be sure that it is the most economical choice.

    Make sure you have a look at the validity maps for the Swiss Travel Pass and Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland, and note what travel is free and what is discounted.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity

    http://www.myswissalps.com/re gionalpassberneseoberl and/validity

    Alpenrose

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