MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Comparing pass options for 4 nights Wengen in Oct
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Hi everyone,
I am looking to understand a few things in respect of the differences between the Jungfrau travel pass, the Bernese Oberland pass and the Swiss Travel pass.
I will be in Switzerland for 4 nights in October beginning and will be spending all of these 4 nights in Wengen. In terms of itinerary, while I haven’t frozen on it yet (still doing my research!) I am fairly certain that I’d end up spending the 3 full days that I have in the Jungfrau region only (mostly on the hikes, exploring the nearby villages etc).
Keeping this in mind, I feel the Jungfrau travel pass would be more appropriate as the Swiss Travel pass does not cover most of the cable cars/gondola rides in the region. Wanted to check if this under standing is correct. Given that I would be in the Jungfrau region only, with only 3 full days, the Bernese Oberland pass also does not seem to make too much sense. Going by this reasoning, I feel the Jungfrau pass would be most ideal (giving me a some flexibility as well). I wanted to check if I am missing anything in making my determination.
If I take the Jungfrau travel pass, on the first day while travelling from the Zurich airport to Wengen, I believe that I would have to take a point to point ticket from the airport till Interlaken – post which the Jungfrau pass would be valid up till Wengen – however, if I take the Swiss Travel Pass, I wouldn’t have to buy the addition point to point travel pass. Is this correct?
Would appreciate any thoughts on the above!
Thank you.
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Hello miswritesand Welcome to MySwissAlps,
To figure out the best plan you need to also factor in getting to and from Wengen for your Swiss arrival/departure point. The Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass and bit.ly/2rkekat) can augment the Jungfrau Travel Pass or maybe it turns out a Swiss Travel Pass which covers those routes is best.
But the bottom line is you should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math. The spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” tab for all available passes. Be sure to check that for each pass you are considering.
Hi miwrites!
Most of your understanding is correct, but I can add some nuances. You wrote that most of the mountain transportation in the Jungfrau region isn’t covered by a Swiss Travel Pass, whereas it is with the Jungfrau Travel Pass. The Swiss Travel Pass does offer discounts on many cable cars though, and it even includes the entire Schilthorn ride for free (at least, it does so up to December 2019). The Schilthorn is discounted by only 25% with the Jungfrau Travel Pass, so this could make a difference. You’d best study the pages below for all details:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrautravelpass/valid ity
Yes, your assumptions about the ticket Zurich Airport-Interlaken are correct: it would be included in a Swiss Travel Pass, but you’d have to get an additional ticket if you use a Jungfrau Travel Pass.
Over all, the Jungfau Travel Pass seems to make sense if you’re sure that you’ll spend your days just in the Jungfrau region. Note that weather might be better in other regions, so if you want to have the freedom to travel around to areas with possibly better weather circumstances, a pass with a larger or even nation-wide coverage area would be better.
Thank you Annika and Rockoyster for your prompt replies.
I wanted to add a few more details. My husband has a found a great deal on the Swiss travel pass on Klook which is offering a 50% discount for Indian travels if booked today but limited to a 4 day pass.
Based on this new information, If we go with this, then I guess our travel from Zurich to Wengen would get covered. We wont be doing the Junfrau top trip but would explore First, Grindelwald, Harderklum, kleine scheidegg etc.in the region. So I guess the additional cost will be for the cable cars/Gandolas in the Junfrau region. As Annika suggested, this would also cover Schilthron summit (including cable cars?). Does the 50% discount on Swiss travel pass make it a better option?
The last leg of our trip is from Wengen to Florence. Since this is on Day 5 (and not covered in Swiss travel pass), we plan to either take a super saver (based on availability) trip to Spiez and then a train to Florence form there.
Any additional thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
50% off a Swiss Travel Pass sounds like an offer too good to refuse.
From Lauterbrunnen a very nice circuit to do is to Grütschalp (cable car), Mürren (train), Gimmelwald (cable car), Stechelberg (cable car), Lauterbrunnen (bus). From Mürren you can easily visit Schiltorn (don’t miss The Thrill Walk at Birg) and even Allmendhubel if you have time. In between Stechelberg and Lauterbrunnen the bus stops at the Trummelbach Falls. Well worth a look. The entire circuit and side trips are free with the Swiss Travel Pass apart from the Allmendhubel Funicular (50% discount) and the Falls (modest entry fee).
From Wengen your best bet would be a Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass/price) to get you to the Swiss border at Domodossola. You should buy your Italian tickets as early as possible to get the best price.
Hi Miwrites,
Thanks for mentioning that promo. We had already listed it on http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/promotio ns, but with a more modest discount. Apparently they added an extra discount just for yesterday and today.
Rockoyster – Thank you for your response again. Your suggestion definitely takes care of an itinerary for 1 day for us 🙂 We had a few additional questions:
1. How do I avail the 50% discount from Swiss travel pass on the some of the Gondola rides through the SBB website? At present it only shows an option to select the Half fare travel card. Was hoping to do it online so that we dont have to stand in the ticket lines. Or we can only avail the Swiss Travel pass discount by showing this in person?
2. I believe we will reach Wengen by 11 a.m. Could you suggest some activities that we can cover on the Day we reach
Appreciate the help so far!
Arno – My husband did stumble on it so yes i believe it was a last minute inclusion by Klook 🙂
Thank you Rockoyster! That’s a great suggestion and would probably take care of a whole day for us 🙂
Arno, it is a rather tempting discount – in the absence of which, I feel we would have just gone with the Jungfrau travel pass!
I had a few other follow up questions:
(1) With the Swiss Travel Pass, I believe that most gondolas/cable cars would be at a 50% discount. I wanted to check how to avail this discount? When I go to the sbb website and try booking ( for example) the cable car from Wengen to Männlichen (Luftseilb. Wengen), under the “discount card” options there is no option for a “Swiss Travel Pass”. The only options are Half-Fare travelcard, Junior travelcard and Children’s Co-travelcard. So how can I make use of the 50% discount available through the Swiss Travel Card?
(2) We would like to buy all our tickects online. Are there any gondolas/cable cars in the Jungfrau which require these to be purchased in person/from the ticket counter?
(3) On the first day, we will reach Wengen by 10:00 am (approx). Assuming we settle down/check in by 11:30 am – would you be able to suggest some options for half day activities around? (We initially thought of going to Bachalpsee on the first day, but on further reading it is quite obvious that this would need almost and entire day and probably an earlystart).
(4) I was also looking for a few “rainy day” activities just in case and so that we are not caught off-gaurd. One option seems to be the hike behind Staubbach Falls at Lauterbrunnen. The other option is probably to do a boat ride at Lake Thun or Lake Brienz (given that these would be included in the Swiss Travel Pass as well.). What would you recommend?
Many thanks for your help and patience!
Hi Miwrites,
1) 2) Please see Annika’s first link for exact Swiss Travel Pass discounts. The SBB websites is geared to Swiss residents and does not show tourist passes. You only need that website to check for train schedules: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable. Discounts are available on the spot and in some cases also online. If so, you’ll find links on all our mountain pages (http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/naturalsites/ mountains). For Männlichen I am not aware of such an option.
3) I would suggest to do something closer to Wengen than the Bachsee. You’ll find suggestions on our Wengen page: http://www.myswissalps.com/we ngen/activities. For example: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/wengernalp-kleinescheidegg.
4) There are bad weather suggestions on our Wengen page too: http://www.myswissalps.com/we ngen. A boat trip is indeed doable even if it’s drizzling.
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