Pass for 16 days Geneva/Bernese Oberland in Oct

  • Sinus123
    Participant
    6 posts
    11 September 2022 at 8:56:15 #828316

    Hi,

    Family trip for 4 (2 Adults, 1 Youth, 1 Child). Wondering if the Swiss Half Fare Card + 6 Days Oberland Pass would be ideal for my 16 Days in Geneva and Bernese Oberland region.

    Itinerary likely as follows:-

    6 Oct – Geneva

    7 Oct – Geneva to Interlaken. Would like to take the Gold Pass line to Interlaken.

    7 to 12 Oct – Interlaken, Pfingstegg, Grindelwald, Schilthorn, Niesen, Staubbach Falls, Oeschinen Lake, Rodelbahn Oeschinensee, plus others which I’ve not planned yet. Any suggested or recommended itinerary for the 6 days is much welcomed. Would like to soak as much of the Bernese Oberland region as much as possible, and to make full use of the Oberland Pass. Would likely to be staying at Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen area.

    12 Oct evening – Back to Geneva.

    13-20 Oct – Geneva and the surrounding areas, Laussane, Montreux, Gruyeres Medieval Village, Annency, Chamonix, etc.

    Any advise or suggestions would be much appreciated.

    Thanks 🙂

    Sunny

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    11 September 2022 at 13:46:46 #946738

    Hello Sunny, welcome to MySwissAlps.

    Good to hear you’ll be visiting this October. If you want to make intensive use of public transportation while you’re in the Bernese Oberland, the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland is a good choice. It covers a large area and even includes many mountain tops for free. You’ll find all validity details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland/validity.

    You’ll find suggested activities for the Bernese Oberland here: http://www.myswissalps.com/berneseoberland/activities. Each of our activity pages often suggests options to combine the activity with other excursions in the same area. An example is the paragraph “Combine your visit to First with other activities” at http://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwaldfirst. The “Route” sections of our activity pages explain how to get there in detail, for example http://www.myswissalps.com/schilthorn/gettingthere.

    If you combine this info with the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland validity map, plus the Swiss timetable, you’ll get to see which trips can be combined in one day. Here’s how to use the Swiss timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable.

    Some examples of trips that are doable in one day:

    This 1-day trip may also inspire you, as it shows how much can be done in 1 day if you plan carefully: http://www.myswissalps.com/onedayjungfrauregion.

    As for the additional pass: it would be good to combine your Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland with either a Swiss Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard) or a Swiss Half Fare Card (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard). Holders of both of these passes get a discount on the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland/price. Note that both passes have to be valid at the same time. So for the Swiss Travel Pass, this would mean you’d probably get a 15-day Swiss Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/price) plus a discounted Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland. This might be ‘overkill’, and your conclusion that combining a Regional-Pass with a Swiss Half Fare Card is the best option could be correct.

    In the end, it depends on the other trips you’ll be making from Geneva. If these are long and expensive ones, the Swiss Travel Pass could still be the better choice. Here’s how to calculate if you want to make sure: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass.

    Sure, you can get from Geneva to Interlaken via the GoldenPass route along Montreux and Zweisimmen. Please find details at http://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass.

    Does this get you started?

    Sinus123
    Participant
    6 posts
    12 September 2022 at 15:41:14 #946739

    Hi Arno,

    Thanks for the valuable advice and suggestions. Seems now I’m more or less confirmed will be getting the Half Fare card + Oberland Pass.

    A question, do I need to book the train or cable rides in advance? Or I just can just go ahead to take those rides on the same day without booking?

    Can’t wait to go there in Oct… 🙂

    Rgds

    Sunny

    Anna
    Moderator
    6274 posts
    12 September 2022 at 17:16:52 #946740

    Hi Sunny,

    There is no need to book seats on trains or cable cars in advance unless you are travelling on special panoramic trains such as the Glacier Express. If you have a valid ticket or a railpass, you simply get on board. Ticket inspections are usually done randomly on the train. All you need is present your tickets or pass upon request. You can find more information about this here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations

    Best regards,

    Anna

    Sinus123
    Participant
    6 posts
    18 September 2022 at 9:51:54 #946741

    Hi again,

    Just a check on the Golden Pass Line. For my trip, I be leaving from Geneva in the morning and making my way to Interlaken hopefully by noon time. Wondering if the steps below are correct.

    1) Get individual tickets with the half fare card from Geneva to Montreux and from Montreux to Saanen.

    2) From Saanen to Interlaken, I can use the Oberland Pass for the Golden Pass Line free.

    If the above are correct, do I need to book ticket prior 1 day (or earlier) or I can just purchase the tickets on the spot when I’m leaving on the actual day? I was checking the MOB site (mob.ch/activity/goldenpass-panoramic/?lang=en) and when trying to check the fare, I not sure on what to select for “Reduction” (Own ticket/Only Reservation/Non/Half Fare) when using the Oberland Pass. Presumably when using the Half Fare card, I will select “Half Fare”.

    Thanks

    Rgds

    Sunny

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    18 September 2022 at 10:22:44 #946742

    Hi Sunny,

    Yes, your understandings are correct. You’ll need a 50% discounted ticket for Geneva-Montreux-Saanen, and then your Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland takes over (https://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland/validity). Note that you don’t need a ticket at all for the route from Saanen. Just show you Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland when asked for, that’s all: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland/howtouse.

    Reservations aren’t required either: see https://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass/tickets and https://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations.

    You can get your discounted ticket Geneva-Saanen at the spot before boarding, or book it in advance online through any of the options listed at https://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/switzerlandhalffare.

    Sinus123
    Participant
    6 posts
    20 September 2022 at 1:03:05 #946743

    Thanks to Anna and Arno in answering all my questions. I know it’s not an easy task to answer every single questions but you guys are doing such a fantastic job.

    With that, I will plan my trip as per planned and follow the advise stated.

    Rgds

    Sunny

  • The thread ‘Pass for 16 days Geneva/Bernese Oberland in Oct’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10730 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.