MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Rail or car for travel in Jungfrau region in March
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Hi I need help!!!!
Having been totally confused by the rail passes, my partner now wants to hire a car to get rid of all this confusion. All I want to know is, is this a good idea? Would we be able to get around ok as we are travelling in March? We are flying in to Geneva staying in Grindelwald and staying in this region for 5 days?
I understand the STP would cover everything, only 25% off Jungfraujoch
Half fare card-not covering airport transfers and 50% off Jungfraujoch
Jungraujoch hiking/sledging pass- cant find price.
I have looked at all the links on this site and I am still none the wiser!!!
Shan
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Hi Shan,
You can use the car to get to Grindelwald without too much issue (could be snowy roads, hard to know). But you can’t go any farther with the car. You would essentially be parking it there for the rest of the trip (unless you leave that area by car to go to other towns like Interlaken, Thun, Brienz and of course further out like Lucerne et al (where you can drive to).
But the towns of Murren and Wengen (near to Grindelwald) and of course all the mountains you may want to go up nearby are car-free. So a rail pass to cover those trips or to get some discounts at least would be beneficial for you I would think.
The Swiss Half Fare Card gets you 50% off all trips anywhere in Switzerland. This may be the simplest option for you if your head is about to explode with too many options! You always have to buy a ticket for every trip but it is always 50% off which is a good discount.
Use this PDF map on the Swiss Travel Pass and zoom into Grindelwald and then use the legend to see what routes are fully covered or partially covered by it.
Here’s the pricing page for the Jungfrau Hiking and Sledging pass: https://www.jungfrau.c h/en-gb/jungfrau-ski-region/jungfrau-region-hiking-and-sledging-pass/
For us to give you specific recommendations for a rail pass & for you to do price comparisons on different rail passes you need to create a day to day itinerary for your whole trip.
Thank you very very much.
Does the half price pass include airport transfer journeys?
Shan x
Yes. its all the same system here. You can see the coverage of the Swiss Half Fare Card here.
On the map, any grey lines get no discount – there are only a few routes in the country. Red lines are trains, yellow are bus routes, black lines are cable cars and white lines are boats.
For the Swiss Half Fare Card you get 50% off solid lines & dotted lines (dash lines are just tunnels).
Hi Shan,
In case you haven’t found it already, this page might be helpful for you as well: http://www.myswissalps.com/ca rversustrain
Thank you.
Can we travel via the Goldenpass line from Geneva airport to Grindewald? I’m assuming that half fare card is valid for this journey?
Cheers
Shan
Thank you Lucas.
Here is our itinerary.
Monday 5th March. Geneva airport to Grindewald (via Golden pass may be). Explore Grindewald as it will be late aftetnoon.
Tuesday 6th March. Sledging from Grindewald (via Grindewald Bus???)
Wednesday 7th March. Visit Junfraujoch.
Thursday 8th March. Ski lesson ? Available from Grindewald?
Friday 9th March. Whole day to visit Wengen/Murren or Schilthorn or trip on Glacier line. Not 100% decided on that yet, need to do more research.
Sat 10th March. Flying home from Geneva airport in the night so a leisurely journey back to airport. Suggestions to see or visit anything in way back to airport.
I’m thinking Swiss Half Fare Card going to probably be our best choice?
I appreciate you opinions.
Thank you very much
Shan
Hi Shan,
I think for your trip the Swiss Half Fare Card is the easiest choice yes. 50% off all tickets you will buy.
You have to do the math and compare the costs of rail passes vs. tickets to know what is the cheapest for you. Our page how to choose the best rail pass will help. If you don’t want to do that I ‘d just go for the Swiss Half Fare Card – its a good option.The itinerary looks good.
If you have time you could go to Gruyeres to visit the cheese factory or the nearby Cailler chocolate factory. Or stop at Montreux for lunch and/or a boat ride on Lake Geneva.Thank you Lucas!
Im so sorry that I have been a nuisance today. I think I’m getting there!
When using our half fare card (i will purchase online and print at home) how do we purchase rail tickets? Are you able to pre book? for example our rail journey from airport? I looked on Trainline website and it wasnt clear where to state you had a rail pass to get discount.
Tbanks again.
Shan
You don’t have to pre-book any tickets no. You can buy them at each rail station (office or ticket machine).
Just indicate that you have the Swiss Half Fare Card (“CFF SBB – Halbtax“) either way.Reservations are quite rare in Switzerland for regional trains and not something you need to worry about in March (low season except around the ski hills). I’ve never pre-bought tickets or mare reservations here.
If you want to buy them online though you can of course. See the retailers here.
For each passenger, you need to select the Swiss Half Fare Card (“CFF SBB – Halbtax”) under “Loyalty & discount cards” in order to get the discounted prices.Thank you very much indeed.
You have made a manic anxious woman very happy today!
Shan xx
Hi Shan,
If you have a smart phone it is really handy to use the SBB Mobile App to buy tickets. You can just show the conductor on the train the barcode on your screen.
You will of course need internet access to do the buying (wifi at hotel or dat SIM card) but you don’t need to be connected to show the store bar codes.
It is also super handy for checking timetables on the go.
If you install it now there is a demo mode which you can use to check out the features.
Wow Thank you. That certainly is handy.
Shan
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