[Priyafdsouza]

5 August 2022 at 18:14:15 #827984

Hi All,

Really appreciate your advise in choosing the right pass.

We are 5 adults (including 2 seniors) and a 6 year old.

We plan to travel from 11 to 16th August.Our base is going to be VISP we will be staying.

we plan to dedicate 1 day (either 12th or 15th to Zermat and Matterhorn)

1 day Gstaad

3 days to Jungfrau region, primarily top of Europe , Grindelwald, lauterbraunen and murren . We will be taking the Swiss half fare card, but as we will be going almost everyday out of visp shall we take the Bernie overlap;and pass which has a station in brig? three adults will then pay ?for the train ride up to jungrfaugh from eigergletscher which is not included.

Request some advise here.

Regards

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[Anna]

5 August 2022 at 19:03:40 #945228

Hi Priyafdsouza,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

Combining the Swiss Half Fare Card and the Regional Pass Bernese Oberland (RPBO) is a good option as you’ll be spending 3 days in the Jungfrau region and also visiting Gstaad. Do note that the RPBO is only valid for free travelling on the BLS train from/to Brig (https://www.myswissalps.com/lotschberger) and you still need to arrange for tickets between Visp and Brig (discounted with the Swiss Half Fare Card). Information on how to purchase the discounted tickets with the Swiss Half Fare Card here: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/switzerlandhalffare

For the trip to Jungfraujoch, the RPBO provides free travelling up to Eigergletscher. The connecting ticket from Eigergletscher to Jungfraujoch is CHF99 return. You can download the RPBO validity map here: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland/validity

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Anna

[Priyafdsouza]

5 August 2022 at 19:43:53 #945229

Hello Anna ,

I just had some followup questions

do you suggest another area other than VISP to keep our base so that travel is easier.

Also if CHF99 is the price from Eigergletscher , will we get this discounted further by combining Swiss Half Fare Card or RPBO.

I guess we made an error in our planning and wanted to focus on the Jungfrau region with day trips to Zermatt and Gstaad , we though visp was centrally located to all three areas as it seemed in the map.

Regards

[Removed user]

5 August 2022 at 23:58:35 #945230

Don’t be too hard on yourself. You were not wrong in your original thought process for choosing Visp as a base. You are actually correct, Visp is geographically central to all your planned regions to visit. The problem is that the lay of the land and the position of the mountain ranges means that, although Wengen etc and Zermatt are the same physical distance from Visp ‘as the crow flies’, Zermatt is easier to reach from Visp than is Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. This is because Visp – Zermatt is a direct line up a valley – with a single railway line all the way, and Visp is on the south side of the Jungfrau massif.

Nevertheless, the journey time Visp – Interlaken isn’t actually all that much more than Visp – Zermatt. If you have an STP or Swiss half fare card, you can use the fast base tunnel route from Visp to Spiez, so using Visp as a base for the Jungfrau region is not as ‘silly’ as you may think.

However there are some very good places you could visit easily from Visp. You can see the Aletsch Glacier from the Valais regions (Rhone Valley), from resorts such as Riederalp and Fiesch/Eggishorn. You can access the Lotschental which is an out of the way valley on the south side of the Jungfrau range.

Overall Visp is a very good base in actual fact – frequent trains to lots of places, a very quaint old town, quiet bars and restaurants etc

It is worth considering these alternatives and doing something different, rather than ‘joining the whole, of the rest of the world’s tourists’ in the Jungfrau region…

[Anna]

6 August 2022 at 13:32:33 #945231

Hi Priyafdsouza,

If you’d like to focus on the Jungfrau region, I recommend choosing Interlaken as your base so you can plan convenient day trips to Zermatt and Gstaad. Combining the Swiss Half Fare Card and the Regional Pass Bernese Oberland would still work in this case. From Interlaken you can take the Golden Pass to Gstaad. The trip is fully covered by the RPBO. With the RPBO, you can also travel for free Interlaken to Brig via Spiez on the Regioexpress Lotschberger. From Brig you can take a connecting train to Zermatt and pay half-price for the ticket with the Swiss Half Fare Card.

For the trip to Jungfraujoch, the connecting ticket from EIgergletscher to Jungfraujoch is fixed at CHF99 return for holders of the RPBO. You won’t get further discounts with the Swiss Half Fare Card.

Let us know if you need further information.

Regards,

Anna

[Priyafdsouza]

7 August 2022 at 18:41:34 #945232

hi all thank you for the initial feedback Cani please also check regarding the below

WE will be taking a Swiss half fare card and this query

“If you have an STP or Swiss half fare card, you can use the fast base tunnel route from Visp to Spiez, so using Visp as a base for the Jungfrau region is not as ‘silly’ as you may think”

I believe the RPBO runs from Brig, but doe sit cross through Visp. or die need to travel form Visp to brig.

Would it make more sense to take the RPBO than the Top of Europe pass as it would cover our visits to Interlaken as well?

[Anna]

8 August 2022 at 6:14:05 #945233

Hi Priyafdsouza,

For the trip to Visp/Brig, the Regional Pass Bernese Oberland is only valid on the BLS train which goes over the mountain so the journey is extra long compared to taking the fast train through the tunnel. But if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card or a Swiss Travel Pass, the option to take the fast train for free or at discounted travelling is available to you. If you are planning to make Visp your base, combining the RPBO and Swiss Half Fare Card is therefore practical.

If you are interested in an excursion to Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe Pass includes one free trip to Jungfraujoch. However this pass covers a limited area in the Jungfrau region only. You can view the validity area here: Top of Europe Pass.

Hope this helps you in some ways to firm up your plans.

Regards,

Anna

[Removed user]

8 August 2022 at 23:48:08 #945234

Anna has clarified the situation for you very well.

I recommend a combination of Swiss Half Fare Card and RPBO, because the SHFC gives a discount on the purchase price of the RPBO. If you have both, you will be free to travel on either route between Visp and Spiez.

A reminder that Visp – Interlaken can be done on just 55 minutes via the base tunnel route, and also that there is still scenery to see between the north end of the base tunnel and Spiez