[Removed user]

12 March 2018 at 15:15:25 #814735

Hi. Our family, 2 adults and 4 kids ages 15, 12, 11 and 11 will be in Switzerland for a total 5 nights in July. Our current plans include getting to Wengen from Paris (Paris to Basel $314, Basel to Interlaken $220, Interlaken to Wengen approx $80). One day we plan to go to Jungfraujoch Top of Europe from Wengen $860.14. One day we plan the cable car day trip from Wengen to Mannlichen $200. Finally, we need to travel from Wengen to Zurich $480. So, based on current prices we would spend $2154 for our family of 6 for all these travel plans. I am having a difficult time understanding if it would be cost beneficial to buy a Swiss rail card and if so, which one. Much thanks for any help in making this decision!

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[Removed user]

12 March 2018 at 16:56:19 #878596

Hi chassidi, and welcome to MySwissAlps,

Yes, you should look into a Swiss rail pass. In order to pick the best rail pass for your trip read our page on how to choose the best rail pass. You’ll need to decide where you will be traveling to during your trip and do the math to compare different rail passes.

The Swiss Travel Pass might fit your travel plans. Your kids will travel for free with the Swiss Family Card.

[Arno]

13 March 2018 at 7:28:49 #878597

Hi Chassidi,

Once you have done the math, be sure to take a look at the current promotions and particularly this one: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/100-off-swiss-travel-pass-other-passestickets. Also I’d recommend to book the Paris to Basel train as soon as your travel date is fixed. That can get you really low prices (from €29). Details are here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france.

[rockoyster]

13 March 2018 at 8:52:42 #878598

Looks like you have already done your homework.

If you buy Swiss Travel Passes for the adults and order a Swiss Family Card (for free) you immediately save any fares for your kids travel.

Two 4-day Swiss Travel Passes will cost you USD$570. Sure there are some of your trips where you will only get a 25% (Jungfraujoch) or 50% (Mannlichen) discount for the adults but the kids will always travel free.

Check out where you can travel free at http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity.

Seems like a no brainer.

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 15:17:16 #878599

Thank you. Yes, I did all the math and we will buy passes. It seems cheaper for us to go with the half fare card but it may be worth the convenience of a travel pass to now worry with booking at all. I thought Jungfraujoch was 50% discount with either travel pass or half-fare card.

I am working on my itinerary and currently I am planning a day for the cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen and a separate day for Wengen to Jungfraujoch. However, I saw the the following suggestion on a forum. . . gondola from Wengen to Mannlichen, hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, take the train up to Jungfraujoch, return by train to Kleine Scheidegg, hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen. Does this make more sense than to separate Mannlichen and Jungfraujoch into two day trips?

Thanks again for your help.

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 15:19:04 #878600

Thank you. Our dates for travel from Paris to Basel (July 3) are included in this discount. Perhaps they will extend the discount out to July at some point or perhaps I should go ahead and buy those if they rates will continue to increase since that is high travel season.

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 15:56:25 #878601

Hi Chassidi,

Yes, the discount to Jungfraujoch is only 25% with the Swiss Travel Pass from Wengen unfortunately!

You can indeed do that hike if you prefer – personal preference on whether to do it all at once or split over two days. I suppose it would be cheaper to do it all on one day though.

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 15:59:43 #878602

Thank you. I keep reading that the train to Jungfrau fills in July but not to book in advance because of weather. Do you suggest to book the day before at the local train station in Wengen?

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 16:03:50 #878603

Yes, exactly. The train can fill up in July or August, but runs regularly. If you are on a tight schedule reserve the day before once the weather looks good for the next day.

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 23:58:41 #878604

>> I am working on my itinerary and currently I am planning a day for the cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen and a separate day for Wengen to Jungfraujoch. However, I saw the the following suggestion on a forum. . . gondola from Wengen to Mannlichen, hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, take the train up to Jungfraujoch, return by train to Kleine Scheidegg, hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen. Does this make more sense than to separate Mannlichen and Jungfraujoch into two day trips?

That would indeed make for a wonderful day! There are two factors that you should also consider though, in terms of whether you do it over one or two days, or in regard to the order in which you do things:

• After a clear morning, clouds can sometimes roll in during the afternoon, obscuring the views from the Jungfraujoch. If there is any chance of that, I would get up to the Jungfraujoch in the morning while it is still clear, and do the hike later that day or on the following day.

• If you make a reservation for a train from Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, it is for a specific train. Should you miss that train, your reservation is no longer valid and there is no refund. So it might be a good idea to allow longer than the standard time for your hike Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg. Then you can take the time to enjoy the hike and views, and stopping for photos, without worrying about missing your train.

You can check the weather and visibility at the Jungfraujoch here:

http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/weather/#jungf raujoch

http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/webcams/

Alpenrose