Suggestion on 4 day tour and swiss pass

Hello,

I am planning for a 4 day trip to switzerland(1 night stay in Lauterbrunnen, 2 night stay in Lucerne).

Day1- Reach Lauterbrunnen at 1.30 pm from Germany. Visit Trummelbach falls and Breinzersee.

Day2- Early morning, Good Morning Ticket, to Jungfrau Joch. After returning from Jungfrau joch, travel from Interlaken to Lucerne by Golden Panorama train.

Day3- Mount Titlis.

Day4- Mount Pilatus/ Lucerne lake

On day 4 at 5.30 pm, I have the train back to Germany.

I do not understand where can i fit the Glacier express.

Any other suggestion to my plan. Also which swiss pass should i go for the plan I shared.

Thanks.

Hi Pamol, and thanks for posting at MySwissAlps!

Your plans look fine the way they are now. Your days are ​really full, and you definitely can't include the Glacier Express as the route runs in an entirely different part of the country. But don't worry, the two regions you'll be visiting are stunning and you won't miss out on anything. The Golden Pass train between Lucerne and Interlaken is a great scenic journey too. The planning section provides tips on how to compose your schedule.

A 4 day Swiss Travel Pass would be a good option for your plans. All regular trains and all boat journeys within Switzerland will be covered. You'll only need additional tickets for the German legs of your train tips and discounted tickets for the mountain trips. An alternative is the Swiss Half Fare Card, but that requires you to buy discounted tickets for each train, boat and mountain trip.

I hope this helps you decide!

Thank you Annika for the quick reply.

One more question: Will Mount titlis and Mount Pilatus provide different experience or will it make sense to cover only one of them.

I have already booked tickets from Germany to Lauterbrunnen and back. Will I have to any other prebooking for any of the trains. Will it be fine if I buy the swiss pass after coming there.

Thanks.

Hi Pamol,

Both mountains are very different, please see the Titlis and Pilatus pages. You can buy the pass when and where you like, although online is more convenient (payment in your own currency, no time spend locally) and also cheaper as you can see here and here. Too bad that you already have a ticket! In that case, the Swiss Half Fare Card makes sense to save on the local day trips.

You don't need any other bookings, please see here.

Have a great trip!

Hi Arno,

I was trying to calculate the difference in cost if I select Swiss Half Fare Card and Swiss travel pass. I understand that for both cable cars have 50% discount. But for Jungfraujoch, travel pass has 25% discount but Swiss Half Fare Card has no discount. But if i select reduction as Half fare card on www.sbb.ch, I am seeing 50% discount. This is not helping me to calculate the difference.

Also I wanted to ask you as I am only going to Trummelbach falls and Breinzersee on first day, will it be better if i select 3 day travel pass instead of Swiss Half Fare Card and pay full amount for first day.

Also should i pre-book in advance the first class coach seats for panorama train from Interlaken to Lucerne.

Lot of questions :)

Hi Pamol,

The Swiss Half Fare Card offers a 50% discount on the Jungfraujoch trip, please see here. The Swiss Travel pass offers part of the trip for free (to Wengen/Grindelwald) and the rest 25% off.

You won't save money doing those trips without a pass. You'd better either pick the 4-day Swiss Travel Pass or the Swiss Half Fare Card. Assuming you won't do the Glacier Express, there's nothing else to book. You can simply board the trains and boats with your pass, or with your pass + discounted ticket in case of the Swiss Half Fare Card. You can compare the passes as explained here.

Thanks Arno. I missed that Jungfraujoch also has 50% discount for Swiss Half Fare Card. I think it is better to buy the pass on shop.acprail.com as it will be cheaper, is this correct?

We are total 3 adults and 2 children(7 and 5 yrs). So i understand that we will need only 3 passes as the children travel free. Is this correct?

Thanks.

Hi Pamol,

Yes, that's correct. You can go to acprail.com/rail-passes/swiss-half-fare-card to get them for the lower price. You only need cards for the 3 adults. You can obtain the Swiss Family Card for the children free of charge at any Swiss rail station.

Hi Arno,

In case I add Lucerne attractions like Glacier Garden, Lion Monument, Mirror maze etc if I have additional time or if I have to change plan due to weather condition, will swiss travel pass be better instead of half fare card? Till now my calculation says half fare card to be better. But I think swiss half fare card will not provide any discounts to the attraction I mentioned above but swiss travel pass will make it free. Is this correct and what would be your suggest in this case, which pass would be better for me.

Thanks,

Amol

Hi Amol,

The Swiss Half Fare Card can very well work out to be cheaper in your case, but the only way to know for sure is making a list of day trips and do the math. You are right in that the Swiss Half Fare Card does not include any museums. The Glacier Garden is free with the Swiss Travel Pass for example. You can simply walk up to the Lion Monument, it's free to watch for anyone. Apart from the museums, convenience is the main difference: not buying tickets (except for cable cars) versus buying tickets for each trip. Further details are on the Swiss Half Fare Card page and Swiss Travel Pass page.