Thun to Lake Como with Swiss Travel Pass

We're going to be in Switzerland in August ad need to get from Thun to Lake Como or one of the smaller places on either the east or west side of the lake. No bookings yet. As we will be using a 4 Day Swiss pass, and are staying for 6 days we need to maximise that pass on the longest journey, the one from Thun to Lake Como. First question: The map for the Swiss Pass shows Chiasso, near Lake Como as the end of the line. Is this included in the pass ? Secondly: If we have to pay extra for this leg It looks like the cheapest route is to return to Zurich and train it to Como ? Has anybody got some suggestions - thanks travellers

Welcome Timmot!

The Swiss Travel Pass indeed includes traveling until Chiasso (see here). A ticket from there to the town of Como only costs a few Swiss francs, but more if you decide to go to another town. There are various routes to Chiasso: Zurich is an option, but also Bern - Lucerne - Chiasso (you can even include a boat trip, see here). Another option is Thun - Brig - Domodossola - Locarno - Bellinzona - Chiasso. Very scenic as well, especially from Domodossola to Locarno (Centovalli railway). All these options are included in the pass, except for a small surcharge for some of the Centovalli trains.

<<"Thun - Brig ">>

I like the local route ( the Lötschberger train) for excellent scenery. The inside of the long tunnel on the new "basis" route is rather poor scenery. ;-)

Just thought I'd add it to expand on your comment, since i know that you have recommended it in the past.

Slowpoke

Yes, that's indeed a good one. A variant of variant 3 :-)

Hi Arno - thanks so much for the time taken to respond.

We've amended our trip to concentrate on the Bernese Oberland region, and will stay in Interlaken West, because of centrality to trains etc. We will use a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass but start using it only on the 3rd day after arrival. We will therefore be funding travel from arrival in Zurich on 19 August up to when we use the Pass, on the 21st. We'd like to walk aaround Thun and areas associated and prefer to keep our traveling costs down for those two days. I see there are Super Saver fares currently available, which would help but these are not always available, so would like to prepare for when that period is open for booking - when will that be?

When getting into the use of the Pass we're open to traveling around, so welcome suggestions. As the map of the Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald areas is not too clear on the costs of gondolbahns (?) and lifts etc, it looks like the Pass covers free trips to Wegen and Grindelwald and a 25% discount on the rest - is that correct?

When using your cell phone app would we need to arrange a local sim card - or able to use one bought, say in the UK ?

When leaving Interlaken West we head for Como.S.Giovani, which I see is covered on the Pass. Our thoughts are to use the 3hr 37min trip from Zurich via Lugano, and travel backward from Interlaken to Zurich to start that trip. There are other routes but this seemed a good one, for not having to change trains often. It does not seem as if we're required to change at Chiasso. As we are both in our 70's we're trying to avoid moving luggage unnecessarily. Do you know whether the station is far from the ferry as we may want to stay on the East side of the lake ? Thanks for the help Arno

Hi Timmot,

Supersaver tickets are available from 30 days before traveling (see here). They're for one train only and not refundable. You may want to use it for a morning outbound trip when you're sure you'll make that train, but not for the return trip, in order to be flexible.

You can zoom in on the map to see all details, and the major discounts are listed under the map link on myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ validity as well. It's indeed free to Wengen, Grindelwald and Mürren as well. The scenic Schynige Platte railway from Wilderswil is free too. Other mountain transport is 50% off, except for Wengen/Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and Jungfraujoch: 25% off.

I'm not sure what you mean by "your cell phone app". We don't have an app actually. We do have SIM card tips: myswissalps.com/simcar d.

Como is not covered by the Swiss Travel Pass, please see my previous post. Coverage ends in Chiasso. You will first need to know which town on Lake Como you're going to. It might indeed be best to travel via the town of Como, but getting a bus from Lugano to Menaggio could be quicker depending on where you stay. That bus is included in the Swiss Travel Pass. I can't provide much help on the Italian part of your trip though. I've never been to Como or traveled on that ferry.

Thanks Arno

The SBB Mobile application for ones cellphone. We'd seen that various tickets and maps for walks are available for our cellphones - but have now found the link for that, thanks anyway.

I like the idea of going by bus from Lugano to Menaggio - I'll check out the times etc.

Your help again appreciated.