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Hi Folks,
“Which is the Best Pass?” has to be one of the most common questions on this forum.
Well having, for the past two years, handed out advice to people to “read How to choose the best travel pass , download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math” I have now confronted the issue myself.
The last time we visited Switzerland, our itinerary meant that a 15-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex was a no-brainer.
This time the choice is complicated by the fact that there are 34 days (so just over the month covered by the more common options) between our first and last days travel in Switzerland, but only a total of 24 days actual travel within Switzerland. We are doing a couple of diversions into France and Germany.
After much calculation, going round in circles, head scratching and swearing, I finally settled on a combination of Saver Day Pass (1 day), Regional Pass Bernese Oberland (6 days) and Swiss Travel Pass Flex (15 days). Phew! Glad that’s over.
I now have a much better appreciation as to why people lose sleep over this question. 🤓
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Hi Rockoyster,
thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Yes, it can be difficult for travelers to choose the best Swiss rail pass, especially if they are not familiar with the system at all.
When does your holiday start? I hope you will have a wonderful stay in Switzerland 🙂
Hi Ildiko,
Arriving mid September. Staying at Thun, Montreux, Neuchâtel, Colmar, Konstanz and St Gallen.
Hi Rockoyster! Your travel dates are getting close now. How exciting! I think you’ve picked some excellent base towns and I’d love to hear about your experiences. We’ll surely see you around at the forum before you leave, but I’d like to already wish you a stunning stay in Switzerland.
Thanks Annika.
Looking forward to seeing something of the French side which we couldn’t fit in last time. 😎
Hi Rockoyster –
Considering your usual careful approach to issues such as “which pass” leads me to ask if you looked at the one year half fare card as an option?
You’ll recall that you no longer have to be a Swiss resident to get one….that is what I use. It fits my travel patterns…which have local travel as well as longer intercity runs.
Slowpoke
Yes. I considered a 3-month Halbtax.
<<“seeing something of the French side”>>
Hard to schedule, but worth it if you can do so:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/p laces/jaquet-droz-automata
You’ve seen the attached images before, I’d guess.
Snowman and I will be in that region in late September……
Roman ruins:
Motier is an attractive “Wine Town” on the Murtensee:
The Simonet family (among many others) makes and sells good wines there. I’ve found Simonet’s to be of good qualty, and they include some less common varietals.:
http://www.yvesbeck.wine/le-petit-chateau-famille-simonet-vully/?lang=fr
map.search.ch/M%C3%B4t ier-Vully-,rte-du-Lac-134?pos=573080,199746&z=10 24
Môtiers -Since the ban on absinthe was lifted in March 2005, Môtiers has become the focal point of production and promotion of the fée verte. has an intersting museum:ww.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/experiences/absinth e-museum/
Prehistory:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ La_T%C3%A8ne_culture
history-switzerland.geschichte -schweiz.ch/prehistory-lake-dwellings.html
Slowpoke
Attachments:
Very interesting links Slowpoke.
We just returned after a 8 day Switzerland trip. After pouring 10-15 hours of calculations, I too decided on 6 day Bernese Oberland and one Saver Pass and that worked out the cheapest option. We did Zurich-Wengen-Murren-Montreux-Zurich. The half pass actually works out more expensive. I realized the key was to calculate the average per/day cost of all travel, and then applying various Pass combinations to see where your pass cost is lowest than your per/day travel cost.
Hi Reenavaish,
My most economical option was 1 x Saver Day Pass, 1 x Point To Point, 1 x Regional Pass Bernese Oberland and 1 x Swiss Half Fare Card. I opted to pay a bit more for the convenience and flexibility the ticketless travel the Swiss Travel Pass Flex provides.
Hi Rockoyster –
It seems that you might have 1 day of the 24 in Switzerland that is not covered by your combinations….at least by simplistic addition of 15+6+1+1.
Are you actually going to stay in one place for a whole day? Or, is my analysis insufficiently insightful? 😉
Slowpoke
You are (almost) correct.
We arrive Thun late afternoon and have set aside the following day for pottering around the town, buying passes, SIM cards etc and jet-lag recovery.
But, and this is where the “almost” comes in, if we need to travel anywhere we shall confine ourselves to the buses covered by the local Panorama Card.
Hi Rockoyster –
With my knees getting less functional ( perhaps you would say “dodgier”?) every year, what you do for “pottering” might be called “doddering” for me. Luckily, in spite of the degree of increasing senile dementia with each birthday, normal to those with extensive life experience, my brain is only marginally “doddering.” As rule, I have not indulged in “pottering,” but it seems to be a process common to those who use the authentic version ( and closely related derivatives) of the mother tongue. We don’t do it but rarely here in the USA.
Nonetheless, last September, I elected to stay in Thun one night, before going to Wengen just after the Jungfrau Marathon.
I spent a very pleasant several hours walking up to the castle, and perusing the exterior and interior. I was amazed by the timberwork inside at the upper levels, and found the various commentaries on local history to be educational and interesting.
I highly recommend that you potter your way to the castle, and with the energy and bounce of youth, visit the castle, climbing all the way to the top.. Be sure to go all the way to the top.
Just my personal opinion, of course.
Slowpoke
“. . . with the energy and bounce of youth . . .”
Alas, a fast fading memory, but the castle is definitely on the agenda.
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