Which Swiss Pass?

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Jul 27, 2012 - 9:38 AM

We are a group of 6 Aussies flying into Zurich and travelling by train to Wengen where we spend 8 nights. Planning to do day hikes from there and possibly getting the train to Jungfrau one day. How many mountain trains/lifts are we likely to use?

Then 4 of us are taking the train to Bern and flying out of there, the other 2 out of Zurich. I thought the Swiss Card would work for all of us but have been told by someone that Bern is not permitted as an exit point on this card. Can someone please clarify this for me and also advise an alternative - maybe the half fare card? Also any ideas on the best day walks from Wengen. Many thanks in advance. K

Annika

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Jul 29, 2012 - 1:45 AM

Hello Kariba! Bern is considered to be an airport station too, so it's no problem to use the Swiss Card and that could be a good option for your stay indeed. Another option is the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland, offering free travel days and discounted traveling in the Wengen area. This is especially convenient if you plan to use mountain transportation quite intensively on some days. When will you be traveling? If it's next Fall, the 2 for 1 offer on the Regional-Pass would be a very economical deal.

Hikes in the Bernese Oberland are listed here.

MySwissAlps.com recommends to read this:
All Swiss rail passes How to choose a pass?

Last modified on Dec 24, 2021 - 8:24 AM by Arno

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Jul 29, 2012 - 9:58 AM

Annika said: Hello Kariba! Bern is considered to be an airport station too, so it's no problem to use the Swiss Card and that could be a good option for your stay indeed. Another option is the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland, offering free travel days and discounted traveling in the Wengen area. This is especially convenient if you plan to use mountain transportation quite intensively on some days. When will you be traveling? If it's next Fall, the 2 for 1 offer on the Regional-Pass would be a very economical deal.

Hikes in the Bernese Oberland are listed here.

Hi Annika,

Our travel is from 17 to 25 August, so unfortunately we can't get the 2 for 1 deal. The Regional Bernese Oberland Pass seems very worthwhile. We will be out hiking or sightseeing in the region on most days.

If we went with the regional pass would we just buy ourselves a ticket from Zurich Airport to Interlaken and then buy our pass there before carrying on to Wengen?

Please confirm that the trip from Wengen to Bern would then be covered by this pass on one of the free days of travel.

What about the couple who go back to Zurich? Would they be better getting a transfer card as well as the regional pass?

Thanks for your help. It can be confusing as to which is the best pass to choose. K

Last modified on Dec 24, 2021 - 8:24 AM by Arno

Annika

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Jul 30, 2012 - 5:17 AM

Hello Kariba. Even without the 2 for 1 deal, I think the Regional-Pass really suits your plans. As for the combination with a Swiss Transfer Ticket: this is definitely cheaper than buying regular inbound and outbound tickets for the couple traveling back to Zurich Airport.

It will probably be for the couple getting to Bern as well. This depends a bit on how they use their Regional-Pass. Traveling to Bern is not entirely for free on a free travel day (it's free up to Thun and discounted onto Bern; these details can be checked if you download the validity map from the Regional-Pass page; scroll down a bit to find it). Anyway, it you don't want to use a free travel day for this trip, use Swiss Transfer Tickets instead. The advantage of this combination is that holders of a Swiss Transfer Ticket receive a 20% discount on the Regional-Pass. That's why I think this combination is economical.

The Swiss Transfer Ticket is not for sale in Switzerland, so it's easiest to buy both the Swiss Transfer Tickets and the discounted Regional-Passes at the same time through this link.

Last modified on Jan 27, 2020 - 11:12 AM by Arno

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Jul 30, 2012 - 7:26 AM

Hi Annika,

Thanks again for the very useful information you have provided. One of my fellow travellers has been doing some research as well and has come up with the Jungfrau Unlimited Railways Pass combined with a Swiss transfer ticket. What do you think of this idea?

Thanks again in advance. K

Annika

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Jul 30, 2012 - 8:16 AM

Hi K,

That's certainly an option, but I recommend you to take a look at the area covered by the Jungfrau Railways Pass. It's only meant to travel in a very small region. Anything beyond Interlaken (e.g. Bern) is not covered.

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