Zermatt to Wengen with Bernese Oberland Pass
A traveler is planning a journey from Zermatt to Wengen and needs advice about the Bernese Oberland Pass and train routes. They are unsure about purchasing tickets, changing trains, and the coverage of the Swiss Travel Pass for the scenic route through Kandersteg versus the faster tunnel route.
- You need to buy a separate ticket from Zermatt to Brig, and then the Bernese Oberland Pass covers the route from Brig to Spiez via Kandersteg only.
- The Swiss Travel Pass covers the faster tunnel route, so consider it for convenience if you opt for that route.
- Use the timetable to ensure you enter correct stations, and don't get confused by the different train route indications.
AI-generated summary-
On the day we are travelling from Zermatt to Wengen I was looking at buying the Bernese Oberland Pass. It looks like there is only one option available through Brig to Spiez on this pass.
Is this a good scenic route? Do I have to prebook this route? Would I just buy tickets from Zermatt to Brig on the day? Can I stay on the same train Zermatt>Spiez or do I have to change?
When I go to check the timetable it says Zermatt to Spiez in the direction of Brig but brings up Visp OR Brig. The Oberland pass doesn’t cover Visp so which train (stations) do I want to look for in the timetable, please?
If I look at Brig to Spiez it says in the direction of Bern or Romanshorn. Which of these trains is covered by the Bernese Oberland Pass?
-
Hi Paddington,
The Regional Pass – Bernese Oberland (RPBO) only covers from Brig yes, so you need a ticket from Zermatt to Brig and from there on to Spiez and Wengen the pass covers you. You will change trains in Brig to move on to Spiez regardless.
From Brig the RPBO only covers the route to Spiez via Kandersteg and not the faster tunnel route (which is good if you want better scenery). You can see the route coverage here: http://www.myswissalps.com/re gionalpassberneseoberl and/validity (the grey route is the tunnel and the red route goes via Kandersteg).
The direction of the train is just the final stop and doesn’t matter – it is just the route they follow that matters. Enter Zermatt to Wengen via Kandersteg on the timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
Thanks Lucas. I didn’t know what the grey line was for.
Would the Swiss pass cover the grey route (the tunnel route) in that map?
I was thinking of a 4 day swiss pass and a 4 day Bernese Oberland (the cheapest combined option for us) but I can change to an 8 day swiss pass if the difference is better scenery.
Ah I see almost 5hrs via Kandersteg and 3.5 the tunnel route.
So the tunnel route is: in the direction of Brig Bahnhofplatz but you get off at Visp and go from there to Spiez, Interlaken and then Wengen. Is that the right one?
I did try and research this but the swiss pass map shows one of those lines as a red dashed line which doesn’t show up in the key at the side of the map so I can’t tell if it is covered by the pass.
It doesn’t really differentiate between the train lines either. That is why I asked the question. Thanks.
Paddington,
Please read the response from Lucas. He has explained that the RPBO pass does NOT cover the faster tunnel route.
Regards,
Kay
Yes I understood that but does the Swiss pass cover it? The map is not clear. Thanks.
Hi Paddington,
The Swiss Travel Pass does cover the tunnel if you want to go the faster route and you have that pass. The red dashed lines merely indicate tunnels – confusing with the dotted lines I know!
Grey lines on any rail pass map indicate the route is not covered.
Thank you Lucas.
The maps are a bit confusing!
I think we are going to get the 15 day consecutive Swiss pass rather than a combination. The half fare card would be a little cheaper but the convenience of the Swiss pass beats it I think. I’ll have to find someone who wants 2 x 4 day passes when we finish our trip as we will only use 11 days.
Thank you for all your detailed responses!
Hi paddington! I fully agree: if total costs don’t differ that much, the Swiss Travel Pass is much more convenient. Unfortunately the passes are non-transferable, as validity dates as well as your name and passport number are printed on them. So others can’t use your 4 spare days I’m afraid. You can find resellers here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass/ price.
- The thread ‘Zermatt to Wengen with Bernese Oberland Pass’ is closed to new replies.
