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We have booked tickets to Switzerland for 7 days we will reach Basel from London on 29 dec we will stay in Bern for two days then move to Zurich for rest of trip till 4 jan can somebody help us plan which places to visit in Bern and Zürich definitely planning to visit mount Jungfrau what places we shouldn’t miss in Swiss we are family of two adults and two children one is 5 and one is 2 what would be cheapest option of travelling around for 7 days any help would appreciate thank you
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Hi Sushmita123 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
For ideas on what to see and do use our following web pages: Bern & Zurich.
If you want to explore the mountains of Switzerland though, neither town is the best option for you. It will be several hours by train to get to Jungfraujoch (at least 3 hours one-way) so I would try and stay closer if that is your main goal – Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen or Wengen are popular choices in the Jungfrau region.
Use the Swiss railways timetable here to plan out your trips. For other ideas of what to do in Switzerland click here.
Is there a specific reason why you chose to stay in Bern & Zurich?
Than you Lucas for reply
we have already booked hotels in bern and Zurichwe should plan now accordingly what is the cheapest train pass we should use for 7 days and we would do glacier train golden pass and mount pilatus
According to you which mountain should we visit with children near bern or Zurich??
Thank you
The only way to know what the cheapest rail pass for your 7 days is to plan out all your trips and use the spreadsheet here to do the math.
It will depend on how much of the country you choose to travel around. You could look at the Tell Pass, the Swiss Half Fare Card or the Swiss Travel Pass.
The closest mountains to Zurich and/or Bern with activities and probably snow for the kids would be near Luzern: Mt. Rigi, Mt. Pilatus or Mt. Titlis. You could also look at may Glacier 3000 near Gstaad (from Bern).
Hi sushmita.
I am having trouble reading your posts. Could you please add punctuation, such as periods at the ends of sentences?
I have read your replies,but still do not understand why you have based in Zürich. Perhaps i did not clearly understand your reasons. Is ther esome special attraction that draws you to Zürich? It is my favorite city in Switzerland for cultural items…museums, concerts, etc., but it offers little in the way of the scenic items that you seem to be seeking.
I’d consider basing in Luzern instead of Zürich to meet your requested interests.
Slowpoke
HI
thank you for replying,
I wanted to know is interrail pass good or Swiss travel pass will be good for 6 days,
I am travelling from London to Zurich for seven days?
Hi Sushmita123,
The Interrail Switzerland Pass suits you if you have planned a lot of traveling in Switzerland, and mainly by train. The Swiss Travel Pass includes much more discounts on mountain trips (cable cars, cogwheel trains, etc.). The mountain trips are quite expensive, so the Swiss Travel Pass will give you good discounts. Buses, boats and city transport are free as well. It also includes free entrance to museums.
Hi thank you for reply Chantal,
i was wondering mountain trips are not included in interrail pass??
we will be mainly interested in going to mount junfrau,mount pilatus,mount rigi Swiss pass gives 25%discount not 100 %
i am quiet confused which one should buy? We are two adults going to travel in Switzerland between Basel , bern, Zurich will use train mostly please can somebody tell which pass would be best interrail or Swiss pass?? Will reach Basel on 29 by flight and leave Zurich on 4 by flight and are these passes valid on new year day 1 st and 2nd of jan??
You’re welcome Sushmita123. If you click on the blue links in my previous response you’ll find more details about the two passes: where they are valid and how to use them. You’ll find all discounts on these pages as well.
Since you’re pretty much clear on what you would like to visit, why don’t you just scroll up to Lucas’ answer, and use the spreadsheet he’s referring to and do the math.
The Swiss travel pass gives you 50% discounts on mountain trains, etc.
We just used them in Zermatt and were quite happy with the discounted fares. We could have used a pass with less days since just using the pass on the mountain trains for a discount did not constitute a “day” of use on the pass. We didn’t understand that before we purchased our passes.
A trip up to the top of the Gornergrat for instance is expensive but the pass made it reasonable for us, especially since only the cafeteria was open and the view was poor due to the snowy weather. Still it was worth the trip since we love to ride trains.
HI Cam223 –
<<“The Swiss travel pass gives you 50% discounts on mountain trains, etc.”>>
I’m not an expert on the various passes, but I’m pretty sure it is only 25% for the Jungfraujoch line , at least.
Slowpoke
Hi Cam223,
I’m curious on your comment about: “just using the pass on the mountain trains for a discount did not constitute a “day” of use on the pass. ” This is referring to the Swiss Travel Pass correct?
Do you mean it wasn’t worth having the Swiss Travel Pass to just use it for one train trip into the mountains on one day? You certainly do get more of your money’s worth the more you use the Swiss Travel Pass.
Thank you for all replies,
I will reach Bern on 29th December I am thinking of buying tell pass for 5 days I have seen map of tell pass still not sure from bern which is closest station where I can use tell pass for transport?
and from Zurich which is closest station I can use tell pass?
does tell pass include all cable transport on mount rigi mount pilatus, mount Titlis
Hi Sushmita,
If you’re traveling to Interlaken and further, it will be Interlaken. Therefor a regular ticket to Interlaken is required. If you’re traveling to Lucerne, you’ll have to buy an additional regular ticket to Langnau. As of Langnau your Tell Pass will be valid. There’s no need to change trains in Langnau by the way.
From Zurich it will be Zug should you be traveling to Lucerne. A trip to Bern is not included in the pass.
Mt. Rigi, Mt. Pilatus ad Mt. Titlis are for free. Details are on the web page here.
Hi Chantal thank you so much for reply.
One more question
i will travelling from bern to Interlaken with regular ticket then tell pass will be free from interlaken to mount rigi ( tell pass area covers) from
central area will travel to Zurich so will need regular ticket from Lucerne to Zurich?
I will need regular ticket return which is costing 30 chf return ticket for 4 days(120)hotel is in Zurich
is there any cheaper option of transport?
thank you
Hi Sushmita,
From the central area to Zurich you will have to purchase a regular ticket as of Zug (It’s the Lucerne – Zug – Zurich train track).
You could have a look at the Swiss Half Fare Card (on top of the Tell Pass). The price is CHF 120,- and gets you 50% discount on tickets for trains. The only way to work out which is best is to calculate the full fares for the trips you want to do and then compare costs. The excell sheet might be helpful http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass.
Hi Chantal
Even I was thinking of half fare card,was wondering with regular tickets problem is we have to catch train on time we are with children might miss train will have to buy tickets again if we miss train? Or is it possible can catch train earlier than bought?
one more question
i have already bought two single tickets from airport to bern and not used half fare card fare was almost 60 chf can I claim half refund if I buy now for that fare?
we are two adults will have to buy two separate half fare cards each
is there any 2 for 1 for transport?
i read about 2 for 1 coupon pass is it any good?
thanks
Hi Sushmita,
The regular train tickets are not time-sensitive. So if you miss the train, you can catch a later one. I’m not sure if they’ll give you the refund. I can check for you tomorrow.
Yes, you’ll have to buy two Swiss Half Fare Cards. There isn’t such a thing as 2-for-1 train tickets.
Concerning the Swiss Coupon Pass (2 for 1 coupon). Click for a larger view of the booklet. It can’t be downloaded but you can read it online. If there are enough offers in there for you to at least break even, then buy it. Otherwise do not. The price of the booklet is CHF 49,-.
Thank you Chantal
thank you for answering all questions for your efforts,I am quite confident now what to do and which option will s best thank you very much.
Great to hear Sushmita!
What I meant about the use of the Swiss Flex Pass and the mountain train and gondolas was that the days that we took only the gondola up the Klein Matterhorn and the train up the Gornergrat, they checked to see that we had valid passes but this was not a day on the pass itself. We only tooks trains on the first and last days of our trip. We thought that the days on the mountains were counted as days for the pass and they were not. We didn’t need a 4 day pass we could have got by with 2 or 3 days.
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