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Swiss pass or 1 month half fare pass?

This is the last part of my trip and I know that all I need to do is crunch the numbers, but because of all the research, I'm having research overload and could use some help!
This part of the trip starts June 28th.
Starting in Milan - Gimmelwald 3 nights, Gimmelwald- Moutier,Switzerland (couple hr. Stop to visit grandma home town) -Paris.
Weather permitting, would like to go to Schilthorn and Jungfrau.
Question: which is the best option? Swiss pass or 1/2fare.
Thanks in advance!
Claudia

Posted by
20085 posts

Whenever I crunch these numbers, I always come up with the Swiss 1-month Half Fare Card as being the best deal. One of the primary reasons is that for the Jungfraujoch, a Swiss Pass only gives you a 25% discount, while the Half Fare Card gives a 50% discount. Considering that a round trip to the Jungfraujoch can be 200 chf depending on where you start, its a lot of money. Now the Swiss Pass will get you to Wengen for free, but it isn't all that much off of the total trip price from say Lauterbrunnen. The Swiss Pass is very expensive. They charge a premium for the "convenience" factor, and they no longer offer the twin pass discount.

Posted by
16893 posts

If all the Swiss travel fits into 4 consecutive days, then that version of the Swiss Pass currently costs $263 for an adult and $223 for each of your youths and has the most full-coverage convenience for various services (but still just discounts for Muerren-Schilthorn and Wengen-Junfraujoch legs). US pass prices are expected to rise on Tuesday; they're up and down with the exchange rate. Unfortunately, you are traveling too late to use the current coupon code offer (for travel completed by June 30).

The 3-days-in-a-month pass is less coverage, so savings of just a few dollars makes it not compare well to 4 consecutive. Youth get the slight discount above on passes but not on the One-Month Half-Fare Card ($126 per person) or the tickets you buy as you go.

Posted by
16 posts

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like the Swiss Pass is the way to go.
Question: is there a difference in discount on the mountain passes for the youth vs adult pass? I thought with the adult pass it's a 50% discount not 25%.
Thanks for the advice.
Claudia

Posted by
16893 posts

Mountain lift discounts are the same for both adult and youth versions. 50% off almost everywhere that's shown as a dotted line on the Swiss pass map, but only 25% off from Wengen or Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch and return.