Three days in Wengen and one day in Lucern - train ticket question

The hole is that a full fare ticket from Wengen to Luzern is 49 CHF, not 24 CHF. Since you are not getting a Half Fare Card, you pay full price. And I believe the Berner Oberland Pass is 240 CHF 3-day full price.
https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/prices-tickets/

Thanks for the catch.. I mentioned the Junfrau pass price erroneously... i guess i will get the four day pass at 280 CFH and our party is two adults and two young adults... price is 196 CHF for young adults for 4 day BOP... and that is probably 50 CHF cheaper and more flexibility for day 4 too

If you are using the BORP to get from Domodossola to Wengen, you must use the route via Kandersteg. Takes a little longer, but the scenery is easily as good as the Glacier Express scenery. Sit on the left hand side of the train.

August looks like a rail travel month from the nether regions. Not only will have have to take a replacement bus from Milan to Domodossola, there is now a replacement from Domodossola to Iselle where you will catch your train to Spiez then on to Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, and Wengen.
There is also a train detour between Padua and Verona that adds time and extra connections to the trip from Venice to Milan.

Thanks Sam

I was not aware of the route change via Iselle... assume if i just go to milano centrale around 645am(for bus at 7am), i can buy ticket there and go to Domodossaola.. From Domodossala i guess, my OBP pass will be valid and i take whatever transport mode is available.. Looking at route map, it will be a train to Iselle and not a bus? is this right?

thanks

What is your exact travel date? For around August 18, there is a 7:00 am bus from Milano Centrale to Domodossola. Buy tickets in advance as you must have seat reservations. Contains the following notes.

Bus not equipped with toilets on board
Domestic bus replacing the EC offer
Standing travelers are not permitted
Bus stop points: in CENTRAL MILAN Piazza IV Novembre at the ATM stop on the Hotel Gallia side; in DOMODOSSOLA P.zza G. Matteotti P.E.

The bus arrives at 9:20 am and then you change to the replacement bus to Iselle at 9:45 which connects to the train to Spiez. This should be included with your BORP.

Check all the schedules before you depart to see if there are any updates.

Depending on where you are staying in BO and what you intend to do, buying the pass could be far more expensive than just paying single fares. Single fare rides (one way) throughout most of the valley are around CHF 5 or 8. So if you take 5 connections/day, you may be out CHF 50 at most. However, the BO Pass has great savings if you use the lift to Eiger base (and back), or up to First, as well as utilizing the boats on the lakes.

So, plan where you want to go & do in the valley and decide if the BOP is your best value overall. The savings for Jungfraujoch alone may make this a no-brainer.

Hi Marc

Thanks for your response and you are spot on as i plan to go to Junfraujoch and that ticket at full price is closeto 250 CHF(unless i do morning special which i am not sure if family will agree)... I have three nights/days in Wengen but have not planned what i am going to do completely but figure will be taking trains, Gondola's, lfits and boats, atleast on two of those days.... it is a good data point to knnow each ride costs 5 to 8 CHF as i have wondered about those prices

thanks

Hi Sam

My travel date from milan to Domodossola will be on Monday, Aug 19th 7AM...

Thanks for details on bus as i had no idea about it... bus stop points, is helpful so that i can book a hotel close by for previous night..

I was earlier thinking buses are at Milano Centrale but looks like this is at ATM stop Piazza IV Novembre

Can i buy the bus tickets a few days in advance or should i buy now itself? would there just one bus or multiple buses at the same time?

thanks

Bus not equipped with toilets on board
Domestic bus replacing the EC offer
Standing travelers are not permitted
Bus stop points: in CENTRAL MILAN Piazza IV Novembre at the ATM stop on the Hotel Gallia side; in DOMODOSSOLA P.zza G. Matteotti P.E.

So, i have purchased train tickets from Venice to Milan for August 18th.. I reach Milan 430pm in Italotren(private train) and i see a bus going to Domodossola at 5pm from Milan..(bus stop point provided earlier: Bus stop points: in CENTRAL MILAN Piazza IV Novembre at the ATM stop on the Hotel Gallia side; in DOMODOSSOLA P.zza G. Matteotti P.E.)

Question is, would i be able to catch the 5pm Bus to Domodossola as traveling same evening there saves me time the next morning getting to Wengen...

And do i need a reservation for the milan to Domodossola bus or can i just show my OBP pass at the bus and get in? anyone that has used these recently can help

Thanks

Since the bus to Domodossola is a replacement for an EC train, it requires a reservation. That way it insures that no one has to stand and they can provide enough buses to seat everyone. When you buy a ticket in advance, you will automatically get a seat reservation.

Be sure that you compare the BO pass and the Jung Frau pass.

The Berner Oberland Pass does not cover Milan to Domodossola at all, so you need to buy the ticket for the bus, and it will come with a seat reservation. Then your BO Pass will cover Domodossola to Brig and Brig to Spiez IF and only IF you take the regional train via Kandersteg, not the fast train through the tunnel.

Thanks Sam, Bets and Lola for your responses....

@sam, can I make the bus reservation from sbb.ch? i think i can... please confirm.. Also, is 30 mins enough for me to go from Milano Centrale to catch the 5pm Bus to Damadossola? how long it will take to walk from Milano Centrale to catch the bus arranged by sbb.ch?

@Bets, yes, i compared JP and BOP... BOP gives young adults discount whereas JP does not.. also, BOP covers my day 1 from Damadosolla to Wengen and my day 4 back to Lucerne... JP will not cover that and since i don't have the half fare pass, i will have to pay full price of 45CHF to Lucerne and instead my 4 day pass on BOP is better

@Lola Can I get into the regional train from Domodossola to Brig, Brig to Spiez with just the pass or need to do anything else and hope i will get to sit down

Also, how do i identify the regional train from the schedules? any code they use?

thanks

30 minutes should be enough time to make the bus outside of Milano Centrale. Just be aware that because you are arriving on an Italotreno train, the connection is not guaranteed. The Italo train still has to use the southerly bypass around the track closure between Padua and Verona, which is indicated by the schedule.

Looks like you can buy the Milano Centrale to Domodossola bus ticket at www.sbb.ch/en for 13 CHF per adult.

At Domodossola, you arrive at 19:20 and change to the Swiss replacement bus to Iselle, departing at 19:45 and arriving at Iselle at 20:10. Then you take the RE 1 to Spiez, then continue on to Wengen, arriving at 23:43 (just before midnight).

Make sure your BORP starts on August 18 to cover the journey to Wengen from Domodossola.

Let’s back up a bit.

You are traveling from Zenice to Milan on Sunday, August 18, correct? You arrive at Milano Centrale at 16:xx. On this day, the trains to Luzern are using the faster Gotthard tunnel route for northbound trains in the afternoon. You could board an EC train at 17:10 and arrive in Luzern at 20:21, with a single change at Arth-Goldau.

The connections to Interlaken Ost and on to Wengen are not great at this time of night, and if you continued you would arrive in Wengen very late. But it seems you are considering an overnight somewhere on the way to avoid this late arrival on the 18th anyway, so why not overnight in Luzern and take the direct train to Interlaken Ost on Monday the 19th? This train from Luzern to Interlaken is covered on your BO Pass. And you would avoid those 2 bus transfers and having to catch the correct regional train from Brig to Spiez to use your pass.

For the entire journey, you would have a single train change between Milan and Luzern, and no changes at all from Luzern to Interlaken Ost. From there,you have another change at Lauterbrunnen no matter which route you take.

@Lola

Yes, i was going to respond to Sam mentioning that i was planning overnight at Domodossola (I) but this is a brilliant idea to consider,...

Of course, the total journey will be close to 7 hours from Milan to Wengen(day 1 - 4 hours + and day 2 two hours and 36 mins...

In my option, bus to Domodossola (I) from Milan was 2 hour 20 mins, overnight in Domodossola (I) and then following day 7:45am, take the regional train etc for a total of 3+ hours....

So, the two things i need to consider are:

1. Save myself the hassle of train changes and avoid the bus journey to Domodossola (I) with the Lucern overnight option... This will come at a cost i assume since i assume the BORP pass will not work on these EC trains and also a slightly more expensive hotel stay in Lucerne(let's say a total of CHF 200 CHF) but a clean option

2. The other option is Domodossola (I) overnight at a lower cost and following day tickets are covered in OBP and so, likely a savings of 200 CHF)

The current plan was to buy the four day BORP from aug 19 to Aug 22 when i return to Lucern before my flight out of Zurich on August 23rd

but, yes, i am tempted with the cleaner Lucern option as that can be peace of mind and smoother experience for my family i guess?

thanks

It would definitely be a much smoother experience for your family.

We have twice traveled Switzerland and/or Italy with our adult kids and grandchildren and I try hard to make it all smooth, with the fewest train changes. Last summer were faced with some challenges (bus links) traveling from Switzerland to the Dolomites and I was able to work it out by changing our itinerary a bit. Everyone was happy.

Thanks Lola

And so, does someone know if BORP does not cover EC trains?

The BORP does not cover EC trains from Brig to Spiez, you must use the RE train via Kandersteg.

It certainly does not cover the EC train from Milan to Luzern if that is your question.

Hi all

As i get closer to trip, i found that the train ticket from Milan to Lucern is 73CHF and we are four. It's expensive + hotel in Lucern and then another three hours following day to go to Wengen

So, we are deciding to overnight in Damodosolla and go on 19th morning 7:45 to wengen; trains say RE which is regional i suspect and so, my BORP should cover those

I will reach Wengen by 10:45 or so

Does anyone know if there is a need to buy the bus from milan to damodosolla in advance or i could wait till last minute?

thanks

Hi all, just an update on this thread: i was able to execute the plan of staying overnight with Domodosolla and following am bus/train etc and reach Wengen in 3 hours.. i highly recommend this plan for those traveling from Milan down with a overnight in Domodosolla

thanks Lola and sam....

It is good to hear that all worked out for you. Enjoy Wengen!