Another what pass should I get in Switzerland question

I would just get the Half Fare Card, and buy tickets as you go, and maybe get local passes, like the BO Pass in Wengen and the Tell Pass in Luzern. I would not get the STP as you will be paying twice for most of your transport days...

So basically you would get:
- The HFC.
- A Saver Day Pass for your first day (buy as soon as you have booked your plane trip)

In Montreux you will get the Riviera Card from your hotel, so local public transit, (eg. to Chilon for the castle) will be included.

For the rest of your trip just buy tickets as you go. You will find out that buying public transit tickets is very easy with the app, that the system is very flexible, and that you can buy end-to-end integrated tickets for most trips...

You definitely don’t want both the STP and the BO pass.

I would just get the STP and pay extra for the few things that it will not fully cover. That’s what I always do with a similar itinerary and I feel I come out ahead.

Note that the BO pass does not cover as much fully as it used to.

Also note the Montreux Riviera Card will not cover the boats or entrance to the castle, like the STP will.

There’s no wrong way to do it. I prefer not having to buy tickets for everything as I move around a lot. For example, I am often up and down from Wengen multiple times in 1 day. It’s nice to be able to just hop on the train and not think about buying a ticket and those single tickets add up quickly.

Are you familiar with what the Passes cover?

https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/#whats-covered-by-the-swiss-travel-pass

https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/

Thank you for the responses. I think it was one of the many blogs I read that suggested combining the STP with the BO pass. My preference is mostly for whatever is easiest, then what is most cost effective. When you have to purchase 1/2 price or 1/4 price tickets, do you just show your STP pass (that I'm guessing can be kept in my apple wallet) and they give you a discount?

The map of the swiss travel system is helpful. I'll need to download it onto my phone. Thanks for that Carrie.

Yup, you just show the QR code, either on your phone or a printed-out copy, and tell them what you’d like to do. For example, I have the Swiss Travel Pass here and I’d like to take the cable car up to Mannlichen and then take the train from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen. They’ll give you the appropriate discount and ticket.

For some things, Schynige Platte is one, you can buy the ticket on-line as there is an option to select that you have the STP or BO Pass and get the discount applied.

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/schynige-platte/

If you want to know for sure which is most cost effective, you have to list out everything you want to do and then price each option. I think you’ll end up using the passes more than you think you will. And for things that I know the STP fully covers, like Mt. Riggi and Mt. Stanserhorn in Lucerne, I will try to fit both of those in if I can.

I know for me, if I had the ½ card, I would be more conscious of what I was doing and what it cost. I might be hesitant to pop up to Wengen multiple times in one day. I like to just do what I want and not think about the cost of each transportation leg.

You might save a little bit more with one option over the other, but I don’t think it would be a significant amount. It’s not going to save you thousands of dollars if you pick the “right” pass. But I get it, Switzerland is expensive.

Whatever you decide to go with, don’t buy now. Wait until a few days before you leave. And as mentioned above, if you go with a saver day pass, get that now or relatively soon. Wait, I just went to check prices, and it looks like they changed the availability again. It is now 6 months in advance for saver day pass. I thought it was a year in advance last year.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/offers/saver-day-pass

I’m remembering wrong. I found an old post on the matter. It used to be 60 days in advance and was changed to 6 months in advance in 2023.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/swiss-saver-day-pass-now-available-6-months-in-advance

Good luck!!! Maybe put the pass issue on hold for now until you have a better sense of what you'd like to do.

I spent several hours this weekend looking over the various trips, passes and so on. I think the HFC combined with the BO pass as well as a SDP for my initial trip from the airport to Montreux does make most sense for me, but I have time to research it further since I can't purchase an SDP for a few more months anyway. I appreciate the input.

I'm already building quite a list of sites, hikes, villages and activities I want to explore. I'm not sure I can fit everything in to this trip, so I might need to plan another trip or two in the future. What an amazing place Switzerland is!

Have you also looked at the STP flex pass?

The HFC cost will almost be made up with a couple of Zermatt attractions. You have to show both your HFC and ticket if checked on a train or boat. Get the SBB app now and setup payment and travelers before your trip. Watch a couple of videos and you will see it is easy.

With 7 days in Wengen, you will also need to consider there are 2 different passes in the area as the BO pass doesn't cover everything. The BO pass can be loaded to your phone wallet and use it as the ticket for almost everything it covers. Schynige Platte and Brienz Rothorn were two attractions I used the BO pass last September.

Try to fit in a boat ride as you will be by 3 large lakes on your trip.

Have you also looked at the STP flex pass?

The Flex pass is not very useful. You get free travel on days you activate it, but on other days you have no benefits. So you end up paying full price for all mountain transports etc..

I’ve got the SBB app already from a prior trip, but need to confirm that my payment info is up to date. Otherwise I’m set in that regard. Thanks for the reminder though!

I want to explore. I'm not sure I can fit everything in to this trip,
so I might need to plan another trip or two in the future.

That's the problem with Switzerland. But it's a good problem to have. :-)