Anther Traveler in Need of Custom Train Travel Help!

hugh,

Trying to figure out the best Swiss rail pass is a monumental task and requires lots of number crunching. I suspect one of the Swiss Passes would be your best option or perhaps the Half Fare card. There are also Berner Oberland and Jungfrau VIP passes, but given your overall list of destinations one of the Swiss Passes may be more cost effective.

One point to clarify......

"and also the train to the top of the Shilthorn."

There is NO train to the top of the Schilthorn. You'll be travelling via Cable Car on that route, and that has several segments depending on which route you use to Mürren (there are two ways). The more spectacular trip is to take the Post Bus to Stechelberg (about 15-20 minutes) and then board the Cable Car. There are four segments to the Schilthorn. The other route would be to travel via Cable Car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and then take the small mountain railway to Mürren, and connect with the Schilthornbahn at that point.

Thanks Ken. I think I knew about the cable cars. I was in Lauterbrunnen a few years ago and remember hiking up near Murren.

I've done the number crunching and it is still confusing. It looks like the least expensive option is either point to point tickets or a half fare card, but if we go with these we sacrifice some flexibility. We will need to decide if the flexibility is worth some added cost.

Thanks again.

Hugh

Buying tickets as you go is flexible but takes more time at each stop. You do have to have a route in mind when you buy each ticket, not just jump trains at random. If you choose to buy tickets, a one-month Half Fare Card for $133 will definitely save money on the total ticket price.

The Swiss Travel Pass does become more expensive for this amount of travel time, but it sounds like you'll be using it every day, and the price jump from 8 consecutive to 15 consecutive days for $85 more ($485 total) is about the same price you would pay for tickets on your first and last travel days. During your stay in Lauterbrunnen, remember that the pass fully covers transport as high up the mountains as Muerren on one side and Wengen on the other, with 25-50% discounts above those points. http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes

The "middle ground" of a Flexipass with Half-Fare Combi is just not looking as attractive to me this year. If you chose the cheapest one for 3 full-coverage days for about $328, you have to use one of the full coverage days at the start of the trip and one at the end, with the accompanying half-fare options only available in between the 3 counted days.

Passes are a good idea for impulsive people, or folks who can't/won't decide until they're on the ground. We had an unplanned day and a pass so we went to Lucerne and were very glad we did.

As noted, it also saves time not having to either queue up in the ticket office or at a machine that may or may not take your credit card. And even when you do need to interact with a human (such as getting discounted tix to the Schilthorn), it goes smoothly since they are used to seeing passes.

If you are planning on going up both the Jungfraujoch and the Schilthorn, the cost of these two rides alone is almost 300 CHF. A Half Fare card will bring this down to 150 which more than covers the cost of the card (120 CHF). And then you get 50% off all the rest of your travel. Seems like a good choice to me.

Thanks for all the help. It looks like the lowest cost option for us is a half fare card. But I have two questions regarding the half fare card.

If you buy a half fare card do you still have to go to a ticket office or a machine to buy your tickets, and then show your half fare card to them, or can you purchase tickets on the train with a half fare card In other words, how does the half fare card work?

Do I have to buy the half fare cards in the US before we leave or can we buy them at our first site in Switzerland, which would be Geneva Airport?

Thanks for you help.

Hugh

If you have a Swiss Half Fare card you still have to buy a ticket from the ticket office or machine before boarding the train.
You cannot buy tickets on Swiss trains. If the ticket inspector catches you on a train without a ticket expect a huge penalty fare (fine), 80 or 100 Franks.
On the ticket machines, when after you have chosen your ticket, there are 2 options, full price (1/1) or half price/child (1/2). I.e. with a half price card you buy a children's ticket.
You can buy Half Fare Cards at Geneva airport station (or any other manned station).

Click here to "play" with an online demo ticket machine: http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/dhl-service-point/automatic-ticket-machine/online-demo-billettautomat-sbb.html

OK so here's a side question, if one has done either the Jungfrau or Schilthorn, does one need to do the other? Seems a bit repetitive.

phred,

"OK so here's a side question, if one has done either the Jungfrau or Schilthorn, does one need to do the other? Seems a bit repetitive."

The Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch are a much different "experience", so I don't find them "repetitive" at all. They're both somewhat unique.

Read reviews about Jungfrau on Trip Advisor. I decided against it based on the quantity of tour groups and people, and the circus type atmosphere that was described. I have very little tolerance for people who shove, push, stick their darn cameras over my head, and just loud and frantic about seeing the top.

Schilthorn sounded like a better option.

Yes Ginger you're exactly right, that's how I chose the Schilthorn over the Jungfrau. Your take on a circus-like atmosphere is what turned me off, and that is Rick's take too. I was just wondering what I missed. Guess perhaps I'll find out next time I'm there.

I have very little tolerance for people who shove, push, stick their darn cameras over my head, and just loud and frantic about seeing the top.

I must say that in my journeys to the top of the train - the Jungfraujoch - I never witnessed that type of behavior.

It has been a couple of years so maybe selfie sticks (the inventor should be hung drawn and quartered with the pictures posted to Instagram) will be more in evidence - but I expect that at both mountains.

The top of the mountain was busy, with different people doing different things, but I saw no pushing, shoving, shouting or franticness.

Jungfrau is a huge spread out complex which can comfortably accommodate lots of people. I've been up there a bunch of times and never encountered any pushing or shoving.

Schiltorn is a more compact attraction so if there were any shoving it would theoretically be more susceptible to it. Having said that I haven't encountered it there either.

They are not interchangeable attractions, both are unique.

Jungfrau is mostly an engineering marvel/glacier experience. Schiltorn is mostly a mountain top panorama experience. If you have the time and money you should do both. Both are first class attractions!

Just to pile on, my experience was the same as Nigel's and Michael's - crowds, but no roughness or rudeness.

And yes, the Jungfraujoch and the Schilthornbahn are quite different, and not at all interchangeable; I was very happy to have done both. The Jungfraujoch is a glacier in the "saddle" between two mountains, so you actually go out into the ice and snow. The Schilthorn is across the valley from the mountains, so you have an amazing view of the three peaks (Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau). While these are the main attractions, both of them have other things (such as the ice carvings at Jungfraujoch and the James Bond exhibit at the Schilthorn). And on the way down from the Schilthorn, you stop at Birg; in my case, the view from Schilthorn was fogged in, but the view from Birg was perfect and crystal-clear.

My itinerary was the reverse of yours (Luzern to Mürren to Lausanne), and I was very happy to have the Swiss Pass for the convenience. The only transit tickets I had to buy were for the Allmendhubel (substantially discounted) the Schilthorn (50% off - about 40 CHF) and the Jungfraujoch (25% off above Wengen, so about 125 CHF). For everything else, you just flash your pass. Furthermore, if you go to Mt. Rigi from Luzern, the boat rides, train rides, and cable car rides are completely covered.

Thanks to everyone who has responded to this posting. You have been a great help!
After considering everyone's thoughts, I think we will go with Swiss passes for the two of us and will probably try to do both the Schilthorn and the Junfraujoch.

One additional thing I have a question about. On our final day in Switzerland we will leave Luzern to take a train to Munich. Will the Swiss pass cover this train trip? If not, will it cover the trip as far as the border? Would that be at Lindau? What would we need to do to be able to have appropriate tickets for the train on our last day? What tickets would we need to purchase?

Thanks.

Hugh

Thanks to everyone who has responded to this posting. You have been a great help!
After considering everyone's thoughts, I think we will go with Swiss passes for the two of us and will probably try to do both the Schilthorn and the Junfraujoch.

One additional thing I have a question about. On our final day in Switzerland we will leave Luzern to take a train to Munich. Will the Swiss pass cover this train trip? If not, will it cover the trip as far as the border? Would that be at Lindau? What would we need to do to be able to have appropriate tickets for the train on our last day? What tickets would we need to purchase?

Thanks.

Hugh

Thanks to everyone who has responded to this posting. You have been a great help!
After considering everyone's thoughts, I think we will go with Swiss passes for the two of us and will probably try to do both the Schilthorn and the Junfraujoch.

One additional thing I have a question about. On our final day in Switzerland we will leave Luzern to take a train to Munich. Will the Swiss pass cover this train trip? If not, will it cover the trip as far as the border? Would that be at Lindau? What would we need to do to be able to have appropriate tickets for the train on our last day? What tickets would we need to purchase?

Thanks.

Hugh

I'll answer the third one ....

Go up to the SBB ticket counter, show them your pass and ask for a ticket to Munich.

They will issue a ticket taking into account the pass and charging you for the German part, depending on what route you choose. The one you mention is one - there are others, for example Basel - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Munich, or several others.

Or do it yourself on the SBB or DB website and note the pass held.

Nigel's right, there are just times when you have to break down and deal with a human. Someone at a SBB office will know exactly what to do, and will do it nicely as well.