My wife and I will be staying in Wengen, Switzerland arriving 8/18 from Zurich and departing 8/23 back to Zurich airport. We plan to hike and walk the trails in the Wengen area. Is the Berner-Overland pass the best way to pay for the various trains and lifts there? Since we are arriving on 8/18 and depart for Zurich on 8/23, how many days should we buy (with arrival and departure I estimate 6 Days???) Is this correct and best use of monies???
Posted by
San Diego, California
4706 posts
The weather is always hard to predict in any mountain region, so I wouldn't advise purchasing too far in advance. Have a great trip!
Posted by
Schaumburg, IL
266 posts
Just came back from Wengen-it’s amazing… buy the 6 day BO pass and the half fare card ( costs less than the full price of BO card). Travel Luzern to Zurich airport not covered by pass but you can use half fare pass. Any questions just message me… going back in early Sept.
Posted by
Schaumburg, IL
266 posts
And I’d buy first class-for a little more you’ll get less crowded and quieter train cars and be able to sit on the top deck on boats on Lake Brienz and Thun.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11322 posts
Heartily agree with Michael!
Even if the weather is not perfect, you can use your pass for joyriding the lifts, a lunch cruise on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun, shopping trip to Thun or even to Bern for a city day.
Posted by
201 posts
You could get by with a 4-day B-O pass and the Half-Fare card since you will likely not have time to use it on arrival and departure day.. There are several picturesque hikes from Wengen that do not require use of any lifts covered by the B-O pass which would be ideal for a leg-stretcher on arrival day. https://wengen.swiss/en/region/wengen/services/fotospots/
You can save some CHF if you are willing to commit to specific trains to get to and from ZRH.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11322 posts
The thing about getting the 6 day pass is that it costs only CHF 30 (2nd class) more than the 4 day and you will make good use of it for transport between Luzern and Wengen both arriving and departing. It is CHF 23.70 with the HFC for that journey, each way. With te BO Pass, your out of pocket is zero. You just buy a ticket between Zurich and Luzern.
Posted by
201 posts
Current pricing for B-O pass 2nd class with Half -Fare Card is CHF175 for 4 days and CHF 220 for 6 days.
For 1st class it is 210 for 4 and 265 for`6.
The supersaver train fare from ZRH to Luzern is maybe CHF 15 Ist class. From there your B-O pass kicks in.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11322 posts
Beejay, you are right. I was looking at 6 vs 8 day. I still endorse the pass as offering maximum flexibility in most situations.
Posted by
Thun, Switzerland
485 posts
Just wanted to mention that in the FAQ section of the BO pass website it says:
Question:
"Can I extend the purchased 4-day BO pass to 6 days?”
Answer:
“You can exchange the purchased BO Pass, provided that the new Pass is valid longer.”
https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/faq/
So, one option is to get the 4 day pass and extend it as needed.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11322 posts
Thanks, my_swiss! Neat option I had not noticed nor used.