Best Travel Pass for getting to and travelling around Jungfrau

What time of year is this planned for?

I am currently.planning for summer next year.

It is a complicated question, so requires a complicated answer. You will be in Switzerland for 5 days.

The Swiss Travel Pass does not give very good coverage in the Berner Oberlan region. Above Wengen going to the Jungfraujoch it only gives a 25 % discount. You would need a 6-day pass to cover from Basel, where you enter Switzerland, to Domodossola, where your coverage ends. The 6-day pass is 359 CHF per adult and that is 2023 prices, which I am sure will increase in 2024.

The Jungfrau Travel Pass is only valid from Interlaken Ost station, and in summer it will cost 99 CH per adult to go from Eigergletcher to Jungfraujoch round trip. Also, the Swiss Family Card is not valid with the Jungfrau Travel pass, so the kids will need the 30 CHF Children's Pass. The prices for the Jungfrau Travel Pass are listed for 2023 and I am sure they will also increase for 2024.

If you buy a 30-day Half Fare at 120 CHF for each adult, you can get the free Swiss Family Card and that will over the kids with free travel with you the whole time in Switzerland. Then buy a 4-day Berner Oberland Pass to start your first morning after you arrive in Lauterbrunnen. Price is 196 CHF per adult with the Half Fare Card, and you do not have to buy kids tickets when you have the Swiss Family Card. When you depart, the B.O. Pass will cover you all the way to Domodossola as long as you travel via Kandersteg. This route is a little slower than the main route that uses the Loetschberg Base Tunnel, but it is more scenic as it goes mostly over the mountains with a shorter tunnel instead of going completely under them. This will likely add 1 hour to the travel time to Venice from 7 hours to 8 hours.

In either case, the Half Fare Card gives 50% discount on the travel outside the Berner Oberland region, so that would be from Basel to Lauterbrunnen on your arrival day. You could opt for the 3-day B.O. Pass and use the fast train on your departure day. One thing, the 2024 Berner Oberland Pass prices are already published, so no guessing what the price increase will be for the other products. Going to the Jungfraujoch is 75 CHF per adult, less than the 99 CHF the Jungfrau Travel Pass charges.
https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/prices-tickets/

Thank you for a comprehensive answer. This makes a lot of sense. I think I will try and get the half fare card and the overland pass.

"Sam's" reply seems complete. Don't agonize over the confusing Schweiz passes. Buy one and use it.

We used the Swiss Half fare card seemingly dozens of times in our Sept '23 trip---including to the wondrous Jungfraujoch. Didn't count, but we had so many train trips, mountain lifts, funiculars that the Half Fare Card seemed to pay for itself. .

Thank you for clarifying the passes and the options for me. I think I'll go with the half fare card and the 3 day Bernese overland pass. This combination probably works out best for me.

Just one more question. In terms of train travel between Paris to Lauterbrunnen to Venice, do I need to buy separate tickets for the France and Italy legs to the Swiss legs to utilize the half fare card? If so I will need to coordinate the train times etc. And will I need to validate the tickets at these swiss stations? Or can I buy it all in one ticket highlighting the half fare card and the family pass as part of my overall ticket?

Thank you for your assistance.

Buy your tickets from Paris to Lauterbrunnen, , and from there to Venice, on the Swiss rail site SBB.ch. It will have a place where you can enter the pass discounts for the Swiss portions of the journey. Choose “ 1/2 Fare Card for the adults and “GA” for the kids having a free Family Card (be sure to ask for that when you buy the Half Fare Card).

Perfect. Thank you for clarifying.

Actually, Saver Day Passes will likely be cheaper than point to point tickets for the day you travel from Lauterbrunnen to Venice. They will fully cover the entire Swiss portion of the trip, to Domodossola if you go that route. And your Half Fare Card will cut the cost of the Saver Passninnhalf. Buy in advance and you may get them for as little as 29CHF.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/day-pass/saver-day-pass.html

Only the adults need these as the children will be on the free Family card. Then you purchase the tickets for that day on SBB, from Lauterbrunnen to Venice, and use the “GA” reduction for all four people.

I have another possible price reduction in mind but I need to check first if it actually works.

Edit: yes, it works. For cross-border tickets, like Paris to Lauterbrunnen, you can get significant discounts by buying in advance. The lowest fare is non-refundable, but the next one, slightly more, is semi-flexible.

Right now, buying tickets from Paris to Lauterbrunnen for a travel date in mid-January (2.5 months in advance), I get the following prices with the Half-Fare Card discount:

Base fare, 204 CHF.

Non-refundable Special Offer price, 61 CHF

Semi-Flexible fare, 67 CHF

Prices for the kids, with the GA reduction, are about 20 CHF less.

Similar discounts should be available for the Lauterbrunnen to Venice journey if you buy well in advance.