Half-Fare + Bener Oberland pass vs Travel Pass

I think the Half Fare Card plus a 10-day Berner Oberland Pass is your best bet. You get 140 CHF discount with the HFC. With a 10-day, it includes the train from Saanen to Wengen on your arrival day, and the train as far as Brig on the way to Zermatt as long as you take the more scenic Loetschberger route, and like you say, half fare for the rest of your trips.

Zermatt (6 nights)
Lugano (via Glacier and then Gotthard Panoramic Trains)

How exactly are you going? Zermatt to Andermatt on the Glacier Express, then local train to Goeschenen to pick up the Gotthard Panorama Express?

Make sure when you check prices on SBB you uncheck the often default to a half price card. The point to point tickets are expensive and might actually be double what you saw when you checked.

And be sure you understand what is fully covered with the Swiss Travel Pass. Many cable cars are covered 100%, like the cable cars up to Grütschalp/Murren and Gimmelwald, or 50%, like the cable car up to Schilthorn.

I suggest looking over these two resources before making any final decisions:

https://cdn-doc.myswissalps.com/docs/default-source/rail-network-maps/swisstravelpass.pdf?sfvrsn=7788603a_56

https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity

I just returned from a 2 week trip and I used the Swiss Travel Pass all the time. I stayed in Wengen part of the time but was often traveling down to Lauterbrunnen and up to Murren. I was all over the place and it was super convenient not to have to bother with tickets.

I think the Half Fare Card plus a 10-day Berner Oberland Pass is your best bet. You get 140 CHF discount with the HFC.

Thanks, that's the way I'm leaning, but if I can do a similar or a bit more price w/ the travel pass I'd prefer that as it'd save me having to purchase tickets. I'm having trouble gauging just how much I'd use the Oberland vs Travel in the Oberland in particular.

How exactly are you going? Zermatt to Andermatt on the Glacier Express, then local train to Goeschenen to pick up the Gotthard Panorama Express?

Yes indeed that's exactly it.

Make sure when you check prices on SBB you uncheck the often default to a half price card. The point to point tickets are expensive and might actually be double what you saw when you checked.

I am indeed using the point to point tickets for price comparison (not the saver pass). I was a bit surprised to see how much cheaper the point to point is than the travel pass for the inter-city travels, but as far as I can tell I am viewing the full fare.

And be sure you understand what is fully covered with the Swiss Travel Pass. Many cable cars are covered 100%, like the cable cars up to Grütschalp/Murren and Gimmelwald, or 50%, like the cable car up to Schilthorn.

I suggest looking over these two resources before making any final decisions:

Thanks, I have reviewed those thoroughly, but I think my inexperience with the area is causing me some difficulty fully extrapolating. I tend to not really understand the full options/layout of an area until I'm there, and this is no exception. I have a general shape in mind, but not the full extent, which is making it tough for me to really understand just which cable cars I'm liable to use and just how they'll be covered.

I stayed in Wengen part of the time but was often traveling down to Lauterbrunnen and up to Murren. I was all over the place and it was super convenient not to have to bother with tickets.

Yeah the not having to worry about tickets is the biggest draw of the travel pass for sure. Even if it's a bit more, I'd be willing to do so for the convenience. Though wouldn't be willing to pay a lot more, that's why I'm trying to gauge travel in the region. For your exploits in the Oberland, which things did you find weren't covered? Or did you find yourself second guessing anything you would have done w/ the Oberland pass?

I didn’t second guess having the Pass at all. I’m a huge fan for the convenience. I used it last year too. With 8 nights in Wengen, I imagine you’d be using the Pass daily, unless you plan to not leave Wengen. Anytime you travel down to Lauterbrunnen and then on to somewhere else you’d be using the Pass. I went up to Männlichen 3 times, which is discounted with the Pass. I went to the ballard open air museum and a boat ride on lake brienz, both covered 100%.

What are you plans for Geneva? A boat ride is fully covered as is the chillion castle in Montreux, and the train to get around the area. Train to Zermatt covered. I went to gornergrat and that was 50% off.

I could go on and on about the Travel Pass. It’s one of the reasons I love Switzerland so much. 😊 It really makes traveling around the county so easy. I can almost guarantee you’ll use the Pass more than you think you will.

Thanks Carrie, now I'm leaning more towards the pass. I don't have exact plans for Geneva but would like to explore the lake and some museums. In general I like to have longer periods in a place so I can have a general idea of what I want to do, but then figure out the exact order and details when I get there (and inevitably I end up finding new things that weren't even on my radar, such as the Chillion Castle you just mentioned). Which I guess lends itself more to the travel pass as it offers more flexibility. Ultimately I may end up paying more that way (if for instance I end up doing a lot that would be fully covered w/ the Oberland pass but only partially covered here), but it offers the most flexibility, which for me in particular and for the first time in a region may be worth the weight in extra franc.

Although the other issue w/ the travel pass is that it can't cover my full period, only 15 days of it, thus I'd have to have some period not covered. I can probably work around that though.

I'm too indecisive for such decisions haha...

As I see it, you only have 3 tickets to buy for this trip, Geneva to Saanen, Brig to Zermatt, and Zermatt to Lugano. If staying at a hotel in Geneva, you get a guest card included for local Geneva transport, including getting from the airport to your hotel.
http://www.geneva.info/transport/card/

Optional tickets would be the Schilthornbahn above Muerren, Jungfraujoch above Kleine Schiedegg, Gornergratbahn and cable cars in Zermatt. All of these would require you to purchase tickets regardless of whether you used a B-O Pass, STP, or HFC. Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg is only a 25% discount with the STP, but included with the B-O Pass.

Your trip exceeds 15 days, the maximum travel days with a Swiss Travel Flex Pass. You do not get free museum entrances on non-flex days, nor lift reductions.

Finally, I will recommend you skip the expensive Glacier Express Seat Reservation Fee and Gotthard Panorama Express and use local and regional trains to get to Lugano. You are only going half way on the Glacier Express and only one extra train change in Brig. The GPE is 1st class only and you are skipping the best part from Luzern to Goeschenen. The trains will travel the exact same tracks with the exact same scenery and be much less crowded. You can open the windows for better photos.

This is excellent info thanks Sam. I had no idea about the Geneva local pass, and breaking down the probably excursions helps. Also thanks for the tip on the route to Lugano, that makes sense. With that info it does seem like half + BO is maybe the way to go.

Let me ask this then as a follow up on that final leg, if my ultimate destination is Lake Como (Veleso in particular by bus from Como), would that be the route you'd recommend? Or via Milano? Or some other means (I originally planned to do Glacier > Bernina but it just seems like too much traveling to then circle right back round to the other side of the lake, especially since Tirano > Como train service is suspended)?

Going from Zermatt to Como via Milan will be 1 to 2 hours faster than by going via Goeschenen (4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours vs 6 1/2 hours), but a lot less scenic. It will also probably cost more, since most of the trip will be in Italy and the HFC won't reduce the price. On the other hand, Italian train tickets are a lot less than Swiss train tickets. In the end, the deciding factor is whether you want to take the scenic route or the fast route.

Ok thanks, yeah 1 to 2 hours I'll definitely be happy to sacrifice for better scenery.