Munich to Gimmelwald with a Eurail Select Pass. How close will it get me?

Since Muerren is a Swiss village, you pass should get you to there, and walk to Gimmelwald, or you can take the bus to base of the cablecar station and up the first leg to Gimmelwald.

Have you read any of the tips regarding the usefulness of rail passes.
In Italy, they seldom save money, between mandatory 10 euro reservation fees on Freccia trains, availability of low price super economy tickets on Freccia trains, very inexpensive regional trains.
In Switzerland, you can get a Swiss Card for 199 chf that will cover your fare from the entry point at the Swiss border, your fare to your exit point on the Swiss border, and give half fare on all trains and mountain railways in Switzerland during your stay.
A little research on your part could save $$$. Check prices available on the national rail sites, not Raileurope or RS books.

Thanks man.

I haven't bought any rail passes yet. I will look into the Swiss pass. I will be spending a lot of time in Germany before getting to Switzerland so I was thinking that may be a good choice. I will work out all the math though. I appreciate the help.

Admittedly I've never used a Eurail Pass, but the validity map does not show any connections past Interlaken. Getting successfully to Mürren on a Eurail Pass would actually surprise me. You could always go here:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/meta/contact.html

and actually ask the Swiss Rail people if the Eurail Pass will get you to Mürren. Like the previous poster said...Eurail Passes seem to be more of a headache than anything else. Just buy point to point Tickets in Italy on www.trenitalia.com and get some sort of Pass when in Switzerland.

The Swiss Card may be the best option for me. I know it says a round trip- hopefully that means I can enter on the German side of the country and then leave through Italy. I will confirm that before I get it.

Any multi-country pass like the Select pass covers you fully as far as Interlaken (and on the Swiss Lake boats), then gives you 25% discounts on other Jungfrau region trains when you show your pass at the ticket window. See this info on Rick's Switzerland rail page, under "What do railpasses cover in Switzerland?'. The Selectpass may be a good value if you have several other trains to cover in Germany, or a separate German pass can also be affordable.

If you don't need any more trains in Germany than just Munich to the border, and if you're happy with traveling in 2nd class, then Swiss Card at about $226 would probably be a cheaper option, plus point-to-point tickets in Germany and Italy. The Swiss Card gives you full coverage on your longer travel days to/from Gimmmelwald, plus 50% discounts on most other transport during your stay (but 25% from Wengen to Jungfraujoch).

I made a specific inquiry to the Swiss pass office and they said yes, you can enter at one end of Switzerland and leave out of another. You do need to travel on the most direct route. I quote here:

"Dear (Sam)
Thank you for your query.
Yes that will work. Your exit point from Switzerland does not necessarily need to be the same as your entry point.
Information Swiss Travel System:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/holidays--short-breaks-in-switzerland/swisstravelsystem.html

Kind regards
Frederic Pannatier
SBB AG
Contact Center
P.O. Box - 3900 Brig, Switzerland
Rail Service: 0900 300 300 (CHF 1.19/min. from the Swiss fixed-line network)
[email protected] - http://www.rail.ch/"

Well while you were asking the SBB people did you also ask about a Eurail's ability to get past Interlaken?

Cam,

A note of caution. A few years back, I had a Eurail Select Pass with Germany, Switzerland and France on it (France was still a part of this pass). I, too, headed to Interlaken from Munich. The problem is that the train I was on was via Zurich and therefore had to pass through Austria for about 30 km. and surprise, surprise, that was when the conductor came through to check tickets. Guess which country was not part of my pass? You then, of course, are forced to pay a supplement (which at the time I thought was excessive for the short time we were in Austria). I think there is a way to avoid Austria by taking a ferry across Lake Constance but I am not sure. Anyone else run into to this situation?

A better solution is to buy discount tickets in advance for Munich to Zurich. There is at least one direct train a day and others with changes. The advance fares ( like 60 days ahead) are way cheap. Then use a Swiss pass or Swiss Card for the Berner Oberland.. Yes you can enter by one border and exit at another, no problem. Then buy advance super economy tickets on Trenitalia. Way cheaper than a pass.

@Tim, No that inquiry was made a month ago when the question came up and SBB's own wording on their website left some doubt about their exact meaning regarding the Swiss Card.
The lesson is: SBB will be happy to answer questions of this nature from the contact form on their website. I asked the question over the weekend and had an answer Monday morning.
In that the railroads out of Interlaken Ost to the B.O. are private, they may not take the select pass, but the various Swiss passes work up to Muerren. If planning to take any mountain railway journeys, having some kind of Swiss pass will save money over a Select Pass.

My understanding is that you can easily get to Gimmelwald on a Eurail pass except for the postal bus that runs from the Lauterbrunnen train station to the Stechelberg gondola station where you pick up the gondola up to Gimmelwald. The bus does not accept the pass. However, you are not fully covered by the pass beyond the Interlaken Ost train station. Beyond Interlaken Ost and into Lauterbrunnen as well as taking any public transportation up to any of the towns and villages on either side of the valley, your Eurail pass will only cover 25% of the fare. This includes going to the tops of the Jungfrau and Schilthorn. The small and private Jungfraubahn and Schilthornbahn rail systems there are not too kind to the Eurail pass.

Yes, I thought I remembered that Eurail only works as far as Interlaken at 100%. Personally I don't think a Eurail Pass is worth the time and effort and cost.