Please sign in to post.

Non-consecutive days of train travel/Which Pass to purchase?

Posted by (corner to corner) on

Greetings. I am making this harder than it probably is!! But need help deciding which Swiss Train Pass ( or pay retail) to purchase based on our itinerary. We are exploring Lucerne and Wengen before Rhine River cruise from Basel. So, should I purchase Pass, Flex or Half Fare Card or pay retail?
2 60 yo's traveling.

Day 1: land Zurich- Train @ 3:00 to Lucerne
Day 2: explore Lucern -- and adjust to time zone. ( If we purchased the Travel Pass, we could take boat ride.)
Day 3: Lucern to Mt. Rigi via boat Vitznau one way. Return via Weggis (boat)
Day 4: Check out of hotel, Train Lucern to Wengen. depart after 10:00am. Explore Wengen/2 days.
Day 5: hike area-- Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg.. hike one way up, train down.
Day 6: Check out of hotel, Train to Basel after 11:00 am

My concern is purchasing The Swiss Travel Pass for 6 consecutive days and not using it for 2 days. I priced out full fare- point to point, 2nd class at it came to about 240.00 (if I calculated the Mt. Rigi round trip correctly!). I also thought about paying full fare Zurich-Lucern and then getting the Pass but still have a Non-consecutive day in there! Does the Half Fare Card make sense?
I read Wengen's post explaining Mt Rigi travel but don't understand how to book round trip tickets with arrival at Vitznau and return from Weggis.
Appreciate everyones expertise and advice! (Tired of speadsheets and calculators:)
Many Thanks!

Posted by
4704 posts

Did you take into account that the prices that appeared on the SBB app probably assume you have a half- fare card?
Is this for this year or next? If for next year, there's always the possibility of a sale.
Good luck, this baffles everyone!

Posted by
16273 posts

When considering a Swiss Pass, I look at the value of of the pass per day, as averaged over the use days on the pass. A 6-consecutive day pass is 359 CHF, so the average cost of your 6 days of travel must exceed 60 CHF to justify the cost of the pass. A 3-day Flex Pass is even higher at 89 CHF.

The only day your travel will exceed that 60 CHF is the Rigi round trip day. Zurich Airport to Luzern is only 30 CHF for a flexible ticket. Less if you buy a non-flexible one in advance ( not a good idea on the day of a flight). Luzern to Wengen is 34 CHF for a non-flexible advance ticket, or 47 for a flexible one. Your train ride from Kleine Scheidegg is 29 CHF and a Swiss Pass will only cover part of that. So Swiss Pass is not worth it for you.

Depending on your date of travel, you may be able to get a Saver Day Pass for the day of your Rigi round trip. It will fully cover the train, boat, and cablecar. But the price goes up as the date approaches, so check now. And remember these are non-refundable.

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

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.