Planning a 13 night trip to Switzerland from USA flying into Geneva and out of Lucerne using public transportation only while there. Looking to take the Golden Pass from Montreux to Wengen and stay there for 5 nights going to Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn several times due to going all the way up once (weather permitting) and part way up to hike down several times. Planning to take Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur.
Buying the Swiss Rail Pass doesn't get us (retired couple) all of those places, so is it worth it to buy the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass as well?
Thanks!
Posted by
4901 posts
I found the math a little mind boggling myself, but I'm sharing this website in case you have not come across it yet:
https://www.swiss-pass.ch/
It should help you work out whether to get Swiss Pass or Half Fare + regional pass.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5567 posts
Flying out of Lucerne??? Not sure you have many options, unless you're not flying international. Most folks take the one hour + train and fly out of Zurich.
Note that the SBB prices you see assume you have at least the half price card. Sometimes the Swiss Travel Pass comes out a little more expensive, but the ease of use is certainly worth it to me. And it does get you some discounts on the mountain lifts.
The weather is the all important factor in buying the BO Regional Pass. Do you have to purchase in advance? Sometimes it's better to wait until you there and have a weather forecast, to determine how many summits you can access.
Have a great trip.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17383 posts
It is the Berner Oberland Pass that will not get you to all of those places.
The Swiss Rail Pass will fully cover all but the high mountain lifts (Scilhorn and Jungfraujoch ) you mention. It will give you a 50% discount on the Schilthorn above Mürren ( Mürren itself is free with the STS) and 25% off the Jungfraubahn above Wengen (up to Wengen if free with the STS). There will be a seat reservation fee ( mandatory) to ride the named Glacier Express train, ut the regional trains running on the same tracks will be free.
Travel from Genevea to Montreux and the whole Golden Express route is fully covered ( again with a supplement or reservation fee to ride in the special panoramic cars).
The Berner Oberland Pass fully covers a selected region, including some high mountain lifts not included with the Swiss Pass, but not the Schilthorn nor the Jungfrau. The Schilthorn is discounted 50% ( same as with the STS) and the Jungfraubahn has a “special price”above Kleine Scheidegg, marked with a B on the map, but I cannot find what that price might be. The BO Pass will cover your travel on the Golden Pass from Montreux to Gstaad at 50%, then full coverage kicks in to Luzern. On the Glacier Express route, it will discount the section between Brig and Göschenen 50%, but the rest (Zermatt to Brig and Göschenen to Chur is not covered at all.
https://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/assets/Uploads/Geltungsbereich-Regional-Pass-2022.pdf
https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/travel-planning/prices/
Just some things to consider.
Posted by
Wengen
2478 posts
A good option if you intend to stay in the same place for some time and use a regional pass is the get the Half Fare Card in stead of the Swiss Travel Pass. It does mean buying more tickets, but those will be half price and thus a lot cheaper. This often ends up better value than getting the Swiss Travel Pass.
Posted by
33 posts
It really pays to do the math when trying to determine what train passes/tickets will work best for you in Switzerland. We spent 5 nights in Wengen, flying in to Zurich then taking the train to Milan to continue our trip afterwards. We had only 2 'travel' days in Switzerland, and it was a far better price to buy 2 saver day passes for those days as far ahead as possible, and the Bernese Oberland Regional pass for the time spent in Wengen. Of course, this only really works if your schedule is pretty set, as ours was.