Railway pass assistance needed

Posted by romanorton99 on 08/05/24 04:32 PM

Greetings!

I'll be travelling with my two parents in Switzerland from Sept 8 - 21. We'll be starting in Geneva, then travelling on to Bern, Grindelwald, Zermatt, and back to Geneva. We'll be staying anywhere from 2-5 days in each place.

In researching different rail pass options and reading through different forum posts, I'm unsure which one would make the most sense. Swiss Travel Pass? 1/2 off Fare Card? Which one would you recommend? Would it be beneficial to upgrade to first class seats for this itinerary or will it not matter?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by Jim

Bern, Switzerland

08/06/24 03:37 PM

1030 posts

You really need to sit down with the SBB website and do the calculations for the actual dates you intend to travel.

My calculations for a random date in September are:

FULL FARES (294.60):
Geneva -> Bern: 53.00
Bern -> Grindelwald: 41.80
Grindelwald -> Zermatt: 97.80
Zermatt -> Geneva: 102

WITH HALF TAX (267.30):
Geneva -> Bern: 26.50
Bern -> Grindelwald: 20.90
Grindelwald -> Zermatt: 48.90
Zermatt -> Geneva: 51
Half tax card for a month: 120 (2nd Class)

WITH HALF TAX AND SUPER SAVER TICKETS (217.50)
Geneva -> Bern: 13.40
Bern -> Grindelwald: 20.90 *** No super saver, so take next best price
Grindelwald -> Zermatt: 37.60
Zermatt -> Geneva: 25.60
Half tax card for a month: 120 (2nd Class)

Swiss Travel Pass Flex: 339.00

So this would suggest the very best option for my random date would be a half tax card plus using super saver tickets if you can get them.

Posted by romanorton99 OP

08/06/24 08:46 PM

2 posts

Thanks Jim!

I've been looking at the SBB app and reading a few different forums... all of which seem to have various opinions. "Buy tickets each day/just get the STP for convenience and move on/just get the Oberland Bernese pass/etc."...

I suppose I was just curious on what other's experiences have been and what they would recommend from those experiences.

I appreciate you pricing those items out - gives me another thing to look at for the saver passes!

Posted by Carrie

Chicago

08/06/24 08:56 PM

3044 posts

I’ve used the Swiss Travel Pass on my 3 trips as I travel to different regions of the country and like the convenience of not buying tickets. So, I would get the 15-day Pass.

I’ve had the 2nd class Pass once and the 1st class Pass twice. I will only travel 1st class from now on as those train cars tend to be less crowded. Also, I like the upper deck on the boats.