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Swiss half fare card vs swiss pass

Posted by (los angeles) on

I have been doing research and would like to get some help from someone experienced with the Swiss rail system.

My itinerary for now is:

Day 1: Brig- Zermatt; go up Gornergrat
Day 2: Zermatt to Interlaken
Day 3: Interlaken-visit jungfraujoch
Day 4: Interlaken- Lucerne: possibly see Mount Pilatus
Day 5: Lucerne: see Mount Titlus
Day 6: Lucerne to Zurich Airport

Based on my calculations, it seems using the Swiss half fare card would probably be better for me than the Swiss pass which is only sold for 4 or 8 day increments. I'm not really interested in seeing any museums in Interlaken/Lucerne and don't think I will have time for a boat ride on Lake Thun while in Interlaken. Would you agree the half fare card would be best for me?

I initially was trying to see if I could take the Golden Pass on Day 2 as I posted a couple days ago but it seems like most people think that's a bad idea to do some from Zermatt seeing as I have to go to Montreux to do so. Thanks!

Posted by
39 posts

It's funny you should ask that...I just crunched a bunch of numbers for the 1/2 fare card for my own trip to the Berner Oberland. Personally, I don't think the Swiss Pass is a great value--I think it's a way to milk the tourists. It's expensive, there are lots of little gotchas that can cost extra or worse mean you've used up the pass before the 8 days are up--I'd go with the Half Fare Card for $137.
http://ricksteves.raileurope.com/activities/swiss-half-fare-card/index.html?bookEng=Activities

At 1/2 price your fares would be:
- $16 from Luzern to Zurich Airport (one way)
- $20 from Luzern to Engelberg (round trip & 50% off lift to Titlis)
- $17 from Interlaken to Luzern (50% off Tram up to Piltas)
- $112 from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch (round trip)
- $45 from interlaken to Zermatt through Brig (each way) (50% off gondola to Gornergrat)

The only thing I'd suggest from everything I've read is come up with a plan B for Zermatt if the weather's bad--from what everyone has said on a bad day you might as well have booked a trip through a fog bank.

Posted by
21137 posts

Because I have too much time on my hands, I set up a spreadsheet with 4 columns, "No Reduction", "Swiss Pass", "Swiss Card", and "Half Fare Card". I've analyzed 5 different itineraries posted on this site, mostly similar to yours. In each case, the Half Fare Card resulted in the lowest cost. So I think you are coming to the same conclusion. You can't lose. Suppose the day you've allotted to do the Jungfraujoch, it is totally socked in. You can bag it and not feel guilty about it. It is good for 30 days, so no head scratching about 4 day Flexi, 4 or 8 day Pass. I am not saying a Pass is bad, some of the added benefits and convenience are worth something. Just if you have more than 240 chf of full fare tickets on the horizon, you will definitely save with the Half fare Card.

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