Another swiss pass question! HELP! We will be in Switzerland for two weeks with a rental car, so we won't be taking any trains... but we are planning to ride a ton of gondolas and cable cars up every mountain we can find… (Shilthorn, jungfrau, Matterhorn, up to Gimmelwald etc.) Would the Swiss pass be worth it or would you get a half-price pass instead? Thank you! (We're going late June early July, staying mostly in the Berner Oberland.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
The higher portions of those routes are only discounted with a Swiss Travel Pass, though the cheaper, lower-level portion of the day's travel could be covered. The one-month Half-Fare Card would be a better choice and smaller investment for you. You can also consider a regional option like the Berner Oberland Pass.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
AFAIK there is no such animal.
For a start you often have to take a train (sometimes cog wheel) for the lower part, For example Mürren, Matterhorn. Jungfrau is railway all the way to the top.
And, as far as Germans are concerned, a cable car is a train. Seilbahn translates as Cable railway.
I suggest you do some calculations and find out if a half fare card would save you money.
During the Skiing season you can by a pass for all the mountain railways, cable cars and ski lifts in an area, but that is only worth it if you are going up multiple times in a day, in order to ski down.
I am never quite sure what US-Americans mean when they talk about "gondolas" in the Alps. I though gondolas where boats they used on the canals of Venice, no good for going up mountains.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
You will be using a few trains. The trip to the Jungfraujoch involves the Wengernalpbahn rack & pinion railway from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg, and then the Jungfraubahn from there to the top. When you make that trip, be sure to check the weather as you won't see much if the top is shrouded in fog.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Chris F,
The terms gondola, aerial tramway and cable car seem to be used interchangeably at times, and I've also been guilty of that. Here are a few examples.....
https://www.seatoskygondola.com/adventures/gondola
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondola_lift
Most of us don't differentiate between the various mechanisms used, so may not know the difference between a cable car, a gondola or an aerial tramway.