swiss pass or not

Hey Kel,

These links will help you in choosing the right pass.

https://www.seat61.com/Swiss-trains.htm

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes

We are going to Switzerland in Sept 2019. I have been looking at this forum for about 2 months, and this question has come up at least 10 times (once by me)!! It is confusing, but someone recommended doing an Excel spreadsheet and entering every ticket you intend to buy (full price). I think that is the only way to be sure (and even then I'm not that sure).

For example, we are going to get the 8 day pass for 418 CHF.

Our itinerary is essentially Zurich - Lucern - Murren - Milan (8 nights total in Switzerland).
I am hoping to go to Mt Titlis (50% discount), Schilthorn (100% discount).
Using that as the baseline, the full price of the rail travel is ~368 per the SBB website.
The Swiss Pass is 418 + 50 for Titlis or ~468..

The difference is 100 CHF.
We figure that in 8 days, we will ride enough other trains and trams and lifts and boats (and museums) along the way to cover that extra 100 CHF. Of course, if I can't summit both mountains, my costs change and the deal is not quite as good. But you still get the convenience of being able to jump on any train at any time.
This assumes my spreadsheet is correct!!!!

Good luck with your own calculations!!

The Swiss portions of the 6 travel legs you listed above will cost about $470 or more, depending on your route from Zermatt to St. Gallen. And that doesn't yet count up the majority of activities and transport that you might use while staying in each location. If it were my trip, I'd choose the Swiss Travel Pass for 15 consecutive days at $515 per adult. (The version for 8 days in a month is a little less, but then you have to think more about which days you do or don't use it.) With the kids along, you might appreciate even a few more times when you don't have to pull out your wallet to use a ticket machine.

thanks for your replies
we shall buy the ticket indeed... the difference is too small and we'll probably do other trips
appreciate it
kelvin

Don't forget the Swiss Pass is only valid in Switzerland, for your first day (Colmar - Bern), you still need to buy a separate ticket Colmar to the Swiss border (Basel). You can buy this at Colmar station.

one last question which has probably been asked but ill ask again
if I want to do the Schilthorn cable car, im staying in Murren for three days, do I just turn up or do I have to book
ill be in Murren from the 19-22 may
Kelvin

You don't need to book cable cars. Just turn up.

Don't forget that if you have more than 240 CHF of full fare tickets per person, you will benefit from a 30-day Half fare Card. It costs 120 CHF per person. Colmar (Basel)-Bern-Murren-Zermatt-St Gallen-Zurich plus Titlisa and Schilthorn is sure to exceed 240 CHF per person.

We arrived in Mürren today. We opted for the Swiss 8 day travel pass. I used the spread sheet, and had I booked 30 days out with super saver fares or day passes where available, worst case, we broke even by the time we added the Shilthorn and Mount Rigi. But to have the flexibility of hopping on whatever train you want is awesome. And add in additional transportation at no cost us well worth it.

After checking into our hotel in Mürren, we decided to take the train and tram back to Lauterbrunnen to wander, and have dinner. This time of year the temp difference between Mürren and valley floor is big. So we had dinner outside on a patio in Lauterbrunnen. Was nice to hop back on the train and not feel we were wasting money. We even considered going to Shilthorn this afternoon, (already planned for tomorrow), but clouds rolled in.

We ended up not going to museums as planned in Lucern since weather was way to nice.

We booked directly from SBB website. Had problems with Capital One Card (even after calling them), and also with Chase Visa, but transaction worked after I was transferred to Visa to confirm charge was valid. Be prepared with extra time when you purchase the passes.

are you taking the mutt up the cable car rides, Karen?