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Swiss Rail Advice

Thanks to all for your postings on this forum - very helpful in planning our trip.

I am having a tough time determining what type of pass to buy. I will be flying into Zurich and then taking the trains to Lucerne, Bern, Wengen, Lugano, and Como, in that order. Every one of the above towns will be traveled to on a separate day. I am planning on taking a ferry trip around the lake in Lucerne and likely doing Mt. Pilatus as well. I may or may not do the Jungfrau trip - we will only have a few days in the region so it will likely be dependent upon priorities and weather.

I would appreciate it if someone could help provide some guidance as to what type of pass to buy given the above information.

Thanks for your time and help!

Posted by
21142 posts

The long answer is you need to go to www.sbb.ch/en and add up the full fare cost of every trip, including mountain lifts. Then the cost of the Swiss Pass, either a consecutive or a flexpass, considering that most mountain lifts you still have to pay 50%, and for the Jungfraujoch above Wengen, 75%. Then figure the cost with a Half Fare Card, which is 50% for everything.
Then you have to consider the convenience factor of not having to buy tickets for trains, boats, city public transport and free entry to most museums. And Mt Pilatus is covered by the Swiss Pass. The Half Fare Card also gets you 50% discount on city public transport.
The Swiss have figured out a way to make travel an MBA exercise.