Hi,
We are doing a France, Switzerland and Italy trip with my 17 year old daughter and my 70 year old mom in early September 2026. We will be taking the train. We are trying to decide the most cost-effective train pass in Switzerland. After visiting Colmar France we will be taking a train to Lauterbrunnen. We have a one night hotel in Lauterbrunnen, then next day we will head up to Wengen and take the Cabel car to Berghaus Männlichen where we are staying at the hotel. The next day we will take a cable car back down to either Wengen or Grindelwald. From there we will take a train (northern Luzern route) to Lake Como (Como S. Giovanni, Italy). Now we need to decide what pass to purchase.
From my research the Half Fare Travelcard doesn’t make sense as its ( 190 +190+120 CHF= 500 CHF). A 500 CHF upfront cost. The Jungfrau Pass and Berner Oberland both have high upfront cost and due to our short stay I have determined they don’t make sense.
My final though is we should:
Day 1. Purchase a Saver Day Pass on day one as it will cover our France once we cross border from France to Switzerland ( Basel) and cover the Swiss train leg to Lauterbrunnen. Cost is 52 CHF per person currently and will book soon to lock in price. Day 1 Cost= 156 CHF
Day 2- Don’t buy a pass. Pay for the train to Wengen (21.60 CHF) and cable car up to Männlichen ( 93CHF for 3 people). Total Day 2 = 114.60
Day 3: Purchase a Saver Day Pass and pay for cable car down from Männlichen. Hotel guests are eligible for a reduced return ticket (30% discount) for the cable car Grindelwald -Männlichen and the cable car Wengen - Männlichen. So we get a 30% discount on return ride ~72 CHF. Cost is 52 CHF per person for day pass (156 CHF). The Saver Day Pass covers the train journey from Grindelwald to Chiasso (the Swiss border station), but it does not cover the short segment from Chiasso to Como San Giovanni in Italy. You will need a separate ticket for the Italian leg, usually just a few Euros. Day 3 cost=228 CHF plus few euros.
Total 3 Day train cost: 498.6 CHF
With so many Swiss train passes I really had to think this through. Am I missing something? Seem like the best option?
My only concern is we are on a tight schedule, and I want to make sure we can get train ride from Grindelwald to Como San Giovanni in Italy. I found one that is 5 h 18 min, leaves Grindelwald Departure 15:17 and arrives in Como San Giovanni in Italy at 20:36. We are fine arriving late to our hotel in Como, but it makes me nervous not having a point to point ticket reservation. Seat reservations are generally not required with the day pass but recommended for international trains. Can we reserve a seat with day pass or do we just trust it will work given the train schedule is already posted and work with our schedule? How do we purchase a separate, cheap ticket for the Chiasso to Como San Giovanni segment? Do we need to validate this Italian leg?
Whew that was a lot. Please help if you see any issues with my planning and any recommendations appreciated. My mom mentioned trying to take the Bernina express route (beautiful scenery) on day 3 but from what I see it will add about 4 hours and cost so I’m thinking we don’t do the Bernina express.
Posted by
Green Bay
23454 posts
Yes complicated, but you have done your homework. A couple things.
1. Why not spend 2 nights at the hotel in Maennlichen? That will save to Lauterbrunnen to Wengen leg,
2. Taking the gondola from Maennlich to Grindelwald, you will arrive at Grindelwald Terminal, and that is where you will get the train to Interlaken Ost, a few minutes after the 15:17 departure you list.
3. You should be able to buy an Arcobaleno Transfrontera ticket with the SBB app for 1.40 CHF per person. Or maybe at a train station in Switzerland. That is since you will be on the RE80 train from Lugano to Como, and that covers Chiasso to Como S. Giovanni.
PS. Most Swiss people do not reserve seats. The only trains that offer seat reservations are Swiss IC trains, so that would be the train from Basel SBB to Interlaken Ost, and the train from Luzern to Lugano. These cost 5 CHF per seat. The train from Interlaken Ost to Luzern is a private railway (Zentralbahn) and they sell seat reservations on the that train for a lot more and you have to buy from them. If you do, reserve seats on the right hand side of the train for the best views. https://shop.luzern.com/en/routing/zentralbahn-luzern-interlaken-express
Posted by
Switzerland
431 posts
You will save even a bit more money than you have already calculated. When you stay at Männlichen, they mean that you get 30% discount going both up (arrival day) and back down again. I was pretty sure of this, but could not find you a link for it - got ChatGPT to suss it out for me. :-) It is a little more clear in the German version of their website:
“vergünstigtes Retourticket (30%) für die An- und Abreise”
https://www.berghaus-maennlichen.ch/de/Ueber-uns/Anfahrt?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Last year I stayed there for a night and it was so great! It’s a very small hotel, so not many guests, and after the final cable car down for the day you are really alone up there. Very inexpensive prices for the rooms, and the breakfast was delicious (brought my own picnic supper, so I did not experience what they have to offer for the evening meal).
The down side, as you likely already know, is that the last ride up is around 5 pm. Unless you want to hike up, you need to be there by then….which is probably why you are staying only one night. It’s a great experience, but it limits your ability to explore elsewhere into the later afternoon/evening.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Thank you both for your input. I appreciate it.