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Swiss Train Pass questions

Will be in Switzerland 4 days in June.

Our train travel begins on the second day when we travel from Geneva to Gimmelwald. In this journey I have already purchased two tickets for the Golden Pass Panorama Train (probably a mistake to do this, but read in other posts to book ahead to guarantee seats).

I also purchased a EurailPass which, I seem to remember, worked in Switzerland 30 years ago when I was a college student.

The next day we will either go to Schilthorn or Junfraujoch (weather determining) and travel around the area in cable cars and buses etc. The third day we will also explore the area and leave in the afternoon to catch the train to the Bern Airport.

A Swiss pass covers most of this but only 25% of the cost to Junfraujoch, while the half price pass covers 50% of THAT trip. That difference alone is over $200 US. This is so confusing.

To people who have spent time in this area ... do you recommend the Full Pass or the Half Price Pass for a 3 day visit to this region. Any and all responses would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by
16894 posts

What kind of Eurail pass did you buy and does it have enough days to cover the Golden Pass travel day? You would be fully covered as far as Interlaken and then 25% off in the valley. Maybe your Golden Pass tickets are refundable. Seat reservations are not required, but recommended between Montreux and Zweisimmen during peak season.

I would rarely recommend buying two separate passes with overlapping country coverage. If you have the Eurail pass, go ahead and use it to get 25% discounts around the Lauterbrunnen Valley. If it's a flexi style of Eurail pass, these discounts don't require using a travel day. (But lake boat coverage is only on counted travel days, same as fully covered trains.)

To really delve into details of pass coverage, although I don't think you need to bother, see: