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Swiss Travel Pass help

I've been going over my options and filling out the spreadsheet that is out there to calculate everything, and I'm pretty sure I will get the 8 day STP for me and my son (daughter will be free with family pass). But, I'm a little confused on which legs of my travel are only covered 50% vs. 100%. I'm staying in Wengen and I see mostly dotted lines around Wengen. These are my plans. Does anyone know for sure if any of these legs are only 50% off? Or do I need to break them down further b/c part of the leg is 50% and the other 100%? I want to get my spreadsheet as accurate as possible so I can budget how much additional $ I will need for the trains.

Day 1 - Zurich Airport - Wengen

Day 2 - Wengen to Grindelwald
Day 2 - Grindelwald to Wengen (return)

Day 3 - Wengen - Shilthorn
Day 3 - Schiltorn to Murren
Day 3 - Murren to Lauterbrunnen
Day 3 - Lauterburnnen to Wengen (return)

Day 4 - Wengen - Interlaken
Day 4 - Interlaken to Thun (boat)
Day 4 - Thun to Interlaken (boat return)
Day 4 - Interlaken to Wengen

Day 5 - Wengen to Lucerne Golden Pass (round trip)

Day 6 - Wengen to Zurich

Also, I originally thought it wouldn't be worth it to get the 8 day STP since we really only have 4 full days of travel and then 2 days would just be travel to/from the airport. But if I'm figuring correctly, the 4 day passes would come to 517CHF for me and my son. And then if we paid the fare to/from Zurich airport, it would be 612CHF round trip for 3 of us? And the 8 day STP for me and my son would total 771CHF (254 more than the 4 day). So obviously, it would make sense to get the 8 day pass if I'm doing the math correctly. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks for the help!

Posted by
21149 posts

I assume this is for 2019? And your son qualifies for a Youth Swiss Travel Pass.
The Schilthornbahn is free with a Swiss Travel Pass for the rest of 2019.
Wengen to Grindelwald depends on the route. If you go via Zweiluetschenen, it is free with the Swiss Travel Pass. If you go via Kleine Scheidegg, it is a 50% discount. Via Kleine Scheidegg is way more scenic.

Zurich airport to Wengen is 88.40 CHF each way for adults, but 16 CHF for the child with a 1-day child travel pass. But getting the 8-day pass will still save money over a 4-day and 2 round trip tickets.

Posted by
158 posts

This is for 2020 and yes, my son qualifies for youth pass. I miscalculated the total for to/from Zurich airport. I thought my daughter would pay full fare. But even still, sounds like it would be worth it to get the 8 day vs. the 4 + paying.

Is Wengen to Grindelwald the only one on my list that might not be free? Are the other ones free -- Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, Murren, etc.

Posted by
21149 posts

I don't know about 2020 for Schilthornbahn. The 2020 fare flyer only states until Dec 31, 2019. Since it is for 2020, you should wait until the 2020 Map of Validity is published. It changes a little bit every year, and there is no reason to make a decision now on pass purchases.

Posted by
8889 posts

Lamb, you need to look here: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/infotexte/uebersichtskarte-sts.pdf

This is the official "Validity Map" for the Swiss Travel Pass. If you buy a paper pass, you should get a paper copy of this map.
All of what you list is covered. The pass works up to Wengen, but no higher.

  • Wengen to Grindelwald and return - yes it is covered if you go by the valley route via Zweilütschinen, not if you go "over the top" via Kleine Scheidegg.
  • Schilthorn is one of the very few mountain cable cars that IS covered. Wengen is on the opposite side of the valley, you need to go down to Lauterbrunnen, then up the other side via Mürren to Schilthorn.

Wengen to Zürich Flughafen (or vice-versa) costs CHF 88.40 (per person. 2nd class, adult).
You can look up prices and times on the SBB website: https://www.sbb.ch/en