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Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare Card?

Posted by (Newport Beach, California, USA) on

Can you help me decide which to get? We are two people - a mother and 16-year-old daughter. (That is important because I heard there is a Half-Fare Card specifically for 16-year-olds.) We will be four days in Switzerland and I don't know if the Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days, or the Swiss Half-Fare Card would save us the most money.

During that time we need to take these longer/more expensive journeys:

  • Spiez to Interlaken
  • Gimmelwald to Schilthorn
  • Schilthorn to Murren
  • Kleine Scheidegg to Junfraujoch
  • Jungfraujoch back down to Lauterbrunnen
  • Interlaken OST to Basel

And lots of little cable car journeys:

  • Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen
  • Post bus Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn Bahn
  • Schilthorn Bahn to Gimmelwald
  • Murren to Allmendhubel
  • Gimmelwald to Lauterbrunenn
  • Lauterbrunnent to Wengen
  • Wengen to Mannlichen
  • Lauterbrunnen to Gruschalp
  • Grutschalp to Murren
  • Murren to Gimmelwald

I have been unable to figure out pricing and to understand if the Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days or the Swiss Half -Fare Card is better for us. I would do the math myself but can't find pricing for everything.

Thank you so much -

Posted by
16894 posts

Train prices are shown on our map at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes. For all the smaller journeys around the region, see http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/quick-navigation/top-of-europe/fares/; choose your departure point on the left side of the page to see regular fares; also click the small "Discounts" link under the map icon to see the percentage of discount. The Half-Fare Card gives you half off everything, while the Swiss Travel Pass has 50% discounts above Muerren or 25% above Wengen. If you're coming from Italy, these products can kick in at the border, rather than at Spiez.

The Swiss Travel Pass does have a small discount for youths aged 16-25, but the one-month Half-Fare Card does not. (Children under age 16 can travel free with a Swiss Family Card if the parent has either product.)

Posted by
20254 posts

Prices for many of these are at www.sbb.ch
Be careful in that when prices are shown "from", they assume you already have a Half Fare Card.

Posted by
11363 posts

When our only location in Switzerland has been the Lauterbrunnen Valley, we have found the Berner Oberland Regional Pass to be a better option than just the Half-Fare Card. The BO Reg Pass covers all the "little cable car" (and train) journeys in the mountains, gives you a discount on the Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch. With the Half-Fare card, you can get an additional discount on the BO Regional Pass as well as a discount on the legs Spiez to Interlaken and Interlaken to Basel.

You have to do the math. If the CHF 120 cost of a Half-Fare card will be amortized by the 50% off on the two train segments and the discount on the BO Reg Pass, then buy the Half-Fare card.

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