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Switzerland Train Guidance

Posted by (Portland, OR) on

Hello Everyone, I know there have been many posts on traveling Switzerland via train, however I am still struggling with selecting which of the passes to purchase. My husband and I will be traveling to Switzerland this September. Below I have outlined our schedule. Please provide your recommendation on the passes we should purchase.

  • Day 1: Arrive in Lausanne early afternoon
    • 2 nights in Lausanne
    • Plan to visit Montreux, Chillon Castle, Olympic Museum, Cruise on Lake Geneva
  • Day 3: Travel to Zermatt (via train) - arrive early afternoon
    • 2 nights in Zermatt
    • Plan to visit Gornergrat/Rothorn and possibly Gorner Gorge
  • Day 5: Travel to Murren (via train) - arrive early afternoon
    • 4 nights in Murren
    • A day in Brienz, include boat trip on Lake Brienz, train ride on Brienzer Rothorn, and just wander the area
    • A day spent in Lauterbrunnen valley, maybe e-bike the valley, go to Trummelback Falls, maybe a trip up to Wengen or Grindelwald
    • A day going to the Shilthorn, then some time spent wandering Murren and a walk to Gimmelwald
  • Day 9: Travel to Luzern
    • 3 nights in Luzern
    • We will wander Luzern, do a boat ride on the lake, and visit Mt. Titus or Rigi
  • Day 12: Fly home from Zurich

Any recommendations you have on the best train passes would be greatly appreciated. I feel like we need the BO pass, but for how many days, I've thought about STP but is there too much overlap? The Half-Fare seems to be a must regardless.

Thank you in advance!

Posted by
964 posts

I did some very rough, quick math for you. It would take me an hour to do this in exact form, but the rounded numbers give you a close enough idea. Possibly the cheapest option is Half Fare Card only and purchasing every ticket you get. Convenience wise, the 15 day Swiss Travel Pass comes out at maybe only 50 chf more and quite a bit more convenient.

Roughly I'm calculating around 1100-1200 chf worth of full fares for your itinerary. Here's 3 options to consider. My recommendation being the Swiss Travel Pass.

1. 15 day Swiss Travel Pass
Roughly 750 chf per person
459 chf for 2nd class STP + roughly 280chf in supplemental half fares for Brienzer Rothorn, Schilthorn, Titlis & Gornergrat (you get 1/2 price with the STP for these excursions)
The benefit to this option is that your whole trip has a pass that is going to cover all inhabited places, museums, boats, etc. The only thing you'll ever have to buy a supplemental ticket for is mountain excursions where people don't live, which in your plan is maybe 4-5 times.

2. Half Fare Card + 6 day Reduced Berner Oberland Pass
Roughly 750 chf per person
254chf for reduced far BO pass + 120chf for half fare card + roughly 375chf for 1/2 fares for everything for your time in Lausanne, Zermatt & Luzern with part of your trip from Spiez to Murren covered when coming from Zermatt + your transportation from Murren to Luzern.
The benefit for this option is that your whole time in Murren is covered, but then you're going to be buying a lot of supplemental tickets for your time elsewhere. Over double the amount of tickets being purchased than option #1.

3. Just Half Fare card
Roughly 700 chf per person
120 chf per person + roughly 550-600 chf in supplemental 1/2 fares
Possibly cheapest if you simplify your transportation to the bare minimum, but you'll be buying every single ticket.

Posted by
3 posts

wanderweg, Thank you so much for taking the time to outline this for me. Looking at this it appears the cost is very close regardless of the pass we purchase, I like the convenience of the STP and agree it is probably the best choice. Thank you again!

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