Hi there! I have read through several older threads and have probably spent about 5 hours working on a spreadsheet of the different passes. Thankfully Holidays to Switzerland did most the work, I just had to plug in our journeys. Great tool by the way! The age old question… Which pass?!? At this point I have it down to a Swiss half fare card and either the Berner Oberland Pass or the Jungfrau pass. With all the changes this year it does make it more difficult. Our itinerary is as follows: Arrival Zurich from Italy early June.
1 N Bern
5 N Wengen
3 N Lucern
At this point a first class Berner Oberland 6 day pass along with the Swiss Half Fare Card with all the travel I popped in is coming in a whopping 18CHF more than the Jungfrau Pass providing we only head up to Kleine Scheidegg once and use Mannlichen or the train from Lauterbrunnen to get to Grindelwald. We have plans to head up to Schilthorn as well as Grindelwald First. A lake cruise on Lake Brienz as well as spending time in Murren, Gimmelwald, and heading up to Mannlichen. We have decided against the Jungfraujoch given how busy it gets. As well as exploring the Lauterbrunnen valley. For those of you that have experienced this region and have stayed in Wengen do you see an advantage of one pass over the other?
Posted by
Nashville, TN
773 posts
Did you calculate in the option of doing the 8 day BO pass to include travel from Bern to Wengen and travel from Wengen to Luzern? The 8 day pass is only 33 chf more than the 6 day and those two trips will be around 50-75 chf depending on what trains you take.
In general, I wouldn't stress about it if you're coming up with only an 18 chf difference - you're close enough that it really doesn't matter. You can never predict your plans perfectly, as no plan survives the weather in the alps or the fact that once you get there you may find something intriguing you want to do that you didn't think you'd do or decide something in your plans doesn't sound so great anymore. You'll make plans and they may go all perfectly or you may have to pivot. If you miscalculate something or decide to do something again, you'll have the half fare card to ease the financial hit.
If the $ was basically the same and your plan is to concentrate in the Jungfrau vs the broader Berner Oberland region, when staying in Wengen my tendency is to say the Jungfrau Pass because Mannlichen and Kleine Scheidegg are so close that you may find yourself wanting to go there more than once for an extra hike or just a quick activity that's "close to home".
Posted by
OP
Orlando FL
211 posts
Thanks Wanderweg! I think if I counted our days right the 6 day would get us from Bern to Wengen and to Luzern. I agree with the close to home lifts. If Mannlichen wasn’t included on the Berner Oberland pass the Jungfraujoch would be the clear winner. But given my husband wants to do Schilthorn along with our itinerary basically being within the Berner Oberland validity area it makes it tricky.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
773 posts
My bad, I forgot that they kept Mannlichen in the BO pass. We get a long term resident pass that covers a different combo of things, so I misremembered the Mannlichen portion :)
The only negatives of the new BO pass to me are no Kleine Scheidegg & Schynige Platte. I personally do not like Grindelwald First or Jungfraujoch, so those are no loss in my mind. I'll probably amend my statement for you and say that the BO Pass might be best for you, as it covers a much wider area should you decide while there that you want to explore something you hadn't originally planned.
If you want to do the popular Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg walk, you can continue on walking to Wengernalp (lovely & easy) and then train back to Wengen for only 11 chf with the half fare card, so no great loss there. And if you want to do Schynige Platte, it's 32 chf roundtrip from Wilderswil.
Posted by
OP
Orlando FL
211 posts
Thanks again Wanderweg! Yes they kept Mannlichen. My husband really likes the look of those mountain cart things on Grindelwald First. As this is a trip for his birthday I am inclined to accommodate. If it wasn’t for the fact he wanted to do that and we were staying in Wengen so near Kleine Scheidegg there wouldn’t have been a question as the Berner Oberland pass would be hands down the best choice. I am hoping to get to Grindelwald as early as we can from Wengen for our First mountain experience. Schynige Platte is in my list with a question mark by it. We plan on leaving Bern in the morning. We do plan on trying to do something that day after either dropping off our luggage in Wengen or by utilizing a locker at one of the train stations. We really haven’t gotten far with exact plans. I am hesitant to book specifics until I see the weather but will grab seats for the Interlaken express as it seems to book well in advance. I too am leaning more towards the Berner Oberland pass now. Deep sigh!! I really appreciate your feedback. It is tough to decide these things when they are so close and we want to do things from each pass!
Posted by
Nashville, TN
773 posts
I just re-read your initial post and realize you say early June. Schynige Platte doesn't open until June 14th and typically the walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg doesn't open until mid-ish June (spring weather/snow melt dependent) so this probably affects your possibilities. Last summer the walk didn't open until late June, but the dates vary every year, so you won't know until last minute, though fairly unlikely to be open early June. You can still go up to Mannlichen starting May 24th, just probably not the walk to KS. However, you can do KS to Wengernalp, as well as walks like Grutschalp to Murren, Murren to Gimmelwald, etc.
The mountain carts usually have a very long line (last summer some of the lines were 3-4 hours long!), so if the mountain carts are a priority you're going to want to get there ASAP in the morning. If he's into adventure and not in the mood for lines, you could also look into paragliding from Murren or the via ferrata in Murren :)
Posted by
OP
Orlando FL
211 posts
Great point on the season. Could be why I have question makes by Kleine Scheidegg and Schynige Platte. I knew when I was initially researching that we were going early and would miss out on some things. I am sure we will be back and to be honest I am hoping this means lower crowds!! I have mentioned paragliding. If he wants the via ferreta he is on his own. I will go sit somewhere with a cocktail and wait on him because there is zero chance I am doing that. We did a hike once with steel railings hanging off the side of a mountain and I have vowed to never repeat that experience again. Lol So it seems that the winner here is the Berner Oberland pass and if we do First we will just buy tickets.