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Train Pass Options

Posted by on

I'm sure this has been discussed at length but here goes again....

Hubby, S-I-L and I will be traveling to Switzerland Sept 5 prior to heading up to Basel to board a river cruise. We will be flying into Geneva and have seat reservations on the GoldenPass Express to get from Montreux to Grindelwald where we will base until Sept 10. So confused on travel options so here goes:
1. Do we need tickets too for the GoldenPass Express? We already have Prestige seat reservations with seat numbers.
2. What train travel options (half fare, Swiss travel pass; Jungfrau region pass, Berner Oberland pass) are best to be able to travel within the Jungfrau region to hike and take advantage of all the transportation options available? We’d like to hop-on/off cable cars, trains, buss options as we roam the region. We plan to spend from Sept 6-10 only in the region and will then travel via train to Basel on Sept 10th.
Thanks so much in advance!

Posted by
4164 posts

You need a ticket Geneve (or Geneva Airport if that is where you are starting) to Grindelwald via Gstaad. Tickets in Switzerland are for routes, not trains, and cover a whole route between origin and destination, no matter how complex the route is.

But for your trip the best option is probably going to be the Saver Day Pass. If only you'd come here earlier. The cheap ones are mostly gone now. I generally advise people to get the Saver Day Pass for their arrival day the moment they have booked their plane tickets.

For the Grindelwald area get the Jungfrau Travel Pass, and then just use it to the max.

Get a supsersaver ticket for Grindelwald - Basel. The earlier you buy this, the cheaper.

Posted by
37131 posts

just a brief note about the next bit of your trip - the bit about the river cruise.

It has been a very hot and dry summer so river levels are very low. Has your cruise company mentioned how they will handle any low water?

If you're aware, all well and good. If not, there have been a number of threads about it.

Most trains in Switzerland neither need nor accept reservations, and for those that do the seat reservations and tickets to travel exist in parallel universes unrelated to each other. Unless you were sold a ticket when you bought your reservation for a seat you will still need a means of authorization to travel. It might be a simple ticket, or a Saver Day Pass, Swiss Travel Pass or some other method up until your regional pass takes over.

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