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Travel pass dilemma for Switzerland

Posted by on

Thanks for all the valuable information provided on this platform for the fresh travelers. I would like to confirm if my understanding is correct on the BO regular pass and Half Fare Card.

We are travelling for 7 days in Switz starting from Milan, Italy on 8th Sep. During the visit, we'll be travelling Milan to Luzern (Titlis, Pilatus and First). Then Luzern to Interlaken (Grindelwald, Jungfraujoch, Lauterbrunnen, Iseltwald, Aareschlucht gorge, Maanlichen, Wengen, Blausee, Beatenberg, Lake Thun and Brienz, Basel). Then leave for Amsterdam from Basel via train.

My understanding is that Half-fare card combined with BORG is the best economical combination with coverage. Please, any confirmation here can help me with my decision.
Also, is it possible for me to buy train tickets from Milan to Luzern and Basel to Amsterdam at discounted prices using HF card?

Hope to receive your guidance.

Posted by
612 posts

That combo will work. Just a side note, your list of activities isn’t realistic to accomplish in 4 full days + 3 travel days unless you don’t sleep, but good to have goals and see how things go.

If you buy through SBB.ch it offers you the option to say you have a half fare card and it will calculate the discount for you. You’ll get discount for the Swiss portion of your tickets, so it won’t be exactly half off. If you need assistance, ticket offices at the train stations will be able to help you.

Posted by
2545 posts

How many nights are you staying at each stop: Lucerne, Wengen and Basel. We stayed 5 nights in Wengen in June and didn’t get to half of the things you list in the area. The BO Pass us the best for that region, but I think your plan is very ambitious.

Is there a First in Lucerne? We visited First near Grindelwald.

The Half Fare Card only covers trains within Switzerland. You would need to purchase separate tickets from Basel to Amsterdam, and separate tickets from the closest Swiss station to Italy (Brig?) to Milan.

Posted by
11775 posts

If you buy through SBB.ch it offers you the option to say you have a half fare card and it will calculate the discount for you. You’ll get discount for the Swiss portion of your tickets, so it won’t be exactly half off.

To underscore wanderweg’s advice, if you book through https://SBB.ch/en you get routed all the way from Milan to Luzern and you get the proper Half-Fare discount as long as you indicate you have an HFC, You do not have to buy a ticket for Italy, then a ticket in Switzerland.

If you buy a BORP in advance, that starts in Luzern and covers your journeys throughout the Berner Oberland as far as Bern on the way to Basel.

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