Urgent- STP or BOP for September 10-17 trip

I'd say get a Half Fare Card plus a 4-day Berner Oberland Pass, especially if you want to go to the Jungfraujoch. You get the same discount to visit Glacier 3000 with the Half Fare Card as the Swiss Travel Pass, and a better discount to go to the Jungfraujoch. If you want to save money, you should visit Glacier 3000 on September 11 and over night in Gstaad. If your BOP starts on September 12, you will be fully covered on the train to Wengen. Skip Bern and go Gstaad to Zweisimmen to Interlaken Ost to Lautebrunnen to Wengen.

If you want to save money, you should visit Glacier 3000 on September 11 and over night in Gstaad.

I couldn’t help to laugh at this Sam, of course you are talking about travel logistics, and no doubt there are some reasonable priced hotels in Gstaad - but to have Gstaad and “save money” in the same sentence struck me as funny ;-)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-global-properties/2021/11/04/exploring-gstaad-switzerlands-most-expensive-alpine-village/

A quick search of "rich and famous in Gstaad" will give lots of results.

A quick check of booking.com shows hotel prices in Gstaad are no more expensive than Wengen, maybe a little less.

Thank you Sam. Your input sure helps.

Hence the winking happy face - I just thought it was funny...perhaps others have not heard about Gstaad the way I had before moving here. Of course it is possible for the average person to stay there.

Hi.
So far this method worked great with all the travellers coming to visit from the US - the Swiss Travel Pass that can be of minimum 3 days and a maximum 8 days. Covers all regular trains, local buses (trams and trolleys included) and lake cruise boats (no matter where is located), includes discounts to many museums and, for all the panoramic trains in Switzerland, you'll have only to pay for the seat reservation.

In sum, I highly recommend that after landing, either Geneva or Zurich, to go straight to the SBB office and tell them how many days you'll be in Switzerland, where do you roughly plan to go and they'll recommend the right Swiss Travel Pass for your needs.

Have a great Swiss trip!

Ana

Problem with the Swiss Travel Pass is that it only covers trains and lifts above Wengen and Grindelwald at a 25% discount, whereas the Berner Oberland Pass covers them at 100% up to Eigergletcher and the Half Fare Card covers the rest of the way to the Jungfraujoch at 50%. The BOP covers trains from Saanen to Interlaken to Luzern. You get a discount on the BOP purchase price with the Half Fare Card.

And something that is overlooked: tickets with 25% reduction cannot be bought from the ticket vending machines. So you will need an open ticket office.

For a stay in the Bernese Oberland the BOP is in my opinion the best option.

Thank you all! I appreciate your time and input. I will surely post my experience when I get back.