I'm having a tough time deciding which pass to buy for Swiss travel and which scenic rail journey's to go on. How would you rate these rail trips? I was thinking of just taking the regular train without the panorama cars since they go on the same route, because I want to be able to photograph out of an OPEN window and also wouldn't have to pay for a reservations which is pricey. I need to sit facing forward so that I don't get motion sickness and can't choose that on a reservation.
1. Glacier Express.? Zermatt to St. Moritz or Chur
2. Bernina Express? Chur or St. Moritz to Tirano or just go part way and return if not going on bus to Lugano? Would you continue on 3 hr bus to Lugano? I'm not keen on being on a bus.
3. Lugano to Luzern via Gothard tunnel pass?
4. Golden pass? Lucern to Interlaken and on to Montreau? I was considering not going to Montreau unless the scenery from Interlaken to Montreau was especially scenic.
I plan to stay 3 nights in the Jungfrag area staying in Gimmelwald exploring Lauterbrabragen, Grindelwald, & Murren. I'm considering going up First lift, Top of Jungfrau, & or Shilthorn depending on the weather.
Since I have 11 days I'm not sure what passes to buy.
Swiss pass for 8 or 15 days OR. Swiss pass for 8 days + 1/2 price Swiss card OR 4 day Bernese Oberland Pass plus 1/2 price Swiss card.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Suzanne.
Posted by
Green Bay
21145 posts
Why not just buy a 30-day Half Fare Card? Buying both the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass AND a 30-day Half Fare Card makes no sense.
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
I agree with the above, also please edit your post to remove the email address - not a good idea to leave it on a public forum unless you want to attract spam.
Posted by
OP
Southern California
29 posts
In July, I can buy a Swiss pass for 25% off. I'll be in Switzerland for 11 1/2 days so I'm thinking of just buying the 15 day pass that includes 1/2 off for a few mountain excursions that I might go that aren't covered, even though I'll not be using all 15 days. An 8 day pass leaves me paying full price for transportation the rest of my vacation. I've wracked my brain trying to compare the pros and cons of each pass: Bernese Oberland pass, Swiss pass, 1/2 price pass, Flex pass. I may end up paying a little more but the luxury of not having to buy individual tickets for each ride sounds wonderful. I plan to do extensive traveling around the country and will probably use regular trains instead of the special panorama trains that have very expensive "reservation" fees, ie Bernina Express, Glacier Express, Golden Pass, etc... Also, I can then chose my own unreserved seat since if you reserve a seat you won't know which side of the train you're on or if you're traveling facing forward or backwards. Any advice on my plan?
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
If there is a 25% discount, I would definitely splurge for the 15-day Swiss Pass. The 8-day Flex Pass would be sufficient but it is only Fr. 50 cheaper, so I would happily pay the extra to have 100% flexibility.
As for reservations, I would not call them "very expensive". For the golden pass, it is only Fr. 8, and well worth it because yes, you can pick your side of the train. I assume you can do so as well on Bernina Express. Glacier express changes direction of travel at least once, so side of train is less relevant.
Posted by
Chicago
3125 posts
Susan, I agree with balso, splurge for the 15-day Pass. The convenience of the Swiss Travel Pass has always appealed to me. I plan to buy the 15-day pass for my trip this Sept.