Good evening
Still trying to figure out how the passes work :)
If the Swiss Half-fare card covers trains and cable cars, would you mind telling me what is the point of also buying a Berner Oberland card (even if it's half price)? :)
(We will stay 4 days in Lauterbrunnen. We plan to hike a lot)
Thanks a lot
The Berner Oberland Pass is quite comprehensive and is explained at www.BerneseOberlandPass.ch A four-day Pass is CHF 280 for standard (2nd) class on trains . With a half-fare card—which costs CHF 126 or US $143–the price is CHF 196. But that doesn’t pencil out to any savings for 4 days, does it? ( In fact, it’s more expensive). So, I agree with you that most travelers would NOT want to buy a half-fare card with the Pass for a short trip of 4-5 days. If, In addition to spending time in the Berner Oberland, they plan on traveling for several days in areas of Switzerland not covered by the Pass then it may be worth adding the Half-Fare Card. The pass covers a lot of Switzerland, but not transport to cities such as Geneva, Basel and Zurich near the perimeters of 🇨🇭 Switzerland. Train fares from Geneva, Zurich and Basel to Bern only cost from $25-$40 anyway, so it saves money to simply buy those train tickets separately.
I would buy the Berner Oberland 4-day pass for your plans if that is the extent of your itinerary in Switzerland. It just does not include your train ticket to get from the border cities to Bern or Lucerne at which point the Berner Oberland Pass makes train travel free. Depending on where you are first entering Switzerland, you will need to buy a separate train ticket, for example, from Geneva to Bern or Zurich to Bern. *** The exception to this is that the Berner Oberland Pass DOES cover train travel to/from the Italian border city of Domodossola. So, all the better if you’re entering Switzerland from the direction of Milan because the train ticket from Domodossola to the Berner Oberland is included in the Pass.
Have fun in Switzerland 🇨🇭
The Half Fare Card gives the holder 50% off everything that moves, whether it is a train, a boat, a cablecar, or other high mountain life. Including the pricy Jungfraujoch train, which is only covered at 25% on other passes such as the Swiss Travel Pass and the Berner Oberland Pass.
The Berner Oberland pass give you full coverage (100% off) on everything that moves within the coverage zone, whether it is a train, boat, cablecar, cogwheel train, or other. EXCEPT for the Jungfraujoch train (25% off above Eigletscher station) and the Schilthorn cablecar above Muerren (50% off). But Ist does not include all of Switzerland, only ht Berner Oberland and a bit beyond.
If you are only visiting he Berner Oberland,, then there may be no benefit to getting both. But if one is traveling all around Switzerland, It can be beneficial to get both passes, to have that 50% fare reduction on all trains, boats, etc. outside the Berner Oberland. And if one is spending enough time in the Berner Oberland to need an BO Pass for 8 or 10 days, the discount on the BO pass for holders of the Half Fare Card just about covers the cost of the HFC. For example, full price of an 8-day BO pass is 395 CHF, but with a HFC is it reduced to 287 CHF, a difference of 108 CHF. Since the HFC costs 120 CHF, you wil pay only an additional 12 CHF for all the benefits of a HFC for the rest of your trip. Plus, if you are doing the Jungfrau trip, the greater coverage of the HFC for the last portion of the trip will be worth more than that 12 CHF.
Wowww thanks a million! So nice of you to take the time to reply. Much appreciated. Really :)
This forum is simply amazing!
I have a feeling that the Bernese Oberland Pass is a must-have. I do not feel like waiting on line forever to get tickets, each time we plan an activity. Even if we want to hike a lot, that can be helpful if the weather is bad some days and we want to simply explore the area without having to worry about costs of cable cars? I read somewhere that it is a more convenient option than a way to save money. I guess that is true. And if I calculate right: 120 chf for the Swiss Half card + 50% the Berner Oberland pass would be 288chf. The full price of 4 days using the Oberland pass is also about 280chf. Similar then. Have I understood right?
I do not think we will use 240chf worth of train during our stay (half fare card 120 chf so to save money we need to spend 240chf and more) BUT the 50% off the Oberland pass might be great.
This is the itinerary we plan and trains do not seem too expensive
Jour 1: Vol direct vers Genève
Jour 2: Arrivée Genève. Train to Montreux.
Jour 3: Train vers Le Chable and cable car to Verbier
Jour 4 to 12 : TREK. No transportatation needed
Jour 13: Zermatt: one-way Zermatt to Gornergrat, hike the short Scenic Loop. Hike to Riffelberg. Then to Riffelberg. Break at Riffelalp. Hike to Zermatt
Jour 14: Zermatt. Hike Sunnega Rothorn et Oberrothorn
Jour 15: Zermatt. Hörnlihütte Hiking 4h.
Jour 16: Train to Thun. Boat Thun / Interlaken gratuit. Train to Lauterbrunnen. Cable car to Wengen
Jour 17 : Lauterbrunnen / Murren + hike to Schilthorn-piz Gloria + back to Lauterbrunnen
Jour 18: Lauterbrunnen to the start of
to hike from Schynige Platte to First Cliff Walk (16 kms) Short hike to Bachalpsee. Cable car to Grindewald. Grindewal to Lauterbrunnen
Jour 19: Maybe having fun using some cable cars that day (maybe the Eiger Trail. Train to Kleine Scheidegg/ Mannlichen). Then train from Lauterbrunnen vers Zurich.
Not sure if we are visiting Jungfraujoch
Jour 20 Back home
So in our case, maybe the SWiss Half card + BO 4 days? :)
Thanks again xxx
You most certainly need the half fare card with that itinerary. Your journeys are more expensive than you think and you’ll easily hit 240 chf worth doing all that.
Not sure how you calculated pricing but it’s 196 chf for 4 day BO pass with 1/2 card pricing + 120 chf half fare card = 316 chf
You don’t take 50% off the pass, it’s called the
“Reduced Fare 1/2” on their website and it’s 84 chf cheaper with the half fare card, so you need to use about 80 chf worth of rides outside of the BO, which you’ll do in probably 2 days.
Ah ah my math was bad then lol, but it still sounds a good deal I guess. You are right. I realized that cable cars on Zermatt would also be half price with the Half Fare card so that makes it even more convenient to have it for the entire trip. Not 100% sure we will hit the 240chf on trains and cable cars, but at least we would have tons of options if our itinerary changes. Exemple: bad weather to hike one day: lets go to Bern or Luzern etc..
Thanks xx
Wowww Maureen thanks a lot! Love the idea of the day pass you mention! Tons of readings to do again :)
Ya I think I put this in your other thread, but can’t remember now. When your itinerary is highly hiking based typically the Half Fare Card is fine. I don’t know if you’d get enough value out of the BO pass, other than the convenience of hopping on/off without buying a ticket in some places. But you’d still have to buy your ticket at places like Schilthorn. If you want the most economical option, probably just the HFC alone is enough. If you want the added benefit of no ticket purchases on some of your routes in the BO then you can do the pass but it’s probably a pretty high cost for convenience when you’re hiking so much.
I totally agree with you. I still like the idea of not waiting on line to buy each ticket but as you say, if we hike a lot, it might be expensive :)
Do you have a mobile that you can download the SBB App and use when on Wifi? Do you have data service? The app makes it very easy to purchase tickets on short notice. They are point to point tickets good for the entire day so if you have a pretty firm plan before you head out in the morning you can buy what will need for that day. There are ticket machines in the stations and I don’t recall long lines for those and of course there are manned ticket offices. The only time we had a lengthy wait was buying our first cable car up to Gutschlaft. I don’t know if we hit it at the wrong time but it was totally full of folks buying tickets with a pretty lengthy wait to buy the ticket and again for the cable car. The second time there was hardly anyone there. Go figure.
Yes I downloaded it. Such a great application! I was able to see all the prices, schedule etc... Loved it!! In fact I was more worried about line-ups in the Jungfrau area in summer. We will be going at the busier times so I do not feel like spending 50 minutes at each cable cars lolll.
As mentioned, sometimes a pass is worth it just for peace of mind
I totally agree :)
I'm late to this discussion but I have one question regarding the BOP. How do you get a discount on the Bernese Pass using the SHFP? It sounds like I would have to prove I have a valid SHFP beforehand when buying the BOP - do I have to enter some proof of purchase in order to get the BOP discount?
You do not have to have the HFC to buy the BORP with the HFC discount, you just have to have the HFC in your possession when you travel and show it with your BORP when the conductor checks. That is the way it works in Switzerland.
Oh that was a good question! Thanks!
I want to buy both because I will be in there BO over 10 days Do I have to buy the half fare card first to get the BO discount
Read the answers above. You just have to be able to show your half fare card when presenting your pass to the person checking tickets while on the train to prove you have met the requirements of the pass you bought. You don't have to have it before you purchase your BO pass. When on the train, have your pass, your half fare card and your government issued ID (drivers license works).
Not sure if it has been mentioned, if you buy HFC, you can get free family pass for your kids.
Hello all, I am so overwhelmed by all these passes offered :).
I came across this thread and the good people who have explained the process. I just want to confirm a few things. If someone can help, I would greatly appreciate it.
Is it correct to assume we will need:
- Half Fare Card
- Berner Oberlund Pass
- Separately buy tickets from Zurich to Bern (to go to Murren)
- Separately buy ticket from Lucerne to Zurich (to return to Zurich)
Also, we have 4 kids (2, 4, 7, and 15) traveling with us and 5 adults. Do we all need a half fare card, including the kids?
Thank you so much for everyone's time. Really appreciate it so much!
Hello
I'm trying to figure out passes myself, so this may not make sense, but it looks like the Swiss travel pass is around the price of the BO pass, and covers all travel in Switzerland, so why not buy that instead of the BO and half price pass?
Because it doesn't cover rides to the mountains. It covers only trains, buses, and boats I believe.
Yes, as Ari stated, the BO pass covers recreational lifts (gondolas and cablecars) as well as transport (trains boats and buses. The Swiss Travel Pass only gives a discount on the recreational lifts, not full coverage.
To answer Ari’s question—-each adult needs their own Half Fare Card. The parents of the 4 children can request a free Family Card with their Half Fare Card. The children under 16 will then ride for free on all the trains,, boats, and recreational lifts—-even if the ride is not fully covered on the BO Pass (like the Schilthorn and Jungfrau trip if you do those).
This page explains how to put the children on the free Family Card when a parent purchases the free Family Card:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-halffare-card.html
That is all you need for the kids.
Thank you so much, Lola. Am I right to assume that we will need Half Fare and the BO pass and that is the best option for us?
Exactly what I am going to buy :)
Half fare card
BO that will be cheaper with the half fare card
However we are staying 3 weeks...
If you only have 2 trains from Zurich is it worth paying the half fare card? Maybe saver day pass?
Half fare card is already 147usd itself so you need to calculate if you are spending more than that... otherwise it's a waste of money?? (On the SBB website the price of each train is already calculated if you have the half fare card)
You do not “need”anything. But looking at the best option for cost and convenience, if you are spending most of your time in the Berner Oberland AND want to ride multiple lifts there, the best option is often the BO Pass plus Half Fare Card. why? Because the discount on the BO Pass for 4+ travel days if you have the HFC almost covers the cost of the HFC. And then you have the HFC to (a) provide a free Family Card for kids to travel and (b) provide 50% off all travel inSwitzerland beyond the validity area of the BO Pass.
Ah ah I NEED to say sorry for my bad English lolll
Yes I totally agree with you. As for us, we will definitely buy both!
We are staying 8 days in the Oberland Region so there will be a discount on the BO card as well, if we have the Half fare card. It took me months to understand the Swiss system. I think I will be all good by 2025 when I buy the passes lolllllll! Cant wait!
Lucky for you that you have time. We are going in a few weeks. The BO pass is nice because it covers to Bern and Lucerne. So for our trip, we only need to cover tickets to and from Zurich.
Just jumping in to mention that Youtube coughed up these vloggers recently, an American couple that lives around Interlaken. They have taken to posting videos with a passion, apparently 60 or so. They focus mostly on the BO region but have a few that deal with travel and passes and also have some kind of checklist you can use to see what pass or passes make the most sense for your trip. They do professional videos (she works in SEO or some such so not a surprise) and they are young and perky.
Oh yes I know them. I have watched a lot of their videos about Switzerland. Very informative <3
Phred, another couple with good Swiss You Tubes are the Travelling Swiss. She is American and he is Swiss. I prefer their videos to Alpins in the Alps, but that is just a personal thing.
My itinerary is as follows:
Day-1: Zurich Airport to Lucerne and explore local Lucerne (cruise on the lake maybe)
Day-2: Mount Titlis Visit from Lucerne and back
Day-3: Lucerne to Interlaken where we will be spending 5 nights.
Day-4: Lauterbrunnen, Trummelbach falls, Gimmelwald and Murren
Day-5: Jungfrauch, top of Europe visit
Day-6: Grindelwald First and from there Bachalpsee lake hike
Day-7: Schynigge Platte visit and walk around Wilderswil
Day-8: Interlaken to Zurich
Day-9: Explore Zurich in the morning and take evening flight out back home
For this itinerary, I did the math for our trip (2 people):
Cost with HFC Only (travel cost + pass cost) = 1171 CHF
Cost with HFC & BOP (travel cost + pass cost) = 1235 CHF
Inclusion of BOP is actually costing me around 64 CHF more
Have I gone wrong somewhere?
The cost of 2 6-day BO Passes with Half Fare Card reduction, plus the cost of the 2 HFCs is 748 CHF. It is hard to see how the rest of your travel days (to Luzern, Mt. Titlis, and Bern to Zurich at the end could add up to almost 500 CHF more, especially with the 50% discount on your HFC.
Hey guys, I bought the half fare cards in SBB app (just for adults and not for kids under 16).
For the Berner Oberland pass, do we purchase that from another website and can't be purchased in SBB app. Sorry if this is a silly question but I couldn't find it in SBB app.
Id like to know too :)
From what I read, BO pass is not sold sold on SBB app and is sold separately and can't be attached to the SBB app.
Now, as far as buying it goes, I think this is the official site to buy it? https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/prices-tickets/
Once you buy it, you can print it, and present it when requested. I think thats how it works, but if I am incorrect, let me know.
Secondly, I need to buy a ticket now from Zurich to Bern. I have the half pass so my ticket is half price. But I believe kids under 16 also travel for free with a Half Fare card. When I try to add the kid as a co-passenger, its charging me for the child as an adult. Not sure if anyone has any tips or suggestions here. If you do, let me know. Really really appreciate it.
That is the correct website for buying the Berner Oberland Pass.
For kids to travel free, you need to add a Free Family Card when you buy your Half Fare Card. You list them with their names and birthdates at that time. Then you pay 120 CHF for the HFC and are charged nothing for the Family Card. Once you have that, you buy tickets for the adults using the Half Fare Card discount. The kids do not need tickets. They just board the train with you and when the conductor comes around, you show your tickets, your HFC, and the Family Card.
If you have already purchased the Half Fare Card and did not request the free Family Card, I don’t know what to tell you, other than to contact SBB and ask. The kids cannot travel without tickets unless you have the Family Card, and they cannot use your Half Fare Card discount when you buy tickets. That is personal to you.
Thank you Lola. I will just request a refund on my Half Fare card and repurchase again an add the family card option.
And remember that if you have the free Family Card for the children, they do not need any kind of Berner Oberland Pass at all—-no Junior Card, etc.
@lola: The purchase cost of the passes adds up to CHF 748. But over and above, I still need to pay for transfers to and from Zurich, to and from Eigergletscher-Jungfrauch, Titlis transfers. Not everything is covered for "free" with the BOP. Is there someway I can email the excel sheet of my calculations and maybe someone could validate it? Nonetheless here's a quick break-down of the additional ~500 CHF below (These are cases where only HFC is applicable and BOP doesn't apply. All costs below are in CHF for 2 with only the HFC applied. Have pulled these prices from the SBB app):
@rajivkrishna2000
As per your earlier, first post, with the itinerary you shared, the BO Pass does not save you money. Most people use this pass to frequently go up and down the mountains, take scenic train rides, go on the lakes of Thun and Brienz. As you can see by the cost of your Grindelwald First outing, it is doing things like this that make it worth while.
6 day pass with HFC is CHF 254.– per person. So you need to be doing things that cost more than 42.33/person/day or have some days in there where you are using it a lot more.
Some examples of your plans are:
Day 4; Interlaken Ost - Lauterbrunnen - Trummelbach falls - Gimmelwald - Murren - return to Interlaken = 24.20 for the entire journey.
Day 7: Interlaken Ost - Schynige Platte return = 35.80
Interlaken Ost - Bern 15.60 (this is the portion of your trip to Zurich that is covered with the pass).
Wow! lots of experience and knowledge here. We will be traveling around Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, and Zermatt 5
Sept. - 8 Sept. and plan to purchase the half-fare card. What are the recommendations? Purchase online from home and print a copy to carry or wait and purchase after entering Switzerland? If we wait and purchase in Switzerland, we will be issued an actual card, and nothing to store on our phones correct?
Thanks in advance.
We aren't leaving until the end of September, but all advice I have read is to purchase on line before leaving.
We too will buy the Half Fare and the BO Pass. By purchasing before you leave, you can print the pass so you have that, but you also have the option of storing the passes on your phone, which is patently much easier.
If you buy at the station, there is only the printed option available.
Hello,
My wife and I will be coming from Germany to Switzerland via Swiss Air. We purchased the train ticket from Zurich to Interlaken through Swiss Air. We will then take the bus from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen where we are staying for 4.5 days. To be able to go to Wengen, Mürren, Grindelwald, and Pfingstegg, would the Swiss Half Fare Card AND the Berber Oberland Pass be best, for our itinerary? Or what would be best card to purchase?
Thank you!
Chris
Hey ChrisP,
I just returned from Switzerland and used this thread which helped me a lot. My family spent 5 days in Murren. For the travel pass, we purchased a 1) half fare card and then 2) the Bernese Oberland ("BO") pass. It was great. From Zurich, we bought a half fare ticket to Bern, and then from Bern, the Bernese Oberland pass kicks in.
For all activities and transportation, the BO pass will work and its completely free. The only other pass you may need is if you go to 1) Jungfrauoch mountain (top of Europe) or 2) Stilhorn mountain (James Bond themed area). We did both of those and enjoyed it quite a bit. Enjoyed #1 more than #2 but both were still pretty nice.
Let me know if you have any questions. This thread helped me a lot in my planning so I want to pay it forward now!
Woww thanks a lot for your feedback. From Bern to the Obernese village you were going, did you book in advance or you just enter a train and show your BO pass without reservation?
Same question from Zurich to Bern with the Half fare card?
Thanks
This thread has so much great information. I am getting overwhelmed with which passes as well.
We are traveling into zurich then to Grindelwald
- seeing : First, Bachalpsee hije, Glacier Canyon, Junfraujoch, Pfinstegg, Trumelbach falls and Schiltorn. Then back to zurich.
I will be purchasing the half fare card. Not sure about others? Any suggestions for travel cards or itinerary would be greatly appreciated.
This has been very helpful, but I am still grappling with the best pass for our journey (planning stages). For longer stays, I am not sure if the Berner Oberland pass works. Our prospective itinerary:
So bottom line, 11 or 12 nights at 3 main locations: Lake Geneva, Wengen/Murren, Lucerne.
My initial thought is perhaps the Swiss Pass for us (My wife isn't interested on going to the tops of the mountains, but our activities are not confirmed at all)
Thanks,
Glenn
Glenn, my past 2 trips have been similar to what you are planning—time in Montreux, Wengen, and Lucerne. I always get the Swiss Travel Pass because it covers all of those areas. Also, I like the convenience of not having to worry about tickets.
And no pre-reservation is needed when you have the BO pass? You just enter a train and that is it? :)
And no pre-reservation is needed when you have the BO pass? You just
enter a train and that is it? :)
Correct, for when you are in the BO coverage area. Outside of that area, you will need to purchase tickets prior to boarding a train.
Woww I love that. And when you are outside the BO area, using the half fare card, i guess you need a reservation or can you just buy it the day you travel too?
Thanks Carrie - that is what I was leaning towards.
Glenn
And when you are outside the BO area, using the half fare card, i
guess you need a reservation or can you just buy it the day you travel
too?
No reservations needed unless you are taking one of the named train routes that require reservations. For example. the Bernina Express.
If you have the SBB app on your phone, you can buy your tickets that way. I have found that to be easier than purchasing from a machine at the train station. All the larger train stations have tickets counters. So, that is an option too although you may have to spend some time in line.
Switzerland really does make things easy. :-)
I love that :)
Is that cheaper to buy certain route in advance or it does not make a big difference to buy it on the application the day of the trip?
If I go from Lautebrunnen to Lyon airport, I will have part of it on the BO (no reservation needed) and from Bern to Lyon it would be with the half fare card but not sure what time we would catch this train so..
For those asking about train reservation needed. We traveled from Zurich airport all the way to Murren and then to Lucerne back to Zurich.
You don't need a train reservation and we found plenty of seats available. You just walk on the bus or train and show your half fare and BO pass (or ticket) when the train conductor requests it.
For tickets, you can buy on SBB app (if you need to) or for trains, there are ticket kiosks by the platform where you can simply choose you have a half fare card and would pay half the cost (assuming you have a half fare card)
Based on my math, if you are staying in BO area for 4 or more days, I found the half fare card and the BO pass the best. Why? Because you get free travel in the area (we traveled a ton by train from Murren to all areas). With the BO pass, you get free gondola and funicular rides for free also which I don't believe you get with the Swiss pass.
Added bonus, if you are traveling to Lucerne from BO area like we did, that journey is also free! The train from Lucerne to BO was fairly empty also and we didn't book any reservations.
REplying to muherve, from Zurich to Bern, we purchased a one way fare and applied the half fare. From Bern to BO, you just show your half fare and BO pass.
If you are going from BO to Lucerne, same would apply where you just show your half fare and BO pass. You would need to buy a 1 way ticket from Lucerne to Zurich, where you can apply the half fare card again.
Feel free to ask any questions you have.
Another quick question
do we have to book the BO pass and the half fare card a long time in advance or can it be booked 1 week or 2 before heading to Switzerland? :)
muherve, there is no need to buy ahead of time.
Oh perfect. No risk it goes sold out or anything like that then? :)
correct. :-) Passes will not sell out.
thanks a lot :)
So expensive. Might be better to wait last minute ah ah! We never know!
