Yet another "Which pass should I get?" question

Half Fare Card plus a Berner Oberland Regional Pass. All of your outings in the greater Berner Oberland are covered (unless yo go to the top of the Jungfrau or Schilthorn) and the HFC gives a generous discount on the BO Pass.

I haven't been to Zermatt in awhile but I think they have a pass as well so you need to look for that and see what it covers and which trains/lifts you plan to take there. Otherwise the HFC gives you 50% off on all Swiss transport.

Thanks Laurel!

I'll take a look at the Zermatt pass, and compare this strategy to the cost of the flex pass.

Any other ideas?

Hi,

So the prices are:

Half fare + Regional w/discount = 928 CHF
Regional 8 days = 898 CHF
Flex pass 3 days = 636 CHF
Travel pass 8 days = 954 CHF

Given that, would the flex pass cover me for all the travel I mentioned above?
Also, it appears that just buying tickets for each of the legs above is about 50 CHF per person, which would be at or around 300 CHF.

I say half fare pass only, as you’re not doing any museums. I still don’t think it’s easy to make the bo pass worth it, and certainly not with your itinerary.

Copy that, thanks!

The half fare is 274 CHF on it's own, so just a bit less than what full fare cost seems to be. Could that be right?

HFC is 120 CHF https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-halffare-card.html

BO Reg Pass is 196 CHF for 4 days if you have the HFC https://www.berneroberlandpass.ch/preise-und-tickets/ or 254 CHF for 6 days. From my experience over many trips we more than break even on this combo.

Also, it appears that just buying tickets for each of the legs above is about 50 CHF per person, which would be at or around 300 CHF.

Actually, those are the prices for point-to-point tickets WITH a Half Fare Card. That is the default setting on SBB.ch. The regular fare per person for each leg is

Zurich Airport to Wengen, 92 CHF

Wengen to Zermatt, 101 CHF

Zermatt to Zurich (city), 130 CHF

Total for 2 people 646 CHF

Those prices may be slightly lower on certain days and certain journeys if there are SuperSaver tickets left. That brings the price for Zermatt to Zurich down to 102 CHF, for example.

Hi Lola,

That's very helpful information to know. On the sbb site, I do have it set to "no discount." Wouldn't that adjust the cost to not assume the half fare discount?

The prices shown on the opening page, with about 5 possible options for your route, will automatically show the Half Fare Price, or the SuperSaver price if it is still available, regardless whether you have previously checked “no discount” option when going to actually buy the tickets.

You have to work through the “buy” process and proceed past the SwissPass account login or “purchase as a guest” and enter your name, email, etc. and check “no discount” ( even if you have done that previously) to see the full fare price.

This is what I'm seeing:

Per leg cost, 2 people, no discount is 608 CHF not assuming any saver discounts for that day, and the half price and regional pass is 698 CHF. Other than museum/location discounts, is there any other benefit for out itinerary to get the half and regional pass instead of just buying per leg?

zur to laut 161
laut to zermatt 187
zermatt to zur 260
Total 608 CHF

BO region 578
half 120
1/2 and region 698 CHF

@lola

Copy that. The prices I listed are the one's shown right before purchase, so I'm taking those to be full price with no half fare.

The prices you list just above, per leg, match what I listed, except that I looked at the cost to and from Wengen, pursuant to your original post where you said “We’ll be staying in Wegen”. Are you now planning on Lauterbrunnen instead?

The price you list for “BO region” is way off; I don’t know where that came from. I believe the logical choice would be the Berner Oberland 4-day regional pass plus Half Fare Card, which totals 316 CHF per person for the combo.

https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/prices-tickets/

You have 4 nights in the Berner Oberland—-3 full days—-and the pass will cover one extra day, either coming in from Bern, or departing to Zermatt as far as Brig (provided you take the regional train via Kandersteg). The latter is the greater benefit. Plus is is a scenic ride, avoiding the long and deep tunnel between Spiez and Visp.

https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/assets/Uploads/Geltungsbereich-Berner-Oberland-Pass-2024.pdf

The Berner Oberland Pass will also fully cover any lifts, boats, and trains you want to ride during your stay, with the exception of the Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn, which get a discount. It will cover your travel from wherever you are staying up to Mürren and Gimmelwald, and over to Grindelwald, whether you go by train or choose the fun and exciting ride up and over Männlichen. These lifts and cablecars are expensive.

The Half-Fare Card will then give you 50% off all your other trains and lifts (Brig to Zermatt, Zermatt to Zurich, and whatever lifts you choose to ride in Zermatt.

You seem to be favoring a Flex Pass, presumably the 3-day Flex for 279 CHF each, total 558CHF. That will indeed cover your 3 long journeys between cities. But on the 3 days you are spending in the Berner Oberland, and the one full day in Zermatt, you will pay full fare for whatever travel you want to do. You need to look up those prices to decide what is the best option for you.