Lauterbrunnen & Swiss Pass Question

Have another look at the railpass section here on this site. A Swiss Pass is for a certain number of consecutive days, and once you begin using it the days go by whether you buy tickets or travel by train that day or not. A Swiss Flexi Pass is for a certain number of free travel days within a one-month period, and acts as a Half-Fare Card on the other days. So the answer to your question #2 is Yes, you get the discount without using up one of your free days. It sounds like that might be what you are thinking of, but you'll need to check the prices of your various journeys on the Swiss rail website and do the math with and without the Flexi Pass (don't forget the cost of the pass itself) to figure out what is best for you. If you are going to be doing mostly short train or cablecar rides in the Lauterbrunnen area in order to reach hiking trails, you probably will not want a full Swiss Pass for your time there. On the other hand, if you plan to do day trips, like to Thun, Spiez or the Ballenberg Open Air Museum, or take any lake cruises, you may want a pass that covers everything.

Will you be there for 60 days in May/June or for a shorter period within that period? If your travels are within 30 days, you can purchase the Swiss 1/2 fare card. It costs 110CHF and is good for 30 days. You get 50% discount on all train travel in Switzerland including the trips to the top of the Jungfrau and Schilthorn. No counting days. Simply 1/2 the fares for 30 days.

Great information, and many thanks. We will be in Switzerland for 12 days. I am comparing 1/2 card, Swiss Flexi card vs point-to-point now. I think it will be close, but I also need to consider that Flexi Pass gets us use of boats and buses too. Thanks Again! Any more ideas are always welcome!

Swiss Pass, Swiss Flexi Pass, Half Fare Card - all get you transport on boats, buses, gondolas, cogwheels etc.

Awesome--that makes the decision easier. Many thanks! Debbie

And remember that a Flexi Pass works as a Half-Fare card on the "off" days.

That must be were I got confused. I think I do need the one that acts as 1/2 card on off days as we will be using buses, trams a good bit. I take it from your reply that the others do not work that way on off days. Many thanks!

The 1/2 fare card works every time during the 30 days. The Flexi-pass works as 1/2 fare on the days when you don't use it as a Flexi day. It's all about the difference is costs between the two travel instruments.

Thank you Larry, and to everyone for your help!

And the Flex pass one works as a Half Fare card between the first and last day you use it for covered travel.

Thanks Lola, Just want to make sure I understand. So, the Flexi Pass works as a 1/2 card from the first to last day of use. So that means only once I validate it, and then my last day terminates the card i.e. I need to make sure I arrange my last day after I need all the extra transportation???? Debbie

Say for example you get a 4-day Swiss Flexi Pass. You will want to use your four "free" days for long haul travel (like from your arrival city to the Lauterbrunnen valley) or for days that you will be doing a lot of moving around (like if you took a day trip to the Ballenberg outdoor museum from Lauterbrunnen). On the free days the Pass also works as a museum pass for many museums and castles. In between your first and fourth free days, the Pass acts as a Half Fare Card. Use that if you are just maybe going to take the bus down the valley to visit Trummelbach Falls, or hop over to Grindelwald. Even a "free" day will not get you to the Jungfrau or Schilthorn completely free, so you would want to use the Half Fare feature to buy those tickets as well. Once you have used your fourth "free" day, the pass is no longer valid as a Half Fare Card, even if there are days left in the general 30-day validity window. So yes, you'll want to plan your final long-haul train trip to make use of that last day.

Excellent example, and I will make sure I plan to get the most out of the pass. Many thanks! Debbie