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Swiss Rail Pass or buy Seperate Individual Tickets?

Posted by (chicago, il, usa) on

We are going to need tickets for the following train rides in Switzerland:
1 Zurich Airport - Lauterbrunnen
2 Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken (Roundtrip)
3 Lauterbrunnen - Luzerne
4 Luzerne - St Gallen
5 St Gallen - Zurich Airport

I priced these individual legs on www.raileurope.com and came up with a total of $ 406 for my husband and myself.

I also looked at the Swiss Flexi Pass - as I can't buy the consecutive day pass - and the cost of the Swiss Flexi Pass online is 258 per person which is $516.

I was wondering if I should go ahead and buy the individual legs or go ahead and buy the flexi pass? Do I need to still pay a nominal fee for individual legs if I buy the flexi pass? Do I need to make reservations or can simply hop onto any train as long as I have the pass?

In addition we are going to be going up to Gimmelwald for 2 days and Jungfrau for one day which I know is something I will have to purchase - I know I do get a discount for these if I have the Swiss rail pass right?

Should we buy the pass/tickets from US or when we land in Switzerland?

Help please.

Thanks.

Posted by
3551 posts

Don't forget you can buy a half fare card in Switzerland. maybe you should consider it. It cannot be purchased in USA.

Posted by
355 posts

We used the half fare card last summer when we traveled extensively in the Bernese Oberland. I spent hours and hours calculating which would be the best, and decided on the half fare card.
It was very easy to buy at the airport when we arrived in Zurich and worked great.

Posted by
6898 posts

As mentioned above, you can buy the Swiss half-fare card. It costs 99CHF ($91.90) and is good for 30 days. The card will cover 50% of all public transportation in Switzerland including going to the Jungfraujoch and the Schilthorn. You may have to pay a bit extra on some scenic trains. We've done it an it works well. Just the savings on going to the Jungfraujoch will almost pay for it.

Posted by
45 posts

Hello, I'll jump in and ask - can you tell me if I need to purchase some type of pass if I'm driving to Switzerland? We're driving from Germany and going to stay at Gimmelwald/Murren for 2 nights, then on to France. We want to go to the Schilthorn while there also. Thanks.

Posted by
6898 posts

Linda, you can easily drive to Lauterbrunnen or nearby Stechelberg and park your car. No tourist cars are permitted in either Gimmelwald or Murren. You take the gondolas to get to both. The roundtirp fare to the Schilthorn from Murren is 71.40CHF. Its 91.80 from the Stechelberg gondola station. It's 20.40CHF roundtrip from Stechelberg to Murren.

Hope this gives you an idea of fares that you will encounter after you get there by car.

Posted by
1 posts

do you buy a swiss half fare card and then also buy a full rate card with using the half rate card???
Jackson Santa Ynez, california

Posted by
6898 posts

Jackson, clever thought but I've never heard of that being done.

Posted by
7209 posts

Linda: To drive in Switzerland you will have to buy a vignette and affix to the inside of your car windshield.

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