We will be traveling to Switzerland in July. We will be arriving at Zurich airport and want to spend about a week in Murren/Berner Oberland area. We will only need one round-trip train ride from the airport to the Murren area. The rest of the time, we plan to be in the Murren area and use the Berner Oberland Regional Pass. I believe purchasing a point-to-point ticket to/from the airport is our best financial decision. Yes? If so, how far will that ticket get us to Murren? Do we need to book a seat reservation from Zurich to Interlaken OST, then pick up with the Berner Oberland Pass to get to Murren? Also, for our return from Murren to Zurich airport to catch our flight departing at 12:55 pm, how much time do I need to allot for that trip?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17422 posts
The Berner Oberland Regional Pass covers the train as far as Luzern, so your least expensive option is to buy point to point tickets from the airport as far as Luzern, and start using the pass there. That would mean including your travel days on the pass. If you don't wish to do that, or can inlude only one of them, the fare from Zurich airport to Mürren is 89,20 CHF if you go the fast way (via Bern) or 71,20 CHF if you go the scenic route (via Luzern). You do not need seat reservations for travel within Switzerland. There are a few times when you might encounter a crowded train, but that is unusual (except for the Jungfraujoch which always seems crowded to me). To see the schedules and figure out your departure time from Mürren for your flight, use the Swiss train website www.rail.ch
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Mari, If I read correctly, you're planning to buy your Berner Oberland Pass at Interlaken Ost? You should also be able to buy the Pass at the rail station at ZRH (I haven't checked) or at Lucerne. Which version of the Pass are you planning to buy (4, 6 or 8 days)? In the same situation, I'd buy a ticket to the nearest point covered by the Railpass (ie: Lucerne). If you can connect with a direct train, travel time from ZRH will be 1H:02M. From there you should be able to use the Pass to travel to Mürren. Have you researched the route from Interlaken Ost to Mürren (there are two options once you reach Lauterbrunnen). It may be possible to buy the Berner Oberland Pass online, but the cost may be higher (markup) than buying it locally. This is one vendor (I haven't dealt with them, so can't offer any comments): www.swisspasses.com/railpass/swiss-regional-rail-passes/ You can research all the rail travel details using either the bahn.de or sbb.ch websites. You shouldn't need to worry about seat reservations. If they're required they will be provided with the ticket you buy at ZRH. From Mürren the trip to ZRH will take about 3H:10M with a minimum of 3 changes. Happy travels! *NOTE: I was posting at the same time as Lola, so some of the information is duplicated.
Posted by
OP
Dallas, TX, USA
51 posts
Thank you Lola & Ken. This is very helpful!