Urgent!! Advice needed for trip to Switzerland

Chandni,

You don't need a train pass for these short trips---Basel to Interlaken Ost is 53 CHF (in 2d class, which is fine on Swiss trains); Interlaken to Luzern is 29, CHF, and Luzern to Zürich is 22 CHF, for a total of 104 CHF (in first class it would be 168 CHF). The pass will not cover fully the cost of going up the Jungfraujoch train, or Mt. Pilatus; it only covers half. This will be the most expensive part of your travel plans. So what you want is the least expensive pass that gets you a discount on those muntain train trips. I believe that would be a Half-Fare Card, which costs 99 CHF for each person.

It looks like you have a very nice trip planned out already. The only extra bit of info I can add is that you are traveling during the off-season, when there isn't enough snow for winter sports, and too much melting snow and mud keep many (but not all) of the hiking trails closed. I traveled to the Berner Oberland in late April last year. Murren, Lauterbraunen and Gimmelwald were virtual ghost towns. Enjoy the views and don't be too shocked when you see how expensive the food is.

Yeah, The food is indeed expensive! One important tip, when visiting Jungfrau or any other mountain top, make sure you go EARLY in the morning. Later in the day the clouds will always roll in; making a trip to the top a waste. Weather conditions are always in flux in Switzerland, so be prepared to juggle around your itinerary. You will be very lucky if you don't have at least one rainy day; so make sure you have some indoor backup plans.

"One important tip, when visiting Jungfrau or any other mountain top, make sure you go EARLY in the morning. Later in the day the clouds will always roll in." Yup, that pretty well sums up my experience. I have pictures taken in Gimmelwald that highlight this contrast. Bright, cloudless sky in the morning, dense, impenetrable fog a few hours later.

We have also planned a trip to switzerland same way like you, 2 days in INterlaken and 1 day for Luzern.We shall reach on 19th to interlaken. I hope you have planned to travel from interlaken to luzern by Golden Pass Train. I heard the scenic beauty is fantastic on the way.

Sounds good - the difference in the cards is with a flex - you can spread out those 3 days over a 2 month period. So if youre not using a long haul train on one of the days you save a lot by buying that short local 10-20$ ticket that day. Since you are paying about 50-60$/day - if any day trips are less you may be able to get cheaper at the window. But the long trips are 75-100$ so you will save there. Seems cheap enough to get the 4-day ticket so you can just jump on and off without working (just get them validated at the ticket window the first time you use them on day 1). Also - you may be able to get a discount with for the other mountain train rides that are not included in the pass as "free"...

A few things to know about going up to the Jungfraujoch (Jungfrau train station and visitor facility). It takes 2hrs to get up there on the cog train from Lauterbrunnen and 2hrs to get back. The retail cost of the trip up and back is about $155 dollars (really). It was $134 for us when the Euro exchange rate was 1.33. It's now 1.55. If you have a Swiss pass, it will only cover 50% of the fare. Eurail passes cover $0. As above, go up in the morning. There is a TV monitor in the Lauterbrunnen train station that shows live pictures of both the top of the Jungfrau and the Shilthorn.

If you're staying in Interlaken, you will need to take a short train 25-min train ride from the Interlanken Ost train station, track 2B, into Lauterbrunnen.