My Swiss segment is looking pretty straightforward: Basel inbound from Germany, connecting into Interlaken and on to Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald in a day.
Assume one Schilthorn Piz Gloria and one Jungfrau ride to da top while in the area for 3 days. Then retracing back to Basel and out of Switzerland on one other single day.2 Adults, one 13 yr old. My son is taken care of by the Family card either way. Comparing the fares, esp the high routes,it seems like the Swiss Card discounts are the winner by only a scant margin.If we were in the area for more days, it would add value to the 50% discount fares, but with only 3 days I'm having difficulty coming up with an apples to apples comparison.
The point to point fares I have found also are close to a wash with the transfer prices, at least up to Lauterbrunnen.
Am I missing something ?? I thought it would be more conclusive and stand out as a "deal".
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
519 posts
Hi Bill! We bought a Swiss Card for our trip this summer. We're going Zurich to Lauterbrunnen and then out through Basel Bad. When I priced that on the Swiss rail site it was pretty close to the $146 cost of the Swiss Card. With the card, you also get 50% off all rail travel in between your inbound/outbound journey.
We plan to go up both the Jungfrau and Schilthorn, so we get 50% off those rides. Cost for Jungfrau is about 155 SF ($150 USD) and Schilthorn is about 100 SF ($96 USD) so you get 50% off those, which is close to 127 SF. At today's rate that's about $120 savings on those two trips per Swiss Card.
When I look at the SBB website and plug in May 29, the cost for a roundtrip ticket to/from Basel Bad and Lauterbrunnen is 132 SF ($127 USD). So figuring the Swiss Card costs $146 you are paying only about $20 more to save $120 on the mountain rides. Not sure what other options you are considering but that seems to be a good deal.
Posted by
West Sacramento, California, USA
281 posts
Get the Swiss Card. It costs $47 more than the transfer ticket, but it then saves you $125 on the Jungfrau and Schilthorn, for a net savings of $78 each. Be sure to buy these before you go as they are still available on the RS website for $146 each, and the Family Card is free. If you wait till you get there, they same ticket costs 182 Swiss Francs, which is about $182 currently, and the family pass is about $20. I have used the Swiss Card many times when my travels are limited within Switzerland, and it has always saved me money.
Kevin