We travel to Zurich in August directly to Wengen by rail. We will be in that area for six whole days hiking, using lifts, postal bus, etc. and then travel to Vernazza by rail. I think the best options for passes are one of the following: Swiss Pass, Jungfrau Railways Pass or Half Fare Card. I am really confused about the best one for our plans, as the lifts and trains in this area is pretty pricey. Any ideas would really be appreciated. Thank you.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
In the Berner Oberland, there are at least two private railways - the Jungfraubahn and the Schilthornbahn. There may be more. Booking through the Swiss train website (www.rail.ch) will get you on any of them. For the Jungfraubahn pass, you can get unlimited travel in certain areas of the B.O. for six days for what looks like 213CHF. There are limits. Should you want to go to the top of the Jungfrau (Jungfraujoch), you can get to Kleine Scheidegg on your pass but beyond, you only are covered 50%. The other limitation is that you can get to Murren on your pass but not to Gimmelwald or the top of the Schilthorn. The 1/2 fare card does exactly what it says. 1/2 fare on everything for 30 days. It costs 99CHF when we bought one but I understand it may now be up to 110CHF. Other Swiss Passes or cards will want you to purchase a specific quantity of travel days in a given period (i.e. 4, 8, 15, or 22 days in a month. The number of days, either consecutive or non-consecutive vary between the passes. On days when you are not using your pass or card, these passes or cards work like the 1/2 fare card - 50% off on all travel. No Swiss pass or card will cover you completely from kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch. Maximum coverage is 50%. The 1/2 fare card is easy peasy. The others, you will have to do a bit of homework to calcuate all of the different costs vs point-to-point fares.
Posted by
OP
Littleton, Colorado, USA
41 posts
Thank you for that information. I'll try to figure out more details on ticket costs but the Half Fare Card does sound the easiest of all the many options.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Another option for you is the Swiss Card which will cover your trips 100% on your arrival day from Zurich to Wengen and on your departing day from Wengen to the Swiss Border on your way to Vernazza. During the rest of the time your Swiss Card will act like a Half Fare card and allow you to purchase tix for 1/2 fare. The cost of the Swiss Card is 186 Chf http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/produkttexte.php?passid=4 Personally I would not buy a pass that only covers a specific region and traps me there for the duration...Berner Oberland Pass.