Reposting here on suggestion of reader: From reading another thread and Rick Steve's tips, it appears the 30-Day Half Fare Card will be he best pass for us (we've used the Flexi-Saver Pass our 3 previous visits to Grindelwald). I would like to ensure our train trips connect smoothly, especially the Grindelwald to Zurich to Munich leg. There is one daily direct Zurich-Munich train (no train changes) that departs Zurich at ~1PM local. To ensure we got on it I was going to purchase tickets from here, but the 3-Day Half Far Card is not available for purchase in the U.S., except on the "swissrailways.com" website, with a 30CHF shipping charge. Questions: 1)Is it a fair assumption that there will be no problem getting on the train(s) we want and just wait until we arrive in Switzerland to purchase the 30-Day Half Fare Card and train tickets? Or should I purchase the cards and tickets now? 2)Has anybody used the 30-Day Half Fare Card to purchase 3-Day Jungfrau VIP Pass and/or 6-Day Jungfraubahnen Pass at the discounted prices that we get using a Flexi-Saver Pass? 3)Has anybody used the 30-Day Half Fare Card to purchase either 1-way or R/T Männnlichen tickets at half price? Thanks! Added: one last thing. Are the 30-Day Half Fare cards available at all Swiss train stations (I ask because our connection from Zurich to Basel might be short so we'd buy the cards in Basel if possible... our Zurich to Basel train is included in our plane fare).
Posted by
OP
Moss Beach, California, United States
5 posts
Hi Larry, I knew it was a duplicate, but somebody who sent me a private message from the other thread suggested I'd get more responses if I also posted on the Transportation forum. I am sorry if I committed a faux pas. I'll delete this one if you think the other is more appropriate. Thanks again,
John
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
John, posting in this section is just fine since your question is about transportation. I just didn't see this one first. It really doesn't matter but it could be a bit confusing to posters making comments. I have copied my response from the West section and placed it here. I'll delete my response from the other section.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
John, I'll try to answer this post. First, you don't indicate how you will enter Switzerland and where you will be staying in the Berner-Oberland. Further, you don't indicate if you will be traveling elsewhere in Switzerland. I ask this as it doesn't seem useful to buy a 1/2 fare card and a 3-day Jungfrau VIP pass unless you have a lot of other travel in Switzerland. The half-fare card will cover 50% of all fares for all travel in the Berner-Oberland including the Jungfraujoch and the Wengen-Mannlichen gondola. It doesn't get you 50% off on the Jungfraubahn 3-day VIP pass according to the Jungfraubahn website (235CHF regular vs 180CHF with any Swiss pass or card (including the half-fare card). Thus, you pay 120CHF for the half-fare card plus 180CHF for the Jungfraubahn. Without knowing where you will be, how much travel you will do while in the range of the 3-day VIP pass and other train travel in Switzerland, I am not able to do any math to determine value. To answer your questions. 1) Assuming that you are staying in Grindelwald, trains run every 30 minutes down to Interlaken Ost. You won't have trouble connecting to a train going to Zurich for your trip to Munich. Note that you can purchase tickets now at www.sbb.ch declaring the 1/2-fare rate even though you do not yet have the card in hand. You just have to have the ticket in hand when you pick up your tickets. 2) The Jungfraubahn website shows a discount to buy the 3-day VIP pass. Regular cost is 235CHF. Discounted fare is 180CHF. 3) The Swiss half-fare card can be used on the Wengen-Mannlichen gondola. You can see the half-fares listed on their website. http://maennlichen.ch/en/wengenmaennlichen-aerial-cableway.html
Posted by
OP
Moss Beach, California, United States
5 posts
Hi Larry. I'll dump the thread in "To The West". Thanks for the great info! The Männlichen info is really good, since we usually take it down when we hike the Eiger trail or just up from the valley to the top. Also, it's a great ride if you're feeling lazy, and for getting to Wengen/Murren/Lauterbrunen. Thanks also about the tix for our train Grindelwald->Munich. That was a worry. I didn't post our trip details because I originally did and got no responses and assumed it was because I wrote too much, but here goes... - U.S. fly to Zurich then train to Basel (train included since my wife has a business meeting in Basel). 4-Days in Basel (wife working, me sightseeing). - 1-Day Basel to Grindelwald via 1st class train (both pay). Maybe take a long scenic route like through Zurich-Bellinzona-Locarno-Domodossia-Spiez. We did that the opposite direction our 2011 Grindelwald visit and really enjoyed the trip. - 11-days in Grindelwald hiking up and riding down (my old knees just will not tolerate long downhills!), so that's where the Jungfraubahn passes came in handy when previous visits we had Flexi-Saver passes. With the 1/2-Fare Card they seem much less valuable.
- 1-Day Grindelwald to Zurich (we pay), then Zurich to Munich where my wife has another business meeting (I pay for mine). I'm shooting for the ~1PM Zurich-Munich train as it has no train changes. - 5-Days south of Munich. Again, my wife working and me sightseeing. - Munich fly to U.S. Thanks again for your help
Posted by
OP
Moss Beach, California, United States
5 posts
I just found out why I saw a discount for the Zurich to Munich leg using the Half Fare Card: since my wife is on business in Munich, she must buy a refundable ticket which is quoted (on the sbb.ch site) as 158CHF (with no card/pass), and 104CHF w/"1/2/3-year Half Fare Travelcard". The non-refundable tickets are 72CHF and do not change price w/"1/2/3-year Half Fare Travelcard".