I am about to buy my ticket from Paris to Interlaken from tgv-europe.com.
I need to decide soon because I want to get the piccolo ticket which is 117 euro, but I am wondering if I would save by buying Paris to Basel (40 euro) and then buying a local train ticket from Basel to Interlaken when I get there.
I tried looking up the prices on the sbb.ch website but can't figure out which is best.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
According to the SBB site, one-way 2nd class fare Basel to Interlaken Ost is 55CHF.
Posted by
OP
St. Louis, MO, USA
229 posts
Thanks... I finally figured out where my math went wrong. The tgv price is calculated for two people while the sbb.ch was giving me the fare for one person. So in the end, it is cheaper to go tgv the full way..
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
The Swiss Rail website gives the one way fare from Basel SBB Bahnhof to Interlaken Ost as 55 CHF (€38,32 at today's exch rate). That's the counter rate you would pay in the SBB Bahnhof in Basel.
So, along with the €41,50 for the Europa-Spezial fare (w/ resv), that's €79,82. Add 3 CHF (€2,10) for the tram from Basel Bad Bhf to Basel SBB Bahnhof for about €82 total. Why would you prefer to pay €117? Just to get to hassle with tgv-europe?
Hopefully you are not already too late to get either of those discount fares from Paris. Another option for Basel Bad Bhf to Interlaken Ost is actually a Europa-Spezial clear through from Offenburg, Germany, to Interlaken Ost. You could get that fare online from the Bahn for €29 (+ reservation) and that would include your transportation from Basel Bad to Basel SBB (the ICE from Offenburg goes all the way to Basel SBB; you wouldn't have to get off in Basel Bad).