Swiss pass, half fare card, or just point to point for me

Jeffrey, that 38 CHF from Basel to Mürren is WITH a Half-Fare Card. That is the default display on the SBB website. The actual regular fare is 76.20 CHF. I suspect the Mürren to Füssen price is also more than you think. This may affect your perception of the benefit of a pass of some sort. Generally, if you are sure you are going up the Jungfraujoch, a Half-Fare card will almost pay for itself on that trip alone, as it give you a full 50% off the whole trip.

Yet another person tricked by the way Swiss rail displays their prices!

Wonder what Jeffrey decided. Maybe he needs to hear from more members of the community?

This topic is the most puzzling question I've encountered. We are planning to spend approx. 4 days this July going from Zurich to Luzern to Muerren to Montreux, to Geneva, with side trip to Mt. Pilatus, Schilthorn, to include Golden Pass Route,etc. we will probably do some last minute side trips while in Berner Oberland, but will NOT go up to Jungfrau. Although some posters have advised against it, I feel the half-fare card is my best value. As stated before, this is one question that leaves me scratching my head, even when one of our more experienced travelers suggests it be done one way or the other.

Jim, it is not easy to figure out and there is no " one size fits all" answer. The Half Fare card is pretty easy to evaluate: if your travel adds up to more than 220 CHF the card will be of some benefit. Say your lifts, trains, etc. come to 300 CHF. A Half-Fare Card brings that down to 260 CHF, including the cost of the card itself. But you might also consider the value of convenience. With the Card, you still have to visit the ticket window easy trip. Some people, myself included, prefer a pass like the Flexpass that will give us free trips on certain days. Just get on the train and go, no stopping to buy a ticket (you do have to write in the date on the pass first). With that one you still get half off on other days. And then there are the museum admissions, etc. which are included with some passes and not others. On each of our four two-week trips to Switzerland we have used a different pass, so I am still figuring it out too! (But each trip was slightly different, and the nuances led to the different choices).

Jeffrey decided to go for the 3 day flexipass. It will get me most of the way to Murren and back plus 50% off the mountain railways for $245 each for the 2 of us. That's versus about $238 for just the trip from Basel to Murren; then from Murren to Fussen. I'm not missing some, am i?

OK...maybe I'm straining the mental powers now. I might change to a half fare card. Here's my (new) logic: Basel-Murren full price: 76 CHF Murren-St Gallen full price: 102 CHF Zungfraujoch trip full price: 200 CHF (rounded, approximate for illustration) Total full price: 378 CHF Basel-Murren 1/2 fare price: 38 CHF Murren-St Gallen 1/2 fare price: 51 CHF Zungfraujoch trip 1/2 fare price: 100 CHF (rounded, approximate for illustration) Half fare card: 120 CHF Total 1/2 fare price: 319 CHF Basel-Murren Swiss card price: 0 CHF Murren-St Gallen Swiss card price: 0 CHF Zungfraujoch trip Swiss card 1/2 fare price: 100 CHF (rounded, approximate for illustration)
Swiss card: 225 CHF Total Swiss card price: 325 CHF Thoughts?

Isn't the Half Fare card 110 CHF? I think you are mixing dollars and francs in your calculations. But that just makes the Half Fare card more attractive.

Jeffrey , One very important piece of information that you don't include is what are your dates of travel ? Right now there is a special on a swiss pass , Last year both spring and then again in the fall there were two for one specials on swiss passes . With the obvious possibility of upcoming promotions , that might affect your ultimate decision about what to purchase . This past fall we availed our selves of just such an offer ,and after crunching the numbers we came out pretty far ahead !

The current special is for travel through April 30. It is for an extra day for free with a 4-day Swiss pass in First Class. So it is really only meaningful,to those who want a First Class pass and are traveling for 5 days. Last year's spring and fall 2-4-1 promotions were great, but so far I haven't seen any indication whether that would be repeated in 2013. It is not something they do every year.

Thanks, Steven and Lola. We plan on being there in the latter half of May, 2013 so I'll keep my fingers crossed that a promotion pops up!

I'll stick with my thoughts and choice.....half-fare card.

Jeffrey, I see you're going around the time we are planning as well. And I too would like to know which PASS would be best. Seems too that you're wanting to do similar things as well. Except we are flying into Zurich and I'm still trying to figure out if I want to be in the mountains or the valley, or near the lake. So, when you figure it out, let me know, lol I saw the spring promotion but it ends this month. Fingers and toes crossed that they offer us something better. Are you buying the pass online or waiting until your arrival?

We're going with the half pass and buying there.

Jeffrey, we decided to stay in Murren also, and I must thank you for this discussion because I'm finally beginning to grasp the differences in Swiss passes. Good grief, they sure don't make them seem easy to choose!! We will be arriving on the 30th May. Have you seen anything about TWO for ONE yet? Probably not going to happen... Enjoy your trip.