My wife and I will be flying to ZRH and going straight to Berner Ob. for 4 days. On the return well go via Bern. Honestly, I can't figure out the difference between the Swiss Pass and Swiss Card for us. Any advice?
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
Click the "railpasses" tab at the top of this page of complete details. The short answer is that the Swiss Pass covers all transport between cites/villages, and a discount for scenic trains/cable cars, also gets you free admission to most all museums. The card gives you only a 50% discount, plus free transport to the border/airport.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17245 posts
4-day Swiss pass (Saver) is $205 in 2d class. Swiss Card is $169. That's one difference.
The Swiss Card also fully covers your roundtrip from Zurich to the Berner Oberland. One day of travel in each direction is fully covered; the rest is 50%
Another difference is relevant if you plan to go up the Jungfrau. The Swiss Card, which acts as a Half-Fare Card, give you a 50% discount on the entire trip. The Swiss Pass, on the other hand, covers up to Wengen at 100%; from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg at 50%, and avoe there to the Jungfraujoch at 25%.
The answer to "which is best" depends on where you will be staying and how much riding around on lifts, trains and boats you intend to do. Regular fare between the Zürich airport and, say, Lauterbrunnen is 74 CHF by the fast route and 58 CHF by the scenic (Luzern) route, both in 2d class. If you aren't going to be riding around on lifts a lot, you might be better off with PTP tickets.