Train Passes in Switzerland

I think your best bet is to spring for the 4 day Berner Oberland Pass at 230 CHF. It covers from Bern to Muerren and local transport plus 50% discount on Jungfraujochbahn and Schilthorn lift. So you only need to pay for the airport to Bern leg (26.50 CHF according to SBB site), and Muerren to Milan when leaving (thats your 5th day). The Swiss Pass only gives 50% on the Berner Oberland trains (Interlaken Ost and onward), and 25% discount on the Jungfraujochbahn and Schilthorn lift.

Thank you for the information!

A couple of corrections. Geneva Airport to Bern is 53 CHF ( SBB shows the Half-Fare price as the default, so you have to correct for that ). And a Swiss Pass fully covers travel in the Berner Oberland as far as Wengen or Mürren( (100%). It is 25% on the Jungfraujoch train after Wengen. This is the main difference between Swiss Pass and the BO pass, which covers 50% of the Jungfrau trip above Kleine Scheidegg. A 4- day Saver Swiss Pass costs almost the same as a 4-day Berner Oberland Pass. The Swiss Pass will fully cover travel from the Geneva airport to Mürren, and from Mürren to Domodossola on your way to Milan for the Cinque Terre trip. The Berner Oberland Pass will cover part but not all of these trips, but on the other hand it covers more of the Jungfrau trip. Other lifts like the Schilthorn are 50% on both passes. It is a close call.

I should add that the price analysis is a bit different if you are traveling to Mürren by the longer GoldeN Pass scenic route, via Montreux and Gstaad. If so, I can explain that. Also, you can buy a ticket on Trenitalis from Milan to Monterosso in the Cinque Terre. If your travel is several months away, you are likely to find a discounted ticket with a Super Economy Fare as low as 19 euro. Just remember that tickets bought at that fare are non-exchangeable so you must be on that specific train.

Thanks again for the replies. I don't think we will be taking the scenic route from Geneva to BO. We will probably get the BO Pass and look for discounted fares for the other legs. Thanks again for the help.

Just out of curiosity I looked up the cost of a Jungfraujoch trip with the two passes. I priced it as a return trip from Wengen, since both the Swiss Pass and Berner Oberland Pass fully cover travel as far as Wengen. Full price with no discount is 163 CHF. Fare with a Swiss Pass, 25% off, would be 122 in round numbers. Price with a Berner Oberland Pass, which covers to Kleine Scheidegg with 50% off after that, is 60 CHF. So you are 62 CHf ahead with the BO pass for that. But you will have to pay full fare from Geneva Airport to Bern (56 CHF each), plus Brig to Domodossola (15.60), both of which are fully covered on a Swiss pass. That is 71 CHF, greater than the Jungfraujoch savings with the BO pass. Also, if your credit card has foreign transaction fees, keep that in mind. You can buy the Swiss Pass in dollars on the website and avoid the FTF. But you would be buying the BO Pass and the Bern and Brig tickets in Switzerland, so FTF will apply to the 301 CHF. The big advantage of the BO Pass over a Swiss Pass is that it fully covers some lifts around Grindelwald, such as the Mannlichen Gondolbahn, and First and Pfingstegg lifts. But lifts over by Mürren, like the Schilthorn and Allmendhubel, are 50% just like the Swiss Pass.