colbeck

We are a party of four traveling by train from Basel on Oct. 4, 2008 to Grindelwald for 4 nights, then to Zermatt for two nights and back to Zurich for one night before departing to the US. We are thinking that the Swiss Flexi Saver Pass for three days sounds like the best deal, with separate fare from Zurich to the airport. What are your thoughts? Also, we know that this is a bit late in the season for the BO. Any feedback on your experiences at that time of year? We wanted to stay in Wengen, but found a lack of lodging available. Any comments or suggestions are welcome - Thanks for your help!

hypatia

I cant help for the train I always rent a car (for change of plans)....have you tried Lauterbrunnen...Hotel Oberland they answer emails promptly...otherwise try Murren

BarbAnn

I am arriving three weeks after you. We found limited lodging in Wegen, Grindelwald, Murren and Lauterbrunnen. We finally booked a room at the Hotel Staubbach. It gets great reviews. Website is www.staubbach.com. The weather will be cool and possibly rainy. We have been there before at this time of year and love it. Less tourists and crowds.

swandav2000

Hi colbeck,

Unfortunately, someone simply has to do the math if you want to be sure you have the cheapest train travel. You have to get the point-point fares for each trip, add them up, and compare them to the various passes. If you haven't already found them, you can use these sites for all your fares:

www.rail.ch
for the main rail lines

www.jungfraubahn.ch
for the mountain railways

I would encourage you to keep your plans to stay in Grindelwald and not Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen sits at the base of some cliffs and always seems to be in darkness, with those cliff walls fencing everyone in. Grindelwald is about 300m higher with more sweeping views over to the mountaintops.

Good luck!

s

PalenQ

I've looked at the math for this type of rail trip and found the Pass to be the best deal for such an itinerary - better than the half-fare card in your case.

The math is all at www.sbb.ch

Swiss trains are fabulous - big windows, rarely crowded, go everywhere hourly or more it seems

I always refer three good sites for info on Swiss trains, passes, etc. - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - the latter you can request their free European Planning & Rail Guide which has a fine chapter on Swiss trains. Both these sites have a lot of content besides the usual listing of pass prices and an 'add to cart button' to click on. www.swisstravelsystem.com is a fine site representing Swiss railways, boats, scenic trains, etc.

Swiss Passes are sold in Switzerland but currently in my investigation at significantly higher prices than for the same pass in the U.S. - pass prices in the U.S. are always the same no matter where you buy it but agents can tack on handling and mailing fees. Some don't have any - others have $18 extra mailing fee.

Edward2005

The Swiss Pass also covers city buses/trams, boats, and nearly any cable car you are likely to take. For the private trains it doesn't cover, you still get 50% off. It also includes free admission to nearly every museum in Switzerland.

colbeck

Thank you all for your helpful comments! We will keep our rooms in Grindelwald, and will purchase Swiss Flexi Passes through Rick Steves.