Swiss Pass vs Half Fare Card??

Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 03:51 PM
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Swiss Pass vs Half Fare Card??

Hi - We are a family of 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids (9 yrs and 6 yrs). Below is our Itinerary in Switzerland. Reaching Zurich on Mon, Jun 26 and leaving Zurich on Sun, Juy 2nd (Total 7 travel days). Please advise which Swiss pass to buy. The 8 consecutive Travel days is costing $796.00.

Mon, Jun 26th
Flight from US lands in morning Zurich. Leave directly for Wengen.
Check-in and do
Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike

Tue, Jun 27th
Early morning Jungfrau excursion.
Trümmelbach Falls - Train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. Take bus to TF.

Wed, Jun 28th
If not on Mon, 6/26, then Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike, and then
Mürren and the Schilthorn
Time permitting,Trummelbach falls (closes at 5pm)

Thu, Jun 29th
Check-out of apartment.
Trümmelbach Falls - Train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. Leave luggage at Lauterbrunnen. Take bus to TF.
If TF already done, then Schynigge Platte
Leave for Lucerne around 2 PM.

Fri, Jun 30th
Mount Titlis in the morning
Engleberg
If raining, Swiss Transport Museum

Sat, Jul 1st
Mount Rigi
Lucern city in the evening - Lion of Lucerne carving and both the Chapel and Spreuer Bridges..

Sun, Jul 2nd
Leave early morning for Zurich airport from Lucerne.
familytravel01 is offline  
Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 05:42 PM
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Your trip sounds doable but perhaps ambitious with little ones. One of your kids (or one of the adults) could have more jet lag than you have budgeted for and that could make everyone's life miserable if the leader of the pack is pushing too hard. Remember, BEING THERE is the important thing, more so than what you do while there.

I strongly recommend the 4 day Flexipass. That takes care of your heavier travel days, - kids still travel free. Just over $500 . then on days your do less travel, you buy point to point. This allows flexibility in your planning. Agenda says Mount Big but everyone just wants to chill? No problem with the Flexipass, but a "waste of travel day" if you have the full Swiss pass.

I strongly recommend calling the folks at BETS. http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/index.html
They just love to talk trains, are not pushy, and are very good at advising travelers their best option, and know the SwissRail system very well. (You'll leave a VM, don't worry, they do call back)

Doing both Titlis and Mt Rigi, on consecutive days is a tad ambitious. We went to Titlis and LOVED it. For one, the rail trip Zurich-Engleberg is beautiful and worth the trip just on it's own, they have these scooters called "Trotti-bikes" which is the most fun you'll ever have (that you can talk to your kids about) and the town is just delightful. Unless Rigi has been on a bucket list for all time, suggest you specifically leave that last day as "ad lib" - Strolling around Lucern can be a wonderful and fullfiling day agenda item.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 08:41 PM
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I think your plan sounds pretty good as long you're flexible with it, which I'm sure you would be anyway. I'd do the things that are your highest priority first in case the weather turns dodgy or you decide to do something else one day. Our kids at that age (well really, any age) had more energy and stamina than we did.

As to which pass, nothing substitutes for a spreadsheet with the various options. I've always found the half fare card the best option but that doesn't mean you would. Fares are available at sbb.ch/en. Price each of your journeys then apply whatever discount applies for each pass. It won't take long. Some will say that not having to buy a ticket for each journey is worth something in terms of ease of travel. Unless things have recently changed, the kids will travel for free on purchase of a family/junior pass each. Sometimes the junior passes come free but even if you have to pay they are not expensive (last time we paid 30chf per child).
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 09:17 PM
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Hi familytravel01,

I used to do the spreadsheet that dreamon describes, pricing out each journey and using a separate column for each pass/card to be able to compare the exact costs.

Every time I did the math, the Half Fare Card came out as the most cost effective option, but not by a lot (maybe around 100 chf). I've also seen the clerks at the station counters suggesting a HFC when travelers give their itineraries and ask. In fact, the HFC is almost ubiquitous in Switzerland, with residents using the 1-year, 2-year, or 3-year option; the SBB site tends to default to the half fare when you get your journey fares.

Because of that, I don't do the math anymore and always get the HFC.

However, cost may not be your primary criterion. Some people like the ease of not having to buy tickets (as dreamon notes), and others like the flexibility of being able to add or change train journeys.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 11:11 PM
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Compare
Swiss Travel Pass
Swiss Half fare Card
Bernese Oberland Pass

Fares and reductions:
https://www.sbb.ch/home.html
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/b...etrangers.html
https://www.jungfrau.ch/shop/en/tickets/bergbahn
http://www.engelberg.ch/en/cable-car...ickets-prices/
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 04:12 AM
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The Swiss Pass also gets you free entry to almost every Swiss museum, including Trummelbach Falls. A few other ones along your route which might be of interest:

- The kids might also like the Swiss Open Air museum near Brienz - farm animals, traditional crafts, traditional foods, etc.

- Lucerne: The Swiss Pass does not cover the Transportation Museum but it does get you 50% off the 30 SF price.

- Lucerne: The Rosengart museum has a nice collection of works by Picasso, Paul Klee, and Cezanne.

Also, the walk from Kleine-Sheidegg to Wengen is great but not quite as good as the one from Maennelichen to K-S. Easy hike.

Murren has another easy and wonderful hike for the whole family. The Allendhubelbahn funicular train in Murren hauls you up the side of the mountain about 400' to the North Face Trail. From there it winds down the a ridge or two with great views and lots of flowers.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 04:46 AM
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As swandav points out, the math usually favors a half-fare card if your priority is simply lowest cost--that's particularly true if you are planning to go to the Jungfraujoch. However, the flexibility of an unlimited travel pass might be worth a little extra cost if you finds that it's close price-wise. As Edward2005 points out, if you plan to go to the museums that would be covered by the Swiss Travel Pass, don't forget to factor that into your calculations.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 08:29 AM
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Also check the Berner Oberland Pass good in Lucerne and Interlaken/Jungfrau areas -may be a better deal than Swiss Pass-for lots of good info on Swiss transports and passes check: www.sbb.ch; www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 01:00 PM
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I strongly recommend the 4 day Flexipass. That takes care of your heavier travel days, - kids still travel free. Just over $500 . then on days your do less travel, you buy point to point.>

With Flexipasses I believe you can buy a half-off Half-Fare Card to use on days in between your unlimited travel days- if doing Jungfraujoch train that means 50% off -more than the half-off Half-Fare Card costs!
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