2for1 Berner Oberland Pass - how is 2nd class different from 1st class?
 

According to Swisspasses.com the 7 day Berner Oberland Pass is BOGO for June, Sept and Oct, but 2nd class only. It states it is "The ideal ticket for trips by rail, boat, bus and cableway. 7 days of glorious holiday travel (3 days of unlimited travel and 4 days of reduced rate travel) in the Berner Oberland Region."

My question - what is second class consist of for boat, bus, and cable way - is there a difference in those methods of transport between fist and second? The website does not tell me, not that I can find anyway. The trains would be short journeys in the BO only, so I expect 2nd class would not bother me there.

We will only be there 3-4 days, but at BOGO it seems to be a better deal than the Jungfrau Region VIP Pass as the BO pass covers much more (better if the weather is less than ideal) and we cannot be guaranteed a good day to get up the Jungfrau anyway.

> what is second class consist of for boat, bus, and cable way

Bus = mono class
Cablecars = mono class
Train = 1st class on Jungfrau trains only from Interlaken-Ost to Lauterbrunnen and to Grindelwald. Farther up to Jungraujoch, only mono class.

I don't see advantage to pay 1st class there.

Boat = If the boat has 2 levels, 1st class is on upper-deck and nicer. If only one level, 1st class is just nicer.

On most local trains, the whole difference between 1st and 2nd class is the colour of upholstering - often not even in the spacing of the seats. If the 1st class is available at all.

Fantastic. Second class seems to be the way to go, although it could be a tad disappointing on one of the boats on a fine day. Is it possible to upgrade to first class right on the boat for just that trip (for an extra fee) or am I completely locked into 2nd?

With normal ticket, upgrade is possible by paying a supplement on the spot, so the same with the pass I suppose. On the boats, the view may not be that different but 1st class tends to be roomier, sometimes with free long deck chairs, more relaxing while 2nd class may be crowded.

Yes, on the boats you can pay a supplement to upgrade to first class even using a pass, no problem. Not sure when you are travelling, but during high season (July - August) the boats may be quite crowded and first class is the way to go.

Train travel in BO is perfectly fine in 2nd class. As noted previously, in the higher mountain regions there is no two-class service anyway.