Bob Brown |
May 4th, 1999 07:23 AM |
You do have an ambitious schedule for 5 days. If you go to the Jungfraujoch, you will need to allow about 8 hours, if your point of origin is Interlaken Ost. <BR>The Schilthorn is another day and the Zermatt to St. Moritz trip is an all day ride on a slow train. <BR>And it will take you a day to get from Interlaken to Zermatt and see some of the scenery around the village. <BR> <BR>Early October presents a problem. I left from Zurich for home on Oct 1 last year and it rained that day and every day thereafter for well over a week. Usually, October is thought to be 'golden', but not last year. Of course predicting the weather, particularly in the mountains, is tricky at best. <BR>Of the passes you mention, I considered them all last year. For what you plan, I would not (and did not) get the local Berner Oberlandbahn pass because it is restricted just to the BOB area, and it is not cheap. The Swiss Card, purchased in Switzerland, is about $101 at today's rate of exchange. That is a little less than the RailEurope price. The Swiss Pass is also a little cheaper in Switzerland. I went 2nd class because it is acceptable and somewhat cheaper. <BR>We opted for the Swiss Card because it gave us half off of the BOB trains and gave us good discounts, about 25%, on various gondolas and telepheriques. For example, the Swiss Card gave us 50% off of the top Jungfrau price. <BR>You did not say how you were arriving in Switzerland, so that is a factor in deciding which card to purchase. We flew into Zurich, had the Swiss Card, and rode at no extra cost to our destination in Lauterbrunnen. From there we spent a week running up and down the mountains by train and cable-pulled mountain conveyences. <BR>For the 5 day period, I am not sure if you have exceeded the break even cost when comparing travel by card with full fares or not. One aspect of buying a pass or card is this: Given the chances of bad weather, if you buy the pass you are out the money regardless of how you travel. If you opt for single fares, you pay more but you then have the option of declining the trip when the peaks are socked in. <BR>Before we went, I added up the undiscounted fares for our planned travels. Then I took 50% of that and found that I would save by buying the Swiss Card. I urge you to do the same. <BR>Estimate your breakeven cost and try to decide if the pass or card will actually save you money.
|