Yes, their eyes lit up when I mentioned those trotti bikes!

We are now booked in to Grindelwald – a small family run hotel about 10mins from town. Very happy with the decision – thanks so much for your tips!

Cetury Pass? Was it the exact name of the pass? Have not heard of it and I was not able to find it by googling now. But I know Jungfrau Railways celebrated its 100th anniversary last year in 201>

I was thinking the same thing - some century gimmick for advertising purposes for the ole Jungfraubhan Pass, though perhaps sold at a cheaper rate just in honor of 100 years of uphill and downhill running?

Centenary Pass. I stand corrected though 3 days not 4 of travel.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Oberland.html

Paid 225 CCF. Since Jungfrau was 170 CCF, was able to get everything else for 55 CCF. ( not Shilthorn). Could have been a one time only offer in 2012. Frankly 3 days of traveling trains was probably enough.

A down day of Hiking the trail from Grushalp to Murren/Gimmelwald and back through the valley with Trummelbach and Stabauch falls was an Awesome way to fill the fourth day.

A down day of Hiking the trail from Grushalp to Murren/Gimmelwald and back through the valley with Trummelbach and Stabauch falls was an Awesome way to fill the fourth day.>

hey hey to that - something I have done and recommend highly - very easy terrain - no special shoes needed, etc.

Same here. We hiked or rather pleasantly walked that trail in 2009. It was very relaxing and refreshing at the same time.

Sounds wonderful, thanks guys! Can't wait to smell that Alpine air...

Just noticed the link in the Tripadvisor thread. The same pass is available in 2013 online at http://www.swisspasses.com/railpass/...s/3_centenary/

> Just noticed the link in the Tripadvisor thread. The same pass is available in 2013 online at http://www.swisspasses.com/railpass/...s/3_centenary/

Oh, that's VIP Pass. It exists since at least 4 or 5 years now. I have the price of 2009. At the celebration of 100th last year, they must have added "Centenary". A bit confusing on the site of the railway, "Jungfrau Region VIP Pass" in big letters ( the original name of the pass) and in the text, you see the word "centenary" here and there. I wonder if they keep calling it " Centenary Pass " but if it is the VIP Pass, yes, it should go on.

Is the Jungfrau Region VP Pass the same as the old Jungfraubahn Pass?

OK, having sorted out where we're staying, I'm now starting to look at all these travel passes!

Quel confusion.

We will be travelling Paris-Switzerland on 24 September and Switzerland-Italy on 28 September. Would these passes work for the inward/outward trips? So that would mean a pass for 5 days?

Swiss Pass and Swiss Family Card: two separate things? Pay for both? Don't get it...

VIP Pass on top of Swiss Pass or instead of?

Grateful for any enlightenment!

Thank you!

When we visited the Berner Oberland, we also were heading there from Paris, and I was totally confused by the rail situation. I found out about Budget Europe Travel Service (1-800-441-2387 or 1-800-441-9413) on this forum, and I used them to help me with the tickets and train information. Their agents are extremely knowledgable about train travel in Europe. There wasn't a fee for talking to them, although I did end up buying my tickets through them. I realize now that I may have paid more for the tickets than if I had bought them on my own, but their help was invaluable.

Thanks, Digbydog! Not sure if I can call from Oz, but have just found their website and am already a BIT clearer about the Swiss Pass/Family Card.

I pay for Swiss Pass, Family Card is free and they get to travel for free.

That's a start!

It's strange that the website for the VIP / Centenary Pass says it is not available in Switzerland. I am 100% certain this is the exact same pass offered at every train station and some hotels in the Bern Jungfrau immediate area ( at least in 2012 ). That exact same validity map from the online ticket site was posted all over the inside of the local trains leading for Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen.

I can't say if you are better off with some sort of a Swiss Pass, a local Jungfrau Pass, or combination of both. PalenQ can probably offer advice on this. I can say we did everything covered by the VIP Pass, some more than once. Each one of the attractions on the pass was pretty awesome. I wouldn't want to miss one, especially on clear days.

You can see the local train prices at http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/tourism/tr...al-travellers/. To calculate the individual costs.

Swiss Pass and Swiss Family Card: two separate things? Pay for both? Don't get it.>

well yes and no - if you buy a Swiss Pass or Swiss railways product then your automatically get a free Family Pass if you have kids under 15 with you - just make sure your request it at time of issuance.

That VIP looks pretty good! US$330 for the 3 of us for unlimited travel for 3 days including Jungfraujoch.

Am ploughing through the different options with calculator, pen and paper...

Question: if we get the TGV Lyria Paris-Interlaken, does the Swiss Pass only kick in at Interlaken?

Question: from Grindelwald to Milan: does the Swiss Pass cover to Italian border?

Need to sort out worth of 3,4,5 days, etc. etc. and weighing up individual train prices.

I can see I'm not the first to be doing this!

Oops! I forgot that you are not from the US. I think we bought tickets from Paris to the Swiss border, and then our passes kicked in. That was something that BETS helped us with.

Once again: the Swiss Pass is valid from the French/Swiss border stations of Vallorbe, Pontarlier, Delle, Basle up to the Italo/Swiss border stations of Bourg St. Bernard, Domodossola, Luino, Chiasso, Tirano and Malles.

> Question: if we get the TGV Lyria Paris-Interlaken, does the Swiss Pass only kick in at Interlaken?

If you are buying TGV tickets direct from Paris to Interlaken I would rather think Swiss Pass is not vaild. If the TGV ticket is at NORMAL(= expensive) price, there you MIGHT get some kind of reduction but I would not count on it. You can go to the Swiss Railway site and send an e-mail asking the question. But what I would do is go to a TGV booking site ( Living in Geneva I usually use :
http://www.tgv-europe.ch/fr/billet-train/ ) and look for a discounted - tickets. There I would not expect additional discounts with Swiss Pass. That would not be possible.

Oh my. That conflicts with previous two replies. Maybe it's the Swiss Card? I have already looked into trains Paris-Interlaken and, yes, there is a single price with no options.

neckervd, are you saying to buy a ticket Paris to Swiss border only and then use Swiss Pass
to continue to Interlaken/Grindelwald? Seems to be what Digbydog is saying.

And Swiss Pass to Italian border then Italian ticket?

Thanks everyone!

> neckervd, are you saying to buy a ticket Paris to Swiss border only and then use Swiss Pass to continue to Interlaken/Grindelwald?

Would not be easy to do that. Usually the tickets are thru ones at a global price.

Also I don't think SNCF TGV booking site gives possibility for discount with any Swiss / tourist passes. I may be wrong but in order to be sure, you would need to ask Swiss Railways ( I would Swiss rather French - The Swiss would be more informed for this question - That's what I imagine but again I may be wrong) .

If you do want to ( and IF you CAN)buy 2 separate tickets one until border and another from, getting a discount for Swiss area should be possible but worth the trouble, I don't know.