Swiss train experts - Lake Geneva/Alps regional pass
 

Our tentative schedule for six days based in Vevey is day trips to Gruyeres, Interlaken/Murren (Golden Pass train?), Gstaad, Montreux, a Lake Geneva cruise, possibly the wine train, and of course, our round trip from the Geneva Airport to Vevey. Would the Lake Geneva/Alps regional pass at 129 cf (1st class) or 98 cf (2nd class) be a good value for this type of itinerary? Thanks for your help.

Why don't you price the individual trips yourself? You can do most of them at
www.sbb.ch. and then compare the total with the cost of the pass. For those not listed you can get an approximation.

The scheduler will give you the price of most of the round trips.

BevK,

That's interesting - didn't know about the Lake Geneva regional pass. However, the prices I have found are higher - CHF 150 for 2nd class and CHF 195 for 1st.

Also, it allows unlimited free travel on only 3 of 7 consecutive days, while on the 4 other days you get a discount of 50% (25% on some mountain railways).

Further, it would not be valid for a significant portion of your trip to Interlaken/Murren (a pretty long day trip BTW - combining your trop to Gstaad with an excursion to the Glacier des Diablerets would be an interesting alternatve).

Are you perhaps referring to yet another pass? The one I'm describing can be found here:
http://www.lake-geneva-region.ch/ind...mp;language=EN

As mentioned by Bob Brown, you can price most, perhaps all your journeys at www.sbb.ch and thus figure out whether it makes more sense to just purchase full fare tickets.

Another option might be to simply purchase a one-month Swiss half-fare card for CHF 99 (valid in 1st AND 2nd class). This would not give you any "free" days but would cover your trip to Interlaken or anywhere else in Switzerland (the city of Bern would also be a nice excursion BTW). http://www.rail.ch/pv/files/sts2003_e.pdf

Hope this helps,
Andre

I had done quite a bit of research on Swiss train travel before I stumbled on the Lake Geneva-Alps regional pass on the Golden Pass website www.mob.ch. At the website it lists the 7 day regional pass (3 days ofunlimited travel and 4 days of reduction) at 2nd class chf 99; 1st class chf 129, and shows service as far as Interlaken. I checked out the website you provided, Andre, and while the pass seems to be very similar the areas served are not quite the same. Very interesting! I wonder what we'll find when we buy the passes in Geneva....If we go to Interlaken on one of the free days that should pay for the pass - I think Interlaken was over 100 chf full fare. Also, do you recommend 1st class or 2nd class? Is 2nd class likely to be crowded the first week in June? Thanks for your help. I really appreciate the time everyone takes in replying to my questions.

BevK,

How interesting - that indeed appears to be a different, yet very similar pass! I would take a printout of the web page to show the teller at Geneva airport station exactly what you want to purchase...

Anyway, it appears to be an excellent deal, perfect for what you plan to do. I did notice however that you are only entitled to a 50% discount - even on your "free" days - on the (short) stretch from Zweisimmen to Interlaken. And it would not be valid at all on the ride from Interlaken to Murren, which is pretty expensive.

Still it's clearly better than the Lake Geneva pass I mentioned and probably a better deal than the Swiss half fare card (though you'd need to price all your journeys to figure that one out).

The first week in June shouldn't be too crowded midweek, however both weekends are long weekends so the trains will be busier, especially on Sunday, June 1 and Friday June 6.

2nd class is fine, though I personally travel in 1st on longer jouneys (over an hour or so) - it's quieter & there's more room. If you find 2nd class too crowded, you can move to 1st and pay for an upgrade.

In general, the mountain resorts will be VERY quiet, especially midweek - the season really only starts at the end of June.

Hope this helps,
Andre

I have made quite a few train trips in Switzerland and second class is good enough. Even on a Sunday afternoon from Bern to Interlaken there were no standees in my car. And that must be a peak time.
The only crowded conditions I recall have been on the Berner Oberlandbahn trains coming down from the Jungfraujoch on a sunny afternoon.
That can get wild upon occasion.
The other crowded conditions I seen were on the shuttle train from Täsch to Zermatt. That is like a NY subway train, complete with hanging straps to grab onto.

Andre, thank you for the suggestion of printing out the info about the regional pass - I hadn't thought of that. Also, that we can pay for a 1st class upgrade en route. Any advice on the best day trip into the mountains from Vevey? I had originally thought we would stay in Murren a night or two, but decided it was too much trouble to drag luggage along. Mostly we're looking for spectacular scenery (who isn't!) and some pretty walks or hikes. Also, do you know how much cooler it will be in the mountains than along Lac Leman? Thanks again for the help.