Swiss Train Question Please
 

It seems that the Bernese Oberland train pass and the Swiss Saver Pass (for 2 people traveling together)are close to the same price. If the Swiss Saver Pass covers the entire country, and the Bernese Oberland only covers the one region....the Swiss Saver Passes sound like a better value. Am I missing something here? Denise

The Bernese Oberland regional pass is better if you are staying in this region and plan on taking the mt. cablecars, trams and chairlift there. They will be free or 50% depending on how you use the pass. Swiss pass doesn't offer that.

Yes, we will be staying in Interlaken for 4 days but will also be doing day trips to Lucerne, Berne and staying a couple of nights in Locarno. This all seems way to confusing to me. So the Swiss Pass does not allow for local travel within the B.O.?? Thanks.

The Swiss Pass does cover a lot of travel within the Bernese Oberland -- including to Muerren, Wengen, etc. What it does not cover is trips to the higher peaks (like to the Schilthorn, Jungfrau, etc.). It does give discounts on some of these. We found that the Swiss Pass was great for us last year -- we only paid extra for the one trip to the Schilthorn. If you are planning on day trips to Lucerne (which we did), Bern, and then going on to Locarno, I would recommend the Swiss Saver Pass.

Denise, may I suggest that you read the web sites about the two different passes and study the details of each? For your convenience, I have listed the URLs below. The pages are readily available on the Web. <BR><BR>The two passes are not really comparable because of the way they are structured and priced. Your questions indicate that you think the two passes are identical in their style of coverage. They are not, although there is some overlap. <BR><BR>The Berner Oberland Regional Pass is a good buy if you are going to be there long enough to ride intensively and extensively for at least 2, possibly 3 days. Otherwise, you will not reach the break even point. (The point at which individual ticket costs equal the pass cost. Savings result only if you exceed the break even point.) <BR><BR>I figured up earlier that I had to take 4 of the 5 most expensive rides in the Berner Oberland area on the "free days" of the pass to reach the break even point. (Schynige Platte, First Gondola, Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, and the M&auml;nnlichen Ridge - Grindelwald gondola.) Please note that sections of two rides (Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn) are never free; 50% off is the best you can do. You cannot, therefore, throw the whole cost of the Jungfraujoch or the Schilthorn into the break even calculation.<BR><BR>You might save money if you buy the Swiss Saver Pass, but you will not know unless you compare the cost of your anticipated point to point tickets with the cost of the rail pass. This calculation is fairly easy because the Swiss Federal Rail Web Site gives ticket prices along with the schedules for travel within Switzerland. <BR><BR>I have never understood why people seem to assume automatically that rail passes save money every time. That is not always the case. Without calculating the break even point, you don't really know. <BR><BR>You can read about the Berner Oberland pass at this site: http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/<BR><BR>It has a good map of the validity area.<BR><BR>This site has a description of the various Swiss rail passes.<BR><BR>http://www.sbb.ch:80/pv/sts_e.htm<BR><BR>If you want to look at some of the individual ticket costs in the Berner Oberland area, consult this site:<BR>http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/english/pages/SE/SE_KrTe.htm<BR><BR>All descriptions can be seen in English versions as well as German and French. <BR><BR>I think you will find that there is a bewildering choice of Swiss transportation passes. Calculating the break even point is not easy unless you can predict exactly what you are going to do. I would not buy a Berner Oberland Pass in advance because it is of little use when the weather is cloudy.