indiancouple

Palenque, just a small correction. The Trummelbach Falls are not free with the Swiss Pass, or with any other travel pass, as it does not rank as a museum. The only rebate they offer is a CHF 1 discount with a guest card from your hotel !

However, the Transport Museum and the Rosengart (Picasso) Museum in Luzern, the Ballenberg Museum in Brienz, and many many more museums are all free with the Swiss Pass. As are all rides on lake steamers, trams, buses etc.

ethelsue

We are planning a fall trip from Zurich to Lucerne to Wengnen to Murten to Basal. I have almost decided that the half fare card is cheaper than the a Swiss Pass. Every train will be half off. Am I missing something by not looking into the Swiss Pass again?

Palenque

indiancouple - thanks for the dope on Trummelbach - since i could not get the list of museums covered to open i appreciate knowing the status.

ethelsue - with that kind of travel if would think the Swiss Pass may be a better deal and if it's within a few bucks of the pass go for the pass - you never know when you may feel like hopping on a lake boat, etc. that you had not calculated in, etc. anyway look up the regular fares in CHF - Swiss Francs - at www.sbb.ch - Swiss Railways site and then pass prices in U.S. dollars and not Swiss Francs - because as said above passes in dollars significantly cheaper than the same pass bought in Switzerland.

Hanuman

ethelsue,

I did my calculations and just for the train trips it's much cheaper with the "half fare card". However, if I factored in the lake boats, buses and the cost of the card then the Swiss pass is almost the same and the thought of just showing the pass to the conductor and not having to bother paying during each train, boat or bus ride makes it more appealing to me.

rhkkmk

looks like you got really good info.....i expect to hear you youdle when i see you in bkk.... don't eat swiss cheese if it has holes in it....

Hanuman

ethelsue,

I redid my calculations and the Half Fare Card is the cheapest compared to the Swiss Pass Savers, Swiss Flexi and Swiss Card. Even with the lake boats and bus factored in it is still cheaper. Thanks for pointing it out.

Hey Bob,

How did you find me on the European forum?

Palenque

Hanuman - have you considered the 8-straight day Swiss Pass?

here's why you should IMO

it would cover all the excursion Wengen-Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp-train to Murren - cable to Gimmelwald - cable down to Stechelberg and bus back to Lauterbrunnen and train back to Wengen plus your other expensive days like to Zermatt and then back to Zurich airport. You would pay out of pocket for the relatively cheap Zurich to Lucerne ticket to start your trip.

I can see the 3-day Flexipass may not be better than Half-Fare Card because you'd have to activate it to go to Lucerne in order to get the 50% discounts off everything in the Lucerne area. But consecutive-day passes are much cheaper per day and then you have carte blanche to take lake boats on a whim - museum fees all covered, etc. (flexipass only covers them on 100% travel days) - check out the expense of the Wengen-Murren loop and factor that in at 100% coverage. I did not do the math but suggest it could be. Cheers. and if close then not having to bother to buy tickets, etc. is a factor - when things are carte blanche you don't think twice about doing it - when you must pay 50% you may. Any just a suggestion.

Hanuman

Palenque,

Thank you for doing the calculations for me! However, I thought that the cable cars, mountain train and gondolas are not fully covered by the Swiss Pass and the pass only offer a 50% discount? If what you're saying is correct then it might be cheaper as you've said. Can you confirm that the cable cars and mountain trains are covered?

I've done a spread sheet to compare prices but I can't copy and paste it to Fodors. So far I have the following data for fares in CHF (1st number = full 1st class, 1/2 1st class, full 2nd class and 1/2 2nd class):

Zurich airport to Lucerne: 45 - 22.50 - 27 - 13.50
Boats & trains around Lake Lucerne: 90 - 45 - 45 - 27.50
Lucerne to Lauternbrunnen: 61.60 - 30.80 - 37 - 18.50
Lauternbrunnen - Wengen: 6.20 - 3.10 - 6.20 - 3.10
Wengen - Lauternbrunnen: 6.20 - 3.10 - 6.20 - 3.10
Lauternbrunnen - Zermatt: 134.60 - 67.30 - 81.00 - 40.50
Zermatt - Zurich Airport: 192 - 96 - 116 - 58
Total: 535.60 - 267.80 - 318.40 - 164.20
---------------------------------------------------------
Swiss Pass Savers 8 days = 479 1st & 320 2nd + ZRH - Luzern train.
Swiss Pass Savers 15 days = 581 1st & 387 2nd.
Swiss Card(255 1st & 182 2nd) plus half fare on non full covered routes = 404.30 1st & 274.70 2nd.
Half Fare Card at 99 + the half fares total = 366.80 1st & 263.20 2nd.

I estimated the boat fare and train fare for Lake Lucerne since I can't find the boat fares on www.lakelucerne.ch

indiancouple

Hanuman,
The Swiss Pass will give you completely free transportation upto Lauterbrunnen, and further from Lauterbrunnen to Murren (either via Grutschalp or via Stechelberg), from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen or till Grindelwald. All of this is 100% covered. For mountain lifts beyond Murren, Wengen or Grindelwald, you have to pay 50% (e.g. from Wengen to Mannlichen, or from Grindelwald to First, or from Murren to Schilthorn, or from Wengen to Klein Scheidegg). On only one stretch, from Klein Scheidegg to Jungfrau, the pass covers only 25% (i.e. you have to pay 75%).

All bus, trams, lake cruises, museums etc are completely free. I hope you can now do your math correctly.

swandav2000

Hi again,

Just popping in to offer this link:

http://www.lakelucerne.ch/fileadmin/...14_12_2009.pdf

for the fares on Lake Lucerne.

Have fun!

s

Hanuman

Thank you indiancouple and swandav! I'll go back to the spreadsheet and see what's best.

ethelsue

Thanks for pointing the way to the 15 day Swiss pass. I kept seeing the flexi passes where you had limited free days of travel. The 15 day pass will be very close in price to the half fare card and will give us more "freedom". We have rented an apartment in a Chalet in Wengen for 5 nights. I think we may want to go to Interlaken one or two times to stock up. And, it will be nice to go most places there without paying half fare. I understand there will be some 50% and 75% charges.
Thanks again.

Palenque

However, I thought that the cable cars, mountain train and gondolas are not fully covered by the Swiss Pass and the pass only offer a 50% discount? If what you're saying is correct then it might be cheaper as you've said. Can you confirm that the cable cars and mountain trains are covered?>

Well like injuncouple said the aerial cableways Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp, the train to Murren, cableways Murren to Gimmelwald (well worth a linger - surrealistic setting out in the midst of no where but a few farming huts) and cable way down to Stechelberg in Lauterbrunnen Valley and bus back to Lauterbrunnen and train to/from Wengen all covered.

But all mountain trains and aerial cableways in the Jungfrau area are not covered but will be 50% off (Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch 25% to further muddle calculations) - the rule seems to be if a train or aerial cable way, funicular actually goes to a town - like Murren or Gimmelwald or Wengen it is covered 100% by Swiss Pass but if it goes only to a mountain top, like Schilthorn or a non-town like Kleine Scheidegg it is covered only 50% - thus many cable ways in this area - like Wengen to Mannlichen are only 50% off cause they do not go to towns.

But you can see if say staying in Murren how a consecutive-day pass - cheaper by far per 100% covered day than flexible 100% passes per day - can be a boon for that - or Wengen. And you may yes get a whim to say go down to Interlaken for a late afternoon boat cruise or evening in the casino to replenish dwindling trip funds or just to the Super Coop by the Interlaken-Ost train station.

And if in the U.S. calculate the efficacy of a pass in the U.S. dollar prices and not in CHF (Swiss Francs) for those bought in Switzerland - for reasons given above that such passes are for some weird reason significantly cheaper here than there - i believe Canada is true as well.

Well i envy you and all going to the Berner Oberland - to me the prettiest region in all of Europe.

those staying in Murren

Palenque

Thanks for pointing the way to the 15 day Swiss pass. I kept seeing the flexi passes where you had limited free days of travel. The 15 day pass will be very close in price to the half fare card and will give us more "freedom".>

Yeh the flexipasses cost more per unlimited travel day by quite a bit. the 15-day (Saver p.p.) Swiss Pass, in the U.S.) is $335 p.p. 2nd class - if you subtract off $100 (Half-Fare Card costs chf99 or about $100 - few bucks less but for easy figuring) then you have $235 the difference.

which means you must travel at least $470 in 15 days to break even (50% $470 = $235 - what half-fare tickets would cost vs Swiss Pass 100% coverage.)

Now some folks well won't travel that much but for me and others who like to move around $30/day ain't - about 30 francs is easy to realize - like if i come to Interlaken and then decide to take a boat ride later that day, etc. But for others, esp ones who go to say Wengen and hike and do a few cables it may well not. And some longer trips like Interlaken to Zermatt at 81 francs one way well it can quickly add up.

Hanuman

For anyone interested - after a lot of research and calculations on my spreadsheet the half fare card is the most economical card or pass for my trip. Big savings if we were to travel by first class and very small savings for second class between the Swiss Pass and the half fare card.