Switzerland on the cheap?! Ha!
 

Not possible is it?!

I've looked at some of the swiss passes on the Rick Steve's website and was wondering if any of you experienced Fodorites could confirm or better direct me on which rail pass (if any) to purchase for May of this year. My husband, myself, and our 3 year old and 1 year old will be flying into Zurich and going to Lauterbrunnen for a 5 day stay. So we'll need tickets to Lauterbrunnen, and then back to Zurich. And obviously cable rides, buses, etc. around the Oberland area.

I saw that the Swiss Pass Spring special is $147 pp for second class and comes with a free Swiss family card, though I think the girls would be free anyway because they are so young. Is there something better out there or is this a pretty good value? I'm going for the cheapest the Swiss can provide!

If you get a Swiss PASS children under 15 ride free; the Pass also gives you access to city transport services

you might also look at the Swiss Rail site www.sbb.ch click on the EN version at the top You can buy passes/cards etc. once you arrive in the country, also.

Passes are SET by the railroads in terms of prices and NOT by the SBBp-SNCF North American marketing arm RailEurope

For budget level hotels take a look at www.rooms.ch

Be aware that some Swiss Rail passes will only get you a DISCOUNT on the railroads and cable cars, etc., above Lauterbrunnen

In Switz I don;t think rail passes will be your issue - lodging and meals are sky high (even for someone used to NYC prices). I would look at all the costs versus your budget before finalizing a trip.

The Swiss Pass will get you on nearly all the different modes of transportation in the Lauterbrunnen area. For lifts to areas that are not a town where people live it will give you half price. In my experience, we had to pay for the Schilthorn, Jungfrau and the lift from Wengen up to the trail that takes you to Klein Scheidegg, if you want to hike instead of take the train.

Mostly it is very convenient. You are constantly getting on and right back on another vehicle. It is SO much easier to flash your pass than having to take time to buy a ticket each time.

The Schilthorn is much cheaper than the Jungfrau and I loved the views of the Monk, Eiger and Jungfrau, etc from there.

I know Gimmelwald has a hostel. There are probably others in the area. LOVED staying up in Gimmelwald.

We (2 adults and 2 children) stayed in Switzerland about four years ago. We rented an apartment(125chf), cooked evening meals 'at home', bought baguettes, etc for lunches and overall, found Switzerland to be cheaper than France. We purchased the half fare card and the children had junior passes which at the time cost 20chf each (now they are 30chf). Your children may not even need a pass at all being so young. We found Switzerland to be affordable if you're careful. The kids were so tired after a day of sightseeing and hiking that eating in at night actually suited us fine. We also took some amazing train and cable car rides.

For your little one, I recommend you use a baby backpack.

Children until 5 years old are free.

6 - 15 y.o. pay 50 %.

Yes, so my kids are free whether we buy the passes or not because they are under 6 years old. I went on SBB.ch to figure out how much it would cost us just to get tickets from Zurich to Lauterbrunnen and back. It looks like it would cost about $335 USD. If I were to buy the passes it would cost us $294 USD and we'd get to use it for other rides in the Oberland area. Are there any other passes that you think may be a better deal? The pass I was looking at was the Spring Swiss Pass (2 for 1 deal).

Hi GillsinEurope,

Did you look at the Half Fare Card? It costs 110 chf per person and gives half off practically everything that moves in the country.

Good luck as you plan this out!

s

It totally depends on what excursions by mountain railways you are planning to do. Actually, not many are open in May. The gondolas and cable cars around Grindelwald and Wengen are closed, Schynige Platte is closed. The cog-trains up to Kleine Scheidegg and Jungfraujoch are open, so is Schilthorn above Mürren.

While the Half Fare Card gives you 50% on all these, the Swiss Pass gives you free rides to Wengen, Grindelwald, Mürren and 50% on the trip beyond Mürren to Schilthorn - but only 25% beyond Wengen and Grindelwald up to Kleine Scheidegg and Jungfraujoch.

Seriously, you cannot even calculate this to the last detail now since you don't know how the weather will be. It makes no sense going up to Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn if the summits are stuck in clouds.

Five full days in Lauterbrunnen means seven days on the ground in Switzerland, right? I would probably buy the 2=1 offer for the 4-days Swiss Flexi Pass. It works as a Half Fare Card on the remaining days.

"Switzerland on the cheap?"

Almost choked on my coffee.

Yes, 7 days in Switzerland = 5 full days in our destination. I'm thinking the 2=1 is my best bet too. Thanks for your help! I doubt we'll be going ALL over the place since we have small kiddos. Probably lots of picnicing, scavenger hunts, and short walks. Can't wait!

And yes, Switzerland and cheap should probably not be in the same sentence.

Oh and good tip on the pass working as half fare on the remaining days. I didn't know that. Also, do you know about how long it takes to get these shipped to us? I probably need to order them ASAP huh?

Only the Swiss Flexi Pass, not the Swiss Pass works as Half Fare Card the remaining days, remember that. That's the one for 262 CHF for 4 days.

Don't know about shipping. I would buy it at the airport in Zürich.

Thanks! Just saw on Rick Steves' website that it takes 5 business days to ship.