Nikita_Chauhan

Hi..We are 4 adults visiting Swiss on 21.04.2011 till 26.04.2011....We will arrive in Zurich and wish to cover Interlaken,Jungfraujoch, Lucerne,Mt. Titlus and Mt.Pilatus....This is our first time to Swiss and i have some queries..;-

1.Which pass will be better for us? Swiss card or Swiss Pass?
2.Are camping sites available in these areas?
3.Normally how is the Swiss weather in April?

Thanks....

Dukey1

I've been to Switzerland several times in April and found the weather in many areas to be quite pleasant, i.e., not too cold and the popular sites such as the ascent to Mt. Titlis can be far less crowded than in the so-called "tourist season." Weather may depend on what part of the country you are visiting.

Be aware that the SwissPass can give you discounts on certain attractions (such as the Mt. Titlis ascent).

Nikita_Chauhan

Thanks Dukey1....But i am still confused between swiss card and swiss pass...As swiss card gives 50% discount on Jungfraujoch tickets whereas swiss card gives 25 %...Can you suggest some good cheap hotels as we are on tight budget.

PalenQ

I would look strongly at a Swiss Pass as it makes things so easy - never go to a ticket window after initially activating your pass - just hop on - and you may do a lot more things with the pass - like hopping on lake boats on Lake Lucerne - don't miss that superb trip on the fjord-like part of the lake - or on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz bookedning Interlaken - passes cover boats in full as well as city transports and does give 50% off on funiculars, cableways, etc. (except 25% you not from Wengen/Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch.

In any case it would be fairly close Half-Card Card or Swiss Card vs Pass but again the pass gives you unlimited options to do more than previsioned - like from Lauterbrunnen you do the IMO FANTASTIC loop by taking a thrilling aerial cable way to Grutschalp and then a train right along the cliff edge to Murren, take another gondolar down to Gimmelwald - a weird unique lost in time place and then an even more thrilling aerial cable car that plunges you back down to the Lauterbrunnen valley and catch a postal bus back to Lauterbrunnen - 100% covered by a Swiss Pass. Consecutive day passes are the best deal if they comport to your time there - they come in 4, 8, 15 and longer periods and would virtually cover all transportation from get there to get go - with the Flexipass you get from 3 days of 100% covered travel and in between those flexible days (to be used over a one-month max period) you get, just like the Swiss Card or Half-Price Card 50% off everything (except Jungfraujoch) - a Saverpass is two to five names on one pass and is cheaper than two solo passes and only one person can use it if say someone wants to rest in the hotel and the other hop a lake boat, etc. Swiss Passes also give free admission to over 400 Swiss museums, including the famous Ballenberg Open-Air Museum of old Swiss life overlooking Lake Brienz in the Interlaken area - that's a $20 value in itself.

Anyway for loads of info on Swiss trains and passes I always spotlight these fantstic IMO sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.swisstravelsystm.com - which has links to the www.sbb.ch or Swiss Railways site to compare ordinary fares - and keep in mind that any purchases in Swiss francs often entails a 3% charge on many credit cards for foreign transactions. Swiss Passes have often been cheaper if bought in the U.S. the past several years but this is not always true so check U.S. sources, if an American, and those you can buy in Switzerland in Swiss francs (CHF).

Nikita_Chauhan

Thanks a lot...May be we will go with Swiss Pass then....

ronkala

ttt

Nikita_Chauhan

I have one more query....We are planning trip for 6 days 5 nights.But Swiss Pass is only valid for 4 days...For 8 days,its quite expensive...Then while coming back we have to pay full fair???.Is their any other pass for unlimited travelling for 1 day???

PalenQ

If 4 or 8 days straight does not comport to your trip then I would strongly look at the 3-day Swiss Flexipass (Saver) - in between the 1st and 3rd day of 100% covered travel you get 50% off everything that moves in Switzerland - trains, boats, mountain lifts, cable cars (except Jungfraujoch 25%) - this would be more economical than the 4- or 8-consecutive day passes. Put your long travel days into the 100% covered days.

PalenQ

A problem in Switzerland when considering the various options IME is OK you have certain places you are going to and then you compare ordinary fares at www.sbb.ch and things like the Swiss Card or Swiss Transfer Ticket or Half-Fare Card or Swiss Pass or regional passes - but a problem with this is IMO that you really do not know what else you will do once in a certain locale - like in Lucerne deciding to take a lake boat cruise or the same in Interlaken or in Interlaken Alps if foul weather sets in a day trip to Bern or whatever - or doing the Lauterbrunnen-Murren-Gimmelwald-Stechelberg-Lauterbrunnen Loop that to me is the finest possible day out in the whole Jungfrau Region bar none (if a Swiss Flexipass for 3 days and doing this fantastic Loop then definitely burn the 2nd unlimited 100% travel day on it as everything, including two of the thrillingest aerial cable car swoops anywhere, is 100% covered - anyway it is easy to compare fares between bases but hard to know what you may want to do once in those bases that a pass may cover. And that, besides not having to wait in line nor decide 'is this boat trip worth it at 50% off, etc) makes a pass priceless to me. But others who have all their daily hours set in stone and do not want to change then obviously take whatever is the cheapest option.