Itinerary and crazy rail passes

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oggywoggy
oggywoggy

Hi all,

I'm hoping for some help to iron out my itinerary, not least with the fairly confusing number of Swiss passes/regional passes available.

We're coming in (there's just 2 of us - over the age of 26) from Frankfurt in late November to early December 2011 and taking a slow trek towards Switzerland through the Alsace region. My total time in Switzerland is really, only 5 days but my itinerary is unfortunately trickier than that.

Day 1: Frankfurt - Strasbourg
Day 2: Strasbourg
Day 3 - 5: Alsace region
Day 4: Freiburg, Germany
Day 5: Freiburg - Lucerne (possibly with a day stop in Basel) - overnight in Lucerne.
Day 6 - 7: Murren in Berner Oberland (2 nights) via the Golden Pass Line to Interlaken. I'll be hoping to visit either Schilthorn or Jungfraujoch within these 2 short days, based in Murren, depending on just how costly it'll all add up to.
Day 8-9: 2 nights in either Montreux/Lausanne or Geneva, possibly Vevey. Again, continuing with the Golden Pass Line from Interlaken. During this time I'm also thinking of doing several trips to the wine region, the Broc factory, the Gruyere region, Montreux, Vevey or Lausanne, depending on where I stay.
Day 10: Leave from Geneva

  1. I did some preliminary calculations and it seems like the Eurail France-Switzerland pass is actually the most expensive option. That however, leaves me with several Swiss Pass options. Either take the Half-fare card, or the Swiss Pass, or the Swiss card. If I've calculated correctly, it seems like the Swiss half-fare card is the best way to go. It's incredibly confusing still though. Should I purchase anything from my country, rather than wait till getting to Switzerland?

  2. Regional Passes: I just read about a certain BeoAbo (Berner Oberland pass - nowhere does it seem to state that it's only for Swiss residents so I'm probably assuming it's for everyone) that will be valid all the way up until Murren. Should I consider that and toss out the Swiss half-pass option and simply buy a Swiss pass? Or should i simply rely on regional passes as we go along?

  3. I'm still working out the kinks days 8-9: we're making it a priority to check out the Broc factory and Gruyere. From what I've found out, we've completely missed the Chocolate train schedules and going in winter, it seems that the connections are fewer. Would Montreux or Lausanne be a better base, keeping in mind that we need to be in Geneva at the end of the tip?

  4. Would the Mobilis card be a good idea for the Montrux/Gruyere and the Lausanne region?

Thanks so much in advance and I certainly appreciate all the suggestions that I can get here! ;)

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travelinstyle46
travelinstyle46

I prefer the Swiss Flexipass. You buy a certain number of days in a 30 day period. So if you buy say a 6 day pass you can use it on any 6 days for train journeys. But it also gets you discounts on the other 25 days on cablecars etc. So if you only 'officially' use it on the days you are moving from A to B you still get the other benefits on all other days of your trip. http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/produkttexte.php?passid=2

You do not need to buy it ahead of time you can buy it in any railway station in Switzerland.

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neckervd
neckervd

Basel - Lucerne - Brunigpass - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen - Muerren - Lauterbrunnen - Jungfraujoch - Lauterbrunnen - Muerren - Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken - Spiez - Montbovon - Bulle (luggage lockers) - Broc (chocolate factory) - Gruyeres (castle and cheese diary) - Bulle - Montbovon - Montreux - Lausanne - Geneva: buy a half fare card (at Basel SBB railway station, if you enter Switzerland by train from Mulhouse).
A Swiss pass would be too expensive and grants only 25 per cent reduction on the Jungfau railway (50 per cent with half fare card). The Bernese Oberland Pass doesn't make any sense as half of the mountain railways included in this pass (Schynige Platte, Brienzer Rothorn, First, etc.) don't run in early December.
Some prices:
Half fare card: 110 CHF
Count about 40 CHF each (with half fare card) for Basel - Lucerne - Lauterbrunnen and Lauterbrunnen - Gruyeres - Geneva
Lauterbrunnen - Murren RT (with half fare card): 10 CHF
Lauterbrunnen - Jungfraujoch RT (with half fare card): 93 CHF

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oggywoggy
oggywoggy

Hey, thanks! Any word on the BeoAbo card and regional cards like the Frimobil and the Mobilis?

Should I consider them?

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neckervd
neckervd

I already told you that the Bernese Oberland Pass (BeoAbo) will be of no use for you. If you absolutely want to get rid of 233 CHF, you better spend them to the Red Cross.

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oggywoggy
oggywoggy

Now, now, Neckervd, I was talking about this:
http://www.beoabo.ch/abos-preise/monats-abo.html

It's certainly a far cry from 233 CHF and from what I know, NOT the Berner Oberland Pass.

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neckervd
neckervd

If you intend to travel more than 6times the same legs, you may consider BeoAbo

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h5n5
h5n5

rent a car for your trip and consider to go back where you picked up the car.

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neckervd
neckervd

...although a car wouldn't be of much use for the Jungfraujoch trip, as the Jungrau railway has no piggyback offer.

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kingsgraphic
kingsgraphic

Hi, the BeoAbo certainly saved us a lot of money. But we arrived by car and used local bus, train and cable-car throughout our stay (2-weeks). If you are not staying in one location, and you are flying-in and will use the SBB to get around, then the half-price pass might be your cheapest option.

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