[b]travel in the berner oberland[b]
Hello, this is Kaye . I will be traveling in the berner oberland with my husband and 13 and 15yo daughters in June. We will have a car to get there and will spend 3 days in the jungfrau area. I am wondering which, if any rail passes will save me money? The junior pass, the berner oberland regional pass, and the jungfrau pass all look promising, but I am having trouble finding exact costs. Also, is it true that I can only get the Junior pass in Switzerland, not ahead of time? Thanks in advance for any help.
Kaye
Folsom, California USA 2/4/11
Send Private Message
A car will be worthless in the Jungfrau area. If you must have one, leave it in Interlaken and jump on a train.
I am not planning to use the car in the jungfrau region, only to get to and from the area. Any advice on trains bargains or discounts?
You can get a junior card at any Swiss rail station. Then, I believe that your children can ride free with the card. If you plan on going up to the top of the Jungfrau (Jungfraujoch), the normal retail fare is about $185 R/T. The Schilthorn is about half that fare.
One card that you can look at is the Swiss 1/2-fare card. It costs 99CHF and its good for 30 days. 50% off of most all fares including the two mountain tops mentioned above. Even the best Swiss pass will only cover 50% to get to the top of the Jungfrau and it costs a lot more. You'll just about recover the cost of the card on one R/T to the Jungfrau. Then, you get 50% off fares for the rest of your stay in Switzerland.
The Half Fare Card now costs CHF 110 but is still a very good deal if you intend to go up the Jungfrau as part of a short trip.
If you are only spending these three days that you mention in Switzerland, any other sort of pass will likely not be cost-effective. The shortest Swiss Pass is for four days. It will give you a 25% discount above Wengen and / or Grindelwald for the trip to Jungfraujoch, and a 50% discount on the Schilthorn cable car.