Travel in Switzerland
We will be spending 4 days total in Switzerland, flying into Basel, on to Interlaken then Lauterbrunnen with a day trip to Murren. On day 4 we go to Colmar via Basel. What kind of train pass should we get? Thanks for the help.
Melissa
San Mateo 2/7/13
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You might be better off buying point to point tickets rather than a pass. You can check the prices of the tickets here:
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en
and then compare it with the prices for the passes here:
http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/switzerland.cfm
Melissa,
I haven't checked but as you'll be in Switzerland for a few days, one of the Swiss Passes may save some money. This will depend to some extent on which places you'll be visiting.
Some of the more expensive trips in that area are the trip to the Schilthorn and the Jungfrau trip. The Swiss Passes provide a 50% discount for those as I recall. Click the "Railpasses" tab at the top of this page for more information.
Were you planning to only see Mürren on the "daytrip"? There are a few options. You could (for example) travel to Mürren via Grütschalp, hike down to Gimmelwald and then return to Lauterbrunnen via the Post Bus from Stechelberg.
Another activity to consider would be to take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular up the hill, and then walk back to Mürren. There's at least one small Pub/Hotel on the way back, so you could stop for a "cool one".
Happy travels!
Weather might be a consideration, when is your trip?
We are planning to travel the second week of June. It will be myself, my sister and my 19 and 16 year old kids if that makes any difference.
I ran across this article and thought it might be of interest to anyone traveling by train in Switzerland. Probably would not affect too many folks but might save someone some agony.
http://mystreamblog.com/2013/02/04/swiss-love-affair-with-rail-turns-sour/#more-2055
Colmar from Basel is a French regional train so just buy at the station.
The round-trip train fare from Basel to Muerren is about $160. The question is where will you be traveling while there. If you go up to the Schilthorn, the R/T fare is about $80. If you go up to the Jungfraujoch, the R/T fare is about $190.
If your total Swiss transportation fares are expected to exceed 220CHF, you might consider the Swiss 1/2 fare card. It costs 110CHF per person and does exactly what the name implies. Half fares everywhere. It's good everyday for 30 days. If you are not going up to the mountain tops and your travel while there is minimal, you may not need any kind of Swiss pass or card.
@Lane,
That's a VERY interesting article! I travelled on the Swiss trains numerous times when I was there in September and October, and never had any problems. The article is a good "wake up call" to keep in mind for my next visit. With the hefty fines, it sounds like they're following the Italian example.
I suspect their ticketing practices might change after some of the court cases are decided.
Cheers!