Breaking news, the Berner Oberland Pass…has taken a pretty serious hit. Earlier this year we brought you an update sharing how this already-amazing Swiss train pass had just gotten even better. But here we are less than a year later, unfortunately bringing you bad news this time.
We’re gonna tell you everything that’s changed, including two really great improvements, and help you consider your options if you were going to buy this train pass for your trip to the Jungfrau Region. But no need to waste time, let’s jump right in.
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Why you should consider the Berner Oberland Pass
So up to now, one of our favorite things about the Berner Oberland Pass has been its huge coverage area combined with quite affordable prices.
We could pretty much say to people visiting the Jungfrau Region that there were only two places they were likely thinking about visiting that weren’t fully covered by the pass: and those were Jungfraujoch and the Schilthorn.
But beginning January 1, 2025, there are a handful of other spots that need to be added to the list of places not fully covered by the Berner Oberland Pass.
These changes won’t begin until 2025
But before we dive into those changes, we want to make this as clear as possible: for the rest of 2024, none of these changes are in effect. The Berner Oberland Pass will continue to function exactly as it has up to this point.
And if your trip is coming up later this year, then be sure to check out this blog we published in early 2024 to understand everything you need to know about using the Berner Oberland Pass in 2024.
2 Improvements for the 2025 Berner Oberland Pass
But now to the updates that will go into effect in 2025, and I’ll give you the good news first.
Previously, a journey to the Schilthorn was only covered up to Mürren. But when these changes go into effect, you’ll be able to ride all the way to the Schilthorn for completely free.
By the way, this really is a cool addition, especially when you consider that a brand new cable car line is being built there, and should be fully functional by March of 2025. So with the Berner Oberland Pass, you’ll be able to visit the Schilthorn riding those brand spankin’ new cable cars for free!
The second major improvement for 2025 is that you’ll be able to travel all the way to Montreux for free. At this point, you can go as far as Saanen, and then the rest of the journey can be added at half price. But this update will allow you to ride the entire length of the GoldenPass panoramic train ride for completely free, excluding any applicable seat reservation fees.
The Berner Oberland Pass has been consistently expanding its reach for the past few years, and it’s pretty unbelievable how far you can travel with it. Once this change goes into effect, you’ll be able to go to:
- Lucerne
- Bern
- Montreux
- Brig
- And Domodossola, just across the Italian border!
Adding additional travel days to your Berner Oberland Pass
Another update worth mentioning is that you’ll also be able to add 2 additional days to your Berner Oberland Pass after you’ve already purchased it. This could come in really handy if you like to stay flexible and make your travel plans based on the weather.
For example, you’ll have the option to buy a 3-Day pass, and then go to the train station on the last day and add 2 more days for a reasonable fee.
Those 2 extra days will cost 72 CHF full price, or 60 CHF if you have the Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass too (in Second Class).
One thing I really like about this is that it allows you to buy fewer days initially with very little risk. For example, if you buy a 4-day pass, and then later decide to add 2 more days, those 6 days altogether would only cost you 2 CHF more than if you had bought the 6-day pass in the first place.
The Price of the Berner Oberland Pass
Now with all these changes, one of the most positive things is something that isn’t changing at all, and that’s the price: Berner Oberland Passes in 2025 will cost exactly the same as they do now in 2024.
The common theme I’m picking up from all this is that the people working for the Berner Oberland Pass work really hard to make sure they give travelers like you the best experience they possibly can. And while not everything is under their control, we’re really happy with these improvements.
So those are the positives, but what about the bad stuff…
Destinations NOT fully covered by the Berner Oberland Pass
Here’s the bad news, there are quite a few mountain destinations in the Jungfrau Region that will no longer be fully covered by the Berner Oberland Pass in 2025. So let’s just run through ‘em.
You’ll get a 50% discount on the following routes:
- The cogwheel train to Schynige Platte
- The funicular to Harder Kulm
- And the gondolas up to Grindelwald First
And these routes will only be discounted by 25%:
- The Wengernalp railway between Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg, and Grindelwald
- The Eiger Express from Grindelwald Terminal up to Eigergletscher
- And the train from Eigergletscher to Jungfraujoch
Right about now, you’re probably thinking, “Those are all the places I was planning to visit!” And we totally understand. This is a pretty devastating development, at least as far as travel planning is concerned, and we’ve honestly been trying to wrap our heads around it too.
It’s important to mention that the Berner Oberland Pass doesn’t own any of these railways we’re talking about and basically has to make deals with dozens of private companies in order to offer this pass to me and you.
But to be honest, it largely feels so crushing because this pass has been so incredible. And it still is. All the other routes that we haven’t mentioned that are covered now will still be covered in 2025. And that includes the ride to Männlichen, for example, from both Grindelwald and Wengen.
Which Swiss train pass should I buy?
But now that you know everything that we do about these changes, you probably want to know: which train pass should I buy for my trip to the Jungfrau Region? And as you might expect, we have some thoughts:
First, we want you to know that we just found out about these updates (September 2024) and we’re wrapping our heads around them, too. We’ve started crunching numbers and comparing the options, but this is going to take some time for us to give you truly helpful and well-researched recommendations instead of random, off-the-cuff answers.
We’ll be gradually publishing these updates in our Jungfrau Region Travel Guides as well as our Ultimate Swiss Train Pass Checklist. So the very best way for you to stay updated is to download our checklist or buy one of our guides so you’ll be the first to know when we’ve updated our recommendations.
But even though we can’t give you our detailed recommendations quite yet, we can do a quick side-by-side comparison of the other train pass available to you in this region: the Jungfrau Travel Pass.
The Jungfrau Travel Pass Coverage
Here’s a list of the rides that are no longer fully covered by the Berner Oberland Pass that are fully covered by the Jungfrau Travel Pass:
- The cogwheel train to Schynige Platte
- The funicular to Harder Kulm
- The gondolas up to Grindelwald First
- The Wengernalp railway between Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg, and Grindelwald
- The Eiger Express from Grindelwald Terminal up to Eigergletscher
- And with this pass, you’re also entitled to the reduced price ticket to Jungfraujoch whether or not you have a Half Fare Card.
So those are some pretty important rides that favor choosing the Jungfrau Travel Pass, especially if your trip will mainly be taking you to these destinations or other spots in the region fully covered by the pass.
The Berner Oberland Pass Coverage
But there’s still lots to like about the Berner Oberland Pass. Here’s everything it fully covers in the region that isn’t fully covered by the Jungfrau Travel Pass:
- Mountain buses in Grindelwald, for example up and over Grosse Scheidegg, which is one of the most beautiful bus rides in the region
- Buses in and around Interlaken (although these are covered by the Interlaken Guest Card if you choose to stay there)
- The bus in Lauterbrunnen, running from the train station to the Schilthorn cable car station
- The cable car all the way up to the Schilthorn
- The cable car to Pfingstegg where you can ride a mountain coaster or Fly Line
- And the funicular up to Allmendhubel above Mürren, where you’ll find some of the best hiking (and views) in the region
And this list only includes destinations from Interlaken toward the mountains. If you want to journey beyond Interlaken, you can:
- Ride the steam train to Brienz Rothorn for sweeping views over Lake Brienz
- Visit the turquoise waters of Oeschinensee
- Catch a view of the entire Jungfrau Region up on the Niederhorn
- Hike to two alpine lakes on the Stockhorn
- Ride to the top of the Niesen, also known as the Swiss Pyramid
- Visit the Aare Gorge in Meiringen
- And lots more!
Plus you can travel as far as Lucerne, Bern, Montreux, Brig, and the Italian border like we mentioned earlier.
So if you see yourself visiting more of these spots than the ones we mentioned before, the Berner Oberland Pass is probably still going to be a great choice.
Pick a Swiss Train Pass with Confidence!
If anything, we think it’s likely that each of these passes will appeal well to two different types of people:
- If you’re planning your first trip to the Jungfrau Region and you absolutely want to see the very best highlights of what this place has to offer, then you’ll probably be really happy choosing the Jungfrau Travel Pass.
- But if you’re making a return trip to the region, want to explore beyond Interlaken, or really enjoy visiting more off-the-beaten path destinations mostly enjoyed by the locals, then you’ll find endless opportunities with the Berner Oberland Pass during your visit.
But don’t forget to download our Swiss Train Pass Checklist or buy our 1-Week Guide to the Jungfrau Region so you’ll be the first to receive all of our updated recommendations.
We’re with you in this. We’re here to help you travel with confidence. And we’ll see you in Switzerland!