Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 110 Transcript

Everything you need to know about the Berner Oberland Pass in 2025!

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Intro

Are you dreaming of visiting Switzerland? Planning a trip to Switzerland is very exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. How do you choose which of the many scenic cities, towns and villages to visit, which mountain top excursions should you take? And what’s the best way to get around Switzerland. And of course, how much of the country can you realistically see within your time frame? If you’ve asked yourself any of these questions, this is the podcast for you. This is the holidays to Switzerland travel podcast. And in each episode, your host Carolyn Schönafinger chats with Swiss travel experts to answer your most commonly asked questions, provide practical tips and take you on a virtual visit to the most popular destinations, and, of course, some hidden gems to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. And you’ll hear plenty of conversations about Swiss cheese and chocolate too. Are you ready to plan your trip to Switzerland? Well, let’s get started.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Hello Grüezi. Welcome to Episode 110, of the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. I’m your host, Carolyn, and I’m very happy to have you join me today for more Swiss travel tips and inspiration in today’s episode, I’m welcoming back Jana Amacher, the manager of the Berner Oberland Pass. Jana has been a guest on quite a few previous episodes of the podcast, and today she is back to share some news about the pass for 2025 and she’s going to give us some off season excursion ideas too. The Berner Oberland Pass is a really popular travel pass for visitors to the Bernese Oberland as it covers such a wide area, and it’s definitely worth considering purchasing one if you will be spending three or more days in the region. I’ll let Jana tell you more about the pass and what the new inclusions are and the other changes for 2025 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Hi Jana, thank you very much for coming back onto the podcast. You’ve been a very good friend of the podcast over the years, you’ve made a few appearances, so it’s lovely to have you back for the people that are listening that perhaps haven’t heard you on the podcast before, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do for a job?

Jana Amacher  

Yes, thank you, Carolyn for having me again. I’m Jana Amacher. I’m the manager of the Berner Oberland Pass and I used to work as well for Jungfrau Region, because I live in Meiringen, so I know the Bernese Oberland really well.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Born and raised there are you? 

Jana Amacher  

Yes, I am yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

So I’m sure you know every little corner of the Bernese Oberland.

Jana Amacher  

Yeah, yeah. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

So for the listeners who aren’t familiar with the Berner Oberland Pass. Could you tell them what it is and what it covers? Please? 

Jana Amacher  

Yes. Well, the Berner Oberland Pass is actually a travel pass, and it allows you for unlimited travel for public transportation within the Bernese Oberland and it covers like trains, busses, boats, which is really special compared to other passes. We have mountain excursions included, like more than 25.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Fantastic. So when can Berner Oberland Pass be used? Because I know in the past, it was only available for use in certain months of the year. But what about now and heading into 2025?

Yes, actually it would be end of season, end of October, but we decided to have it all year around. So this means it’s always available for every month of the year. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

That’s great. And we will talk in a little bit about some of the things that you can do with the pass when you’re traveling in winter, because I guess a lot of people perhaps think that everything shuts down in winter. But that’s not the case. Before we get into that, I know there’s been a few changes to the Berner Oberland Pass for 2025 so can you tell us firstly, what are the new additions to the pass for next year.

Yes, we have two bigger additions. So now it used to be half price from Mürren to Schilthorn with the Berner Oberland Pass, and now you have it included in the pass. So your excursion to Schilthorn is totally free of charge if you’re traveling with the Berner Oberland Pass. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, that’s great. 

Jana Amacher  

The same goes with the Montruex, the Golden Pass Express. It used to be free travel from Interlaken to Saanen, and then you’d need to get a ticket. And now it’s all free, so not free, but it’s included in the pass.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so that’s one of the panoramic trains. So that means that there’s actually two of the beautiful panoramic trains that are included free travel with the Berner, Oberland Pass now. 

Jana Amacher  

Exactly. And for this one, I totally recommend the seat reservation, as they have the special trains node there. So that’s worth it. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, that’s great to know. So I also believe that there are some excursions that were previously covered in full with the pass, but from 2025 they’re going to be discounted only. So can you tell us which ones those are please?

Yes, yeah. We lost some partners in the Jungfrau Region with Jungfrau Railways, so we had Grindelwald First fully included, which is now with a 50% discount. We had Harder Kulm included, this is also with a 50% discount. We had the Schynige Platte included, which starts from Wilderswil, which is now also 50% discount, and also the Eiger Express was fully included, and now you get 25% discount. This is the same discount as you get with the Swiss Travel Pass and Jungfraujoch. We had a special ticket for 99 Swiss francs, but now you get 25% discount. What I recommend is to buy the Berner Oberland Pass combined with a Swiss half card, because then you get more reduction to visit Jungfraujoch, so you pay like 100 Swiss francs if you have the Swiss half fare card and the Berner Oberland Pass. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, that’s a great tip. So if people are wanting to do those excursions where they have to pay an additional amount for like Grindelwald First, for example, where do they buy that or whether they pay that extra amount once they’ve already got the Berner Oberland Pass

They can do it at the counter of Jungfrau railway. Or online, they can just click on the half price discount, and then it will be valid with the Berner Oberland Pass. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, that’s good. Now for those people that would like to get their Berner Oberland Pass in advance, before they arrive in Switzerland, where should they buy it?

I recommend to buy it online, as it’s told online, you have different options. You can get it on our website, but also we have a lot of partner website, like Holidays to Switzerland, which is a seller of the Benrer Oberland Pass. And if you buy it online, you have a core code on the ticket, and with this square code, you can skip many lines at Mountain excursions. And you can’t do this if you buy it at the train station in Switzerland, but it’s never sold out. The price is always the same on all the websites. So this doesn’t matter.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, great. And one other thing that we didn’t mention there is that the pass also gives people discounted admission to lots of other attractions in the Bernese Oberland and so can you give us just an example of just a few places where they could get reduced admission?

Yes, we have more than 40 bonus partners. So for example, if you like to visit the Aare Gorge or Trummelbach Falls, if you go to the Open Air Museum Ballenberg, you will have a discount like between 10 and 50% normally, and then you get some reduction.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Excellent. Okay. Now, we have chatted previously on a couple of different podcast episodes about some of the excursions that you can do during the let’s call them the summer months, from April to October, and most recently, you were on the podcast in episode 102 so today, can we talk about a few of the excursions that people can do if they’re visiting from November to March? Yeah, what are some of the things that you would recommend? 

Jana Amacher  

Yes, really interesting questions. If you check our partners, you realize that most of them are actually also open during winter. It’s like only the Brienzer Rothorn, for example, which is closed, and the Niesen, but most of the partners are open, for example, if we have Schilthorn now included but this season is a bit special because they are under construction and they will open again mid of March. But of course, normally they are open in winter, and you can really reach it easily from Interlaken. You either take the gondola to get from Lauterbrunnen to Murren, or you can take the train. So we also have different options there and two ways. Or you can visit Männlichen. The Männlichen is from both sides included. So you can go to Männlichen Starting from Wengen or from Grindelwald. You could do a round trip. So that’s still fully included, and this is open during the winter as well. Really important. With the pass, it’s not allowed to go skiing. It’s only for a winter hiking or sledging.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

That’s good to know. So with Männlichen for instance, it’s one of my favorite mountain peaks. I’d have to say it. The views from up there are just amazing. I’ve only been there in summer, so I’m looking forward to visiting in winter this year. But what are some of the things that people can do in winter there, apart from sort of winter hiking, and is there anything apart from the views for them to to enjoy? 

Jana Amacher  

Yes, you have also the mountain restaurants which are open or like, it’s not the winter hike, but you can do the royal hike as well. So you get to this ground, this is open, or you can do the sledding, or you can do like snowshoe hiking, so you have different options. Basically, it’s really the view up there, so really nice.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

It’s a view you never forget, that’s for sure. Yeah. Okay, so what else could people consider doing during those winter months?

What I also really like is the lake cruise, because actually people think that’s really a summer thing, but on Lake Thun, you can also do it during winter. The Lake Brienz is not possible because the water is too low, so it’s not possible to go there during winter, but you can do it on Lake Thun, or you can take the Golden Pass Express from Montreux, or the Interlaken Express. So all the train lines, they are here the whole year. So that’s not the problem at all. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so you could do those. Now you probably wouldn’t want to do a day tour on both those lines in one day. But for instance, on one day, if you’re based, let’s say in Interlaken, you could go to Montreux and then come back later in the day. Or you could go to Lucerne and come back later in the day, if you weren’t visiting those places, another point in your vacation. 

Jana Amacher  

Yes, so you could take the train to Bern, and from there you go to troops, and there is the Kambli Museum, so you have really nice train rides, which are all included in the pass. But beside that, of course, like all the ski areas, like Gstaad, Lenk, Hasliberg, they are all included as well. And there you can go for nice views, for the mountain restaurants, for just taking the gondolas is quite an adventure as well, I think because all the gondolas are so different with all the different mountain tops, and you can do some hiking.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And the views would just be amazing, I’m sure, with all those mountains just covered in snow. So can you tell us a bit more about Hasliberg? I mean, I know we’ve talked about it before, but we’ve really probably only talked about it from a summer perspective. And I know, well, this is a very special Mountain View, because you live very close. So what would you say to people who were thinking of going to Hasliberg over the winter? 

Jana Amacher  

Yes, I know it really well, because I used to ski there, like every day, I just walk five minutes to the gondola station, and then I’m basically up in the mountains. So what I really like is to go in winter for winter hikings, because you can also visit the Open tower from there, you have, like, over, really, hundreds of mountain peaks you see there, and you can walk through like a crosswalk, and you have a beautiful view on both sides of this, and it’s just like five minutes, so you don’t even need to walk long. They have different branches available, also sometimes during the weekend, sometimes all the days, and they have a great Apres Ski bars. So basically, it doesn’t matter where you go on Hasliberg, you will find everywhere something really special, also during winter.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so what about somewhere like Gstaad you mentioned that that’s a popular mountain resort. What are some of the things that we can do there over the winter, apart from skiing,

Basically also the same like on the Hasliberg, you can visit, like, those really nice mountain restaurants, but there it’s also special because you can, like, take different gondolas, depends over where you Gstaad and then you can also do the hikings, or you can just go there to have lunch, or just to enjoy the views. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

That would be a really good combination with going on the Golden Pass Express from Interlaken to Gstaad and then, as you say, going up on one of the gondolas and getting the views from up there, and then returning back on the beautiful panoramic train.

Jana Amacher  

Yeah, that sounds like a really nice plan. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, maybe I’ll have to add that to my list. You also mentioned Lenk there before. Now this is a town or a village that I’m really not familiar with, so I’d love it if you could sort of tell us a bit more about Lenk.

Yes, we always talk about the Lenk and Adelboden, because actually the ski region, or also in summer, just the gondolas, are together. So it doesn’t matter if you start from Lenk or Adelboden, at some point, they’re basically together, and it’s the same region you can visit there, and the Lenk is also really nice little village where you can visit and just from there, you take the gondolas to go up to the mountains.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, sounds very special. So just to summarize, again, you said there’s over 25 mountain excursions that are fully covered with the Berner Oberland Pass, and I think there’s 20 or so more that are discounted as well. So it’s excellent value when you consider that you’ve got all the public transport as well and all those discounted admissions to 40 plus partners. So yeah, a very, very worthwhile pass to buy when people are visiting the region, when will the 2025 pass be available for purchase for people who are planning to visit next year and wanting to buy their pass ahead of time,

We’ve just started with selling the passes, because normally we sell six months in advance. Now we just stopped because we needed to give firstly, the news for 25 but now you can buy it again. And yes, I always recommend to wait a bit, because when prices are fixed, they don’t rise. So also, if you buy it like one week in advance, that’s enough. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, great. And you said before that, it never sells out, so people don’t have to panic about that. Great. All right. Well, thank you very much for sharing all that with us. Again, I’ll put a link in the show notes to your website and also to the Holidays to Switzerland shop, so hopefully our listeners will purchase their Berner Oberland Pass online from there, that would be wonderful. And yes, I hope we can send lots of people off to the Bernese Oberland in 2025 with their Berner Oberland Pass ready to go.

Jana Amacher  

Yes, we’re looking forward to our first winter season. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

I’m sure you are. Wonderful. Well, I hope it’s a great success. Thanks, Jana, 

Jana Amacher  

Thank you, Carolyn. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Well, despite the reduction in discount for a few mountain excursions in 2025 I still think the Berner Oberland Pass offers excellent value. It not only covers public transport from as far afield as Domodossola and Brig in the south, it also covers the travel from Montreux, Bern and Lucerne, so the pass can be used as your ticket to reach the Bernese Oberland and as you depart the region as well, with two panoramic trains included, plus buses, boats and over 25 mountain railways, all free of charge. It’s definitely money well spent. In my opinion, you can learn more about the Berner Oberland Pass in Jana’s previous episodes, and in my detailed guide to the Berner Oberland pass on holidaystoswitzerland.com I’ll include links to all those resources and to the Holidays to Switzerland shop so you can purchase your Berner Oberland Pass, and they’ll all be in the show notes for this episode. The show notes are at holidaystoswitzerland.com/episode 110, and you’ll also find a link there to get my free guide 21 Useful things to know before you visit Switzerland. So head on over to the show notes and grab your copy of that today. Before I go, I have just a small favor to ask, if you enjoy the podcast and it’s been helpful for your Switzerland vacation planning, I would be super grateful if you could just take a minute or two to leave a five star rating or a review wherever you’re listening now. More ratings and reviews help us to reach more listeners, and then we can help more folks just like you plan their own dream Swiss vacation. Thank you so much in advance, until next time Tschüss.

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.