Total:

$8900 = $2225 hike/hotel/dinner/breakfast, 5 nights 4 days, Sund, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs

$5000.80 = $1108.20 * 2 flights no baggage, $1392.20 * 2 flights one bag

~~$350 = hotels in Zurich * 2 nights (Sat 7/27 and Friday 8/2)~~

$800 = hotel in Lauterbrunnen on Sat, and Zurich on Friday

$1586.42 public transportation total = 120CHF half-fare card/person plus all cable cars, cog rails, buses, and trains see https://swissphelps.blogspot.com/2024/05/trains.html

$800 lunches Sat/sun/mon/tues/wed/thurs/fri/sat

$800 dinners Friday 8/2, Sat 8/3, Friday 8/9, Saturday 8/10

$200 breakfast Sat 8/3 (we don't get off the plane until 10:50a, will be lunch time), Saturday 8/10

$280 phones = $10/person/day = 10*7*4

$150 parking

~~$17,328 sub-total~~

~~$18,230~~

$18517.20

ACTUAL:

$8900 = $2225 hike/hotel/dinner/breakfast, 5 nights 4 days, Sund, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs

$5312.80 = $1108.20 * 2 flights no baggage, $1392.20 * 2 flights one bag + $312 = $39/flight/each to choose seats so we could sit together

~~$350 = hotels in Zurich * 2 nights (Sat 7/27 and Friday 8/2)~~

$784.76 = hotel in Lauterbrunnen on Sat, and Zurich on Friday

$1731.75 public transportation total = 120CHF half-fare card/person plus all cable cars, cog rails, buses, and trains see https://swissphelps.blogspot.com/2024/05/trains.html We took a lot more ski lifts then we had planned because we weren't in shape enough to do the hikes we had planned. We also took an unexpected Uber to the dinosaur museum because it was not in Zurich, but 37 minutes out of town and all of the luggage lockers were full, so we had to go to the hotel 1st.

$437.31 plus some amount of cash for lunches Sat/sun/mon/tues/wed/thurs/fri/sat

$127.94 plus some amount of cash for dinners Friday 8/2, Sat 8/3, Friday 8/9, Saturday 8/10

$0 breakfast Sat 8/3 (we don't get off the plane until 10:50a, will be lunch time), Saturday 8/10. They fed us on the plane, and the Holiday Inn Express had breakfast

$110 phones = $10/person/day = 10*7*4

$1222.05 = 1000 CHF cash to carry with us

$167.87 = entrance fee for Beatus Caves and Trummelbachfalle + we spent an unknown amount of cash to get in Sauriermuseum Aathal

$142 parking

$18997.60 Total spent, excluding pants, socks, day packs and neck pillows for the plane ride

Stuff we bought for the trip: 10 pair hiking pants, 10 pair hiking socks, 4 day packs, 4 neck pillows

"PNC customers, for example, can access approximately 60,000 PNC and Partner ATMs coast to coast, fee-free. Furthermore, several of PNC’s Virtual Wallet® products include fee reimbursements. Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend, for example, includes two fee reimbursements each statement cycle for non-PNC ATM transactions and up to $5 off other banks’ fees. With Virtual Wallet with Performance Select, there is no charge for using other banks’ domestic or international ATMs, and a $10 fee reimbursement per statement period for other banks’ ATM surcharge fees."

Ordering foreign currency to PNC requires the customer to visit a branch, wait 24-48 hours, and then return to the branch. We assume we need 1000CHF. 48*20 and 40*1.

There is a charge 1.50-2CHF to use toilets if you are not a paying customer. There are usually coin vending machines near the toilets.

Self-guided hikes

Ryder-Walker $2225/person + $480 per single for 4 days of hiking, 5 nights of accommodations, 5 dinners, 5 breakfasts

OR $1760/person + $290 per single for 3 days of hiking, 4 nights of accommodations, 4 dinners, 4 breakfasts

Flights:

$2500-$5500 for 3 people, or $3333 or $7333 for 4

Train to/from Zurich (bags cost extra):

$431.88 for 4 people https://www.sbb.ch/en shows tickets are CHF 18.40-38.50/person is $168-$351 round trip for 4 people. Haven't found the cost for baggage yet.

or 6 day Swiss Pass for 4 $1544

or 8 day Swiss pass for 4 $1706

Berner-Oberland Pass makes most cog rails and cable cars free

4 days CHF 280/person or $316 * 2 + $223/youth= $1078 https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/prices-tickets/

Wilderswil to Schynige Platte cog rail: https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/schynige-platte/schynige-platte-ticket/ 64CHF/person ($72.27 maybe, is 2nd-hand info, not from the retailer) or 50% discount with Swiss Pass or included in Berner-Oberland Pass

Schynige Platte Railway operates from May to the end of October
The first train from Wilderswil leaves at 7:25 AM, and the last train back down leaves just before 6 PM

And the Berner Oberland Pass is absolutely awesome for your trip there. It covers all the major cable cars and mountain destinations, including: Grindelwald First, Männlichen, Eigergletscher, Kleine Scheidegg, Wengen, Mürren, Schynige Platte, and Harder Kulm.

In addition, you can ride boats on Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, buses all throughout the region, and trains to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken, Brienz, and Thun. First, it does not cover your journey all the way to Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe. You’ll need a roundtrip ticket between Eigergletscher and Jungfraujoch, but you can buy it at a special price: 99 CHF with no Half Fare Card and as low as 63 CHF with the Half Fare Card, depending on when you visit.

Second is the Schilthorn. You’ll have to pay extra to ride the cable car above Mürren, but roundtrip tickets between the two come at a 50% discount even if you have no Half Fare card (42.80 CHF).

But for essentially everything else, your Berner Oberland Pass is your ticket.

Berner Oberland Pass vs Jungfrau Travel Pass

You might have also heard about the Jungfrau Travel Pass. And without getting too deep into comparisons, here are a few things that the Berner Oberland Pass covers that the Jungfrau Travel Pass does not:

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
The bus in Lauterbrunnen, running from the train station to the Schilthorn cable car station
The Schilthorn cable car from Stechelberg up to Mürren
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.

Monsoon in Switzerland: During Monsoon in Switzerland, it receives about 1000 mm of precipitation every year. The rainy season in Switzerland falls between May and August. If you love the rain, then the monsoon is the best time to visit Switzerland. June is the wettest month in Switzerland.

From: https://en.climate-data.org/europe/switzerland/bern/lauterbrunnen-160087/