Summer Sales on Swiss and other rail passes

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    2 May 2012 at 15:56:36 #836339

    Hi Arno – I keep watching in vain for special promotions for travellers from the UK! Do they not want to encourage us to visit? Currently it is cheaper to wait and buy our swiss saver pass on arrival in zurich so I am holding back for now! Maggie

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    3 May 2012 at 0:54:04 #836340

    Hi Arno,

    Our travel dates to Switzerland are 29th May to 06th June 2012. We are 4 adults and one child. As you know 2 for 1 offer on 4 day pass is not valid for my dates. We will have to go for 8 days Saver pass.

    I have not understood whether this “Summer Sale” offer will help me or not. Will it be more cheaper than 8 days Saver pass?

    Atul Bhide

    Arno
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    15484 posts
    3 May 2012 at 10:32:38 #836341

    Hi Maggie,

    I’m sure UK travelers are more than welcome in Switzerland! There are two great 2-for-1 promotions for several Regional Passes and for Swiss (Flexi) Passes you qualify for, but they’re not for traveling in Summer. The other offers are not for UK travelers indeed. These offers are initiatives by individual resellers that happen to be the non-UK ones. As soon as there’s any promotion worth mentioning, we’ll post it up here. Please keep an eye on our website!
    [quote]maggiehorswell said: Hi Arno – I keep watching in vain for special promotions for travellers from the UK! Do they not want to encourage us to visit? Currently it is cheaper to wait and buy our swiss saver pass on arrival in zurich so I am holding back for now! Maggie[/quote]

    Arno
    Moderator
    15484 posts
    3 May 2012 at 10:39:15 #836342

    Hi Atul,

    You would indeed need the “regular” 8-day Swiss Saver Pass. If your total order value exceeds the minimum amount, you can save money through the promo codes you’ll find through the links I posted. So it depends on the number of people you need the pass for, and whether or not you’ll be buying anything else along with your pass.

    [quote]AtulBhide said: Hi Arno,

    Our travel dates to Switzerland are 29th May to 06th June 2012. We are 4 adults and one child. As you know 2 for 1 offer on 4 day pass is not valid for my dates. We will have to go for 8 days Saver pass.

    I have not understood whether this “Summer Sale” offer will help me or not. Will it be more cheaper than 8 days Saver pass?

    Atul Bhide[/quote]

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    13 May 2012 at 9:41:01 #836343

    Hi, I am travelling in June with a partner. Any Swiss discount deal for 4 days or 5 days ?
    thanks

    Arno
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    13 May 2012 at 17:01:26 #836344

    Where in Switzerland will you be traveling enoch? Just one region or the whole country?

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    13 May 2012 at 23:49:12 #836345

    Hi Arno.

    mostlikely have chance to go thru whole country. I wanted to purchase the 4 day flex saver but just realized it is not valid for june.
    My trip will consist of 2 weekends for 4 days and also plan to spend another 2 days in Milan.
    thanks

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    14 May 2012 at 0:04:16 #836346

    actually, I know 4 days isnot much. so will travel on east side of the country. do you have any suggestions?

    Annika
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    15 May 2012 at 9:55:13 #836347

    Hi enoch. If you want to visit the eastern side of the country, you should definitely consider paying a visit to the Engadine. Try St. Moritz or one of the nearby towns. There are some spectacular train rides to be made, such as the train route Chur-St. Moritz and the route St. Moritz/Pontresina-Tirano (the Bernina Express route). Many cable cars and viewing points can be found in this region too. The Graubünden day trip overview may be of help here.

    As for rail passes: the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass is valid all year long. Maybe you mean that the 2 for 1 offer isn’t valid in June? That’s true indeed, but a 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass may still be a good deal. See if you’re eligible for the RailEurope summer sales to save even more money (the Saver Pass variant is already cheaper than two regular Flexi Passes). If you have a good overview of your traveling plans, you can even calculate which pass is best.

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    16 May 2012 at 6:20:00 #836348

    Hi Annika, I am planning: 1st day: Zurich to Chur; Chur to Visp, back to stay in Andermatt. 2nd day Andermatt to Lucerne, and back to Zurich airport at night fall. 3rd day afternoon spend in Zurich and train to Chur in the evening. 4th day Chur to Tirano. spend a couple days in Milan. Final day, Milan back to Lugano and back to Zurich airport by 9pm. thanks

    Annika
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    17 May 2012 at 13:49:37 #836349

    Hi enoch. In that case I’d say you should use a 5 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass, using your four free travel days for day 1-4 in Switzerland, and the fifth free travel day for the Swiss leg of you trip from Lugano to Zurich Airport.

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    17 May 2012 at 21:37:26 #836350

    Hi Annika, Just booked Bermina Express from Chur to Tirano on the 4th day. If this is the case, do I still need to use 5 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass or would 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass be enough. Since 4th day I already be in Chur, If I board Bermina Express with 50% discount via Flexi Pass. would this consider as to use up 1 day of the Flexi Pass?,

    Annika
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    18 May 2012 at 11:30:34 #836351

    Hi enoch. You could indeed get a 4 day pass and not use a free travel day for the Bernina Express. If you travel with a 50% discount, that will not be counted as a free travel day. You can decide for yourself when you want to use your free travel days, by writing down the date at your pass or getting a stamp at a railway station before boarding your first train that day.

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    19 May 2012 at 5:51:03 #836352

    I am hoping someone can advice me on the best options for me.

    My partner and I flying into Zurich on 31st May (from Scotland) and then plan to stay in Interlaken for 4 days, leaving again on 4th June. We plan to just stay in the Bernese Oberland area and are looking to go upto Jungfrau on one day.

    Is the best rail option for us, to get a transfer ticket and the Centenray pass or is it to get the Swiss Pass. If it is the Swiss Pass, I understand there is a 2-for-1 offer on it till 31st May. Does that mean that it has to be purchased by 31st May, or does it have to be used by 31st May.

    Any help will be greatly appreciated.

    Annika
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    20 May 2012 at 11:22:24 #836353

    Hello d-bear, and welcome! The 2 for 1 offer is valid for traveling in May, so you can’t use it. I think you should look into the Swiss Card. It offers a free trip from Zurich Airport to Interlaken and back, and a 50% discount on all trips you want to make in between. Please get to the Swiss Card page for more information. The advantage over a Centenary Pass is that it allows you to travel outside of the Jungfrau region too, which can come in handy if weather in that area happens to be bad.

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    7 June 2012 at 6:09:23 #836354

    Hello,
    I am planning to buy Swiss Saver Pass (2 Adults) from 14 -17 June. On Swiss Saver Pass page, the amount shown is £305.60.
    If I buy that at Rail Europe (UK), I get that for £344 including Special Delivery.

    Can anybody please confirm if I will be able to get that pass at the Zurich Airport on 14th and also from the dates (14 -17 June)?. If the dates are not guaranteed when I buy at the Zurich Airport then I will pay £40 extra and get it via Rail Europe

    Regards,
    D

    Arno
    Moderator
    15484 posts
    7 June 2012 at 7:19:51 #836355

    Hi D,

    You can get the pass at the airport. You need to pay in Swiss francs there, so the final amount in GBP may be a bit different on the 14th, due to exchange rates. Please note that one of the UK online resellers is currently unavailable but will be back online soon. I think their prices are in between the ones you mentioned. They allow payment in GBP and shipping takes about 2 days. We’ll add them to the overview on the Swiss Pass page as soon as they’re available again.

    Just to be sure: this topic is about the Summer Sales promo codes. They’re not valid for UK resellers.

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    8 June 2012 at 11:01:30 #836356

    Hello,

    We are a family of two adults and two children (13 and 15) from Ireland, who will be visiting Switzerland from 6th to 16th August. We are planning to spend part of the time with friends in Geneva but have also planned a couple of nights in Zermatt, a night in Interlaken and one night in Bern – we have already booked our accomodation. I tried to buy an 8 day Swiss pass on-line but I now find that I cannot buy a Swiss pass in Ireland but must wait til we get to Geneva where I can buy one at the airport. I am concerned that if I do not have the ticket in advance, I will not be able to reserve seats on our chosen trains (from Geneva to Zermatt and return; from Geneva to Jungfraujoch and back to Interlaken; from Interlaken to Bern, and from Bern back to Geneva. I am also not certain that I can get the family pass that lets my children travel free with us on our Swiss pass at the airport. Will this be a difficulty and should I be concerned about not being able to reserve seats in advance? I see from other posts that buying the pass on-line seems to be more expensive due to delivery costs, but the Swiss pass page on this site suggests that buying in Switzerland is more expensive. I would be grateful if you could explain it all to me!

    Oona

    Annika
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    7124 posts
    9 June 2012 at 5:15:09 #836357

    Hello Oona! Don’t worry, you can definitely buy your rail pass online from Ireland. The reason you can’t see it now at our pass pages, is that reseller Switzerland Travel Centre has technical problems with its webshop. They currently expect it to be online again by Monday June 11. As soon as this is fixed, you can order your pass from Ireland through our Swiss Pass-page. Please keep an eye on this forum topic to see when ordering is possible again. Which purchase option is cheaper, depends on your country of residence and current exchange rates. Just fill out your data at the Swiss Pass page next week for all information.

    You can arrange for seat reservations apart from your Swiss Pass, so you can already start making them if you like. Please note though that most trains in Switzerland don’t require (or don’t even allow) you to make reservations.

    You can either order along your STS Family Card along with your Swiss Pass next week, or indeed obtain it for free at the Geneva Airport railway station upon showing your Swiss Pass.

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