MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare if costs are equal?
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Hi,
I did my calculations through the MySwissAlps rail pass calculation worksheet (by the way – this was EXTREMELY helpful !! thank you so much for setting this up and providing it to folks).
I tried various scenarios, playing around with slight changes in our itineraries. I’ve attached my calculations – we will be aiming to do Scenario 1. In every scenario, the Swiss Travel Pass (STP) and Swiss Half Fare Card (SHFC) both save us money, so we definitely know we’ll go with one – but which one?
Ultimately, my question is: which pass would people choose if the difference after discounts/calculations is less than $100?
In our itinerary, we will be doing things that don’t get 100% discount with the STP (i.e. Zermatt to Gornergrat Bahn round trip) – which is 50% discount with the STP and 50% with the SHFC.
I figured that for things like the Gornergrat Bahn – we would either need to (1) buy the ticket in person, which doesn’t really save time with either the STP or SHFC or (2) buy the ticket on SBB mobile app. However, I’m confused – on SBB mobile app, is there an option to tell the system that we have the STP? I only saw an option for those who have a half fare card. So wouldn’t we have more of an advantage (from a convenience sense) with the half fare card?
Hope folks can clarify and provide some opinions. We will likely get a SIM card in each of our phones, so we’ll have access to the SBB mobile app during our trip.
On a side note – I have not considered what “rain-day” activities we would do if the weather doesn’t isn’t ideal for a planned hike or visit to the peak of a mountain (i.e. if it’s raining on the day we visit Mt Pilatus, maybe we take the train for a day trip to Bern). Therefore, flexibility is more key for us than convenience in this matter.
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Hi Toodaliu,
I’m glad to hear the spreadsheet was helpful. In case of a minimal difference, the Swiss Travel Pass wins hands down on convenience and flexibility. Not having to arrange for tickets all the time is very comfortable. You can decide to go somewhere else even while traveling. You could not do that if you already bought a ticket for the day. Also it includes museums, and there’s always the option of an additional trips as it doesn’t cost extra.
In your spreadsheet, I noticed that you didn’t include the price to reach the top of the Pilatus and Schynige Platte. Do you plan to walk there? (that’s quite something!)
The SBB mobile app is geared to Swiss residents. You will mainly use it to check public transport schedules. I only bought tickets with it once in many years of traveling. With a Swiss Half Fare Card that could be different, although even that one is not in the app, only the 1-year Half-Fare travelcard for residents is in there (which is similar but not 100% the same thing). With a Swiss Travel Pass you only need tickets for mountain excursions. You can buy these on the spot or online, here for example: http://www.myswissalps.com/go rnergrat/tickets.
For SIM cards, please see http://www.myswissalps.com/si mcard.
Thanks Arno. I think you’ve sold me on the Swiss Travel Pass compared to the Swiss Half Fare. I originally thought we were able to link our Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare on the SBB mobile app, but it doesn’t seem so. I know there were other threads that mentioned how you could associate the “traveler” settings to the half fare, but as you discussed, the half fare travel card is different than the Swiss half fare card. Seeing how the Swiss half fare doesn’t save us the convenience of skipping the line to buy tickets, the Swiss travel pass makes more sense.
One question – as the Swiss travel pass doesn’t require ticket reservations, is there a chance we’d ever not be able to find a seat on a train because all have been reserved ? We are just worried about any busy train routes.
For Mt Pilatus, we are planning to hike to the peak (I’ve done a good amount of research and think we are able to do it. It’s a long hike but we’re in our 30s, avid hikers and in good physical shape !) but our backup plan is to do the Silver Round Trip if we decide to save our energy for another day. As for Schynige Platte, we were going to do the schynige platte faulhorn first hike.
You’re welcome! Well, the Swiss Half Fare Card would work in the app as long as it’s not about border crossing trips (that’s the main exception from the top of my mind). But I think in your case you’d like the flexibility and convenience of the Swiss Travel Pass. I know I do. You can print the pass at home, and store it on your phone as well: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price.
People do not book seats in Switzerland: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/reservations. It’s only common for a few tourist trains. So no worries there. Even if all seats are taken, you can still board but you’d need to stand until the next stop. Last time that happened to me was years ago for 10 minutes in Zurich.
You have some serious hiking plans there, particularly Pilatus! But if you’re in good shape and take your time it should be all fine. Do check the weather before you go: http://www.myswissalps.com/we ather.
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