[Anonymous]

29 April 2023 at 11:19:10 #829713

Hi!

I along with my family ( self + wife + 2 kids – 8 and 4 years) are planning to travel through Switzerland and obviously would be exploring the country through it’s beautiful panoramic trains. I am calculating the cost of our trip so i could decide wether swiss travel pass or half fare card is more economical for us. We plan to stay for three nights.

1- Tirano – Zurich Via bernina express

2. Zurich – interlaken via luzern interlaken express

3. Interlaken – Lausanne via Montraux

My qs is that while trying to book through SBB mobile app the fare is shown as half even if you select GA travel card which i assume comes with the swiss travel pass that allow you to travel for free. Am i missing something?

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 2 • 29 April 2023 at 12:48:59 #953874

Hi Talha,

The ticket prices displayed on the SBB website/app are half-price by default. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, there is no need to purchase tickets from the SBB website or the app. But the app is still handy to have because you’ll need it to check train schedules. The only time you need to purchase tickets if you have a Swiss Travel Pass is when you are going on a mountain excursions. These tickets can be purchased at the ticket counters. With the Swiss Travel Pass, you get up to 50% discounts on mountain transportation tickets (e.g. cable cars, cogwheel trains, gondolas). You can find further details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/howtouse

You can request for a Swiss Family Card when you purchase the Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half-Fare Card. This allows your children to travel along for free even on discounted mountain excursions. Details about the Swiss Family Card here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swissfamilycard

Generally, seat reservations on Swiss public transport are not required as explained here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations. Seat reservation on special panoramic trains such as the Bernina Express is compulsory: http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress/tickets

Let us know if you need further clarification.

Regards,

Anna

[Arno]

Reply 2 of 2 • 30 April 2023 at 9:10:03 #953875

Hi Talha,

That’s correct, the Swiss timetables display 50% discounted prices by default. That’s explained here: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable.

Note that the GA Travelcard (mostly for residents) and the Swiss Travel Pass (for tourists) are different and unrelated products. You’ll find more info here: https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/details.