Questions about purchasing Swiss Half Fare Card
A traveler is planning a two-week trip to Switzerland in July with their family of four. They are looking for clarification on purchasing the Swiss Half Fare Card and how it works for ticketing, especially for their children and parents who don’t have smartphones. They want to ensure they have everything sorted before arriving.
- You can buy the Swiss Half Fare Card now and set the start date for your arrival; it’s valid for one month.
- Children under 6 travel free, and you can get free Swiss Family Cards for kids 6 and older by adding them to your purchase.
- Store your Swiss Half Fare Card and Family Cards on your phone, but parents without smartphones should print them.
- Tickets can be purchased in advance or just before travel, and you present your Swiss Half Fare Card to get discounts at the ticket counter.
AI-generated summary-
Hi- we will be a family of 4 adults and kids traveling to Switzerland for 2 weeks in July. I am looking online to buy the Swiss Half Fare Card and this seems like the official website:
https://www.swiss-pass.ch/swiss-half-fare-card/
I just want to verify a few things before purchasing- I can buy them now and just set the start date as the date we arrive and it is good for the whole month, correct? Also, since we have 2 kids, should we get two family cards (it appears this is free with purchase of the half fare card?)
My husband and I have smart phones and will probably just get the e-tickets on our phones. Will the family card be something on our phone too, or do we need to print this out? Also, my parents who are joining us do not have smart phones. Is the best thing for them to print out the Swiss Half Fare Card, or is this something they will receive in the mail? I assume we will need to present this every time we buy tickets at the station, or if this is recorded on our phone, can it be applied when we buy tickets online? If my parents do not have smart phones, will they have a code to use so I can also buy discounted tickets for them using my smart phone?
Sorry for all the questions. I am just still a bit confused as to how the half fare card will work when we are buying tickets.
Thanks!
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Hi seru,
I do not know the site, you’ve mentioned. This is the official SBB shop: https://shop.switzerlandtravelcentre.com/.
Yes, the Swiss Half Fare Card is valid for 1 month from the date you choose. You buy it now and set the date you want.
How old are your kids? If they are under 6, they can travel for free. If they are 6 or older, you can get free Swiss Family Cards for them. You just need to add it to your shopping cart. it is easy, if you check the page above I shared with you, you’ll see.
You can store your Swiss Family Cards on your phones, same as the Swiss Half Fare Card. Learn more here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swissfamilycard/howtouse.
If they do not have mobile phones, better to print them. Make sure to have an extra ‘security’ print in the hotel or in the backpack in case they lost the first version of it. And also store them on your phones as pdf files.
You’ll receive the Swiss Half fare Card and also the Swiss Family Card by email.
Buying the rail tickets is easy: you can buy them at the stations via a ticket counter or from machines or online via the SBB app. You do not need to show your Swiss Half fare Card when buying a ticket, just if somebody asks for it (mostly on the train while already traveling.) More details about using your Swiss Half Fare Card: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/howtouse.
The steps:
- You buy your passes in advance and store them on the phone or print them out.
- While you are already in Switzerland and traveling: You buy your 50% tickets online or at the station. You get on the train. If somebody asks for your ticket on the train – usually during the train trip – you show them your tickets and your passes.
I hope this helps,
Let me know if you have further questions.
Ildiko
One question relating to tickets on spot. Whether ticket prices change as per time. In most of European countries tickets for fast trains usually higher closer to travel date. Is that something happens in case of Swiss trains also
When we buy tickets on SBB app. How we pay. Usually we carry prepaid forex card while travelling in Europe
thanks
Hi Schroffchetan,
The price of regular point-to-point tickets are fixed. However if you purchase them early online, you can get some really good deals (i.e. Supersaver tickets). http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/switzerland
If you’re buying tickets through the mobile app, you can select your payment method when you set it up (usually credit or debit card).
I hope this answers your questions.
Regards,
Anna
Thank you Ildiko! You’ve answered all my questions very clearly, I appreciate it. I am thinking since this is still so new to us we will plan to purchase the half fare card prior to arriving in Switzerland, but we will hold off on purchasing actual tickets until we get to our destination. For instance, getting from Zurich airport to Zurich, or from Zurich to Lucerne seems fairly straight forward enough, but if we are planning to purchase a boat ride from Lucerne then cogwheel up to Mt Rigi, I am hoping our hotel can help guide us with that in terms of specific tickets and locations. Or should we go to the tourist office when we arrive to get that information? I am just wondering how far in advance we need to plan out our trip and buy our tickets. I am worried if we buy our tickets in advance we may be buying the wrong ones or not understand exactly how the system works.
Hi seru,
No worries. You can buy your tickets in advance or just before your trip. You can purchase train tickets online through the website or the mobile app, from a ticket machine or the ticket counter at any train station. For cable cars and mountain railways, you can buy the tickets at the counter. Just present your Swiss Half Fare Card to get discounted tickets.
For practical information about buying train tickets: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/howtotravel (scroll down to the section: Getting a ticket). Hope this helps!
Regards,
Anna
The vast majority of lines comprising the Swiss Travel System work in the same way, including Lake boats on the large Swiss lakes, and some of the main mountain lines. In the case of the Luzern area, travelling from Luzern to the Rigi via the lake boat to Vitznau and the Rigi Bahn rack railway is exactly the same as travelling on the main line train from Zurich to Luzern, ie you can turn up, buy a ticket on the spot, and go. On Luzern lake boats there is a ticket booth on the boat so you can get on the boat and buy a ticket even after the boat has left the quay.
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