[Kati]

11 January 2025 at 4:09:55 #2277888

Hello all! I’ve read so much helpful information here and I’m hoping you can help me too!
I’m planning to travel to Switzerland in April with my husband we will be in Zermatt for a few days and from there plan to take the Glacier express to Chur. I know I have to make the seat reservations 93 days in advance and can purchase the tickets at a later time. I also know that both my husband and myself each need our own half fare card to get discounts on train fares. My question is can I make the reservations for both of us under one purchase and then is there a way for each of us to purchase our own train ticket at a later time to get a discount on each ticket? Or do we each have to reserve our own seat to then be able to apply the half fare discount to each ticket?

second question: I have heard of a saver day pass and how it allows you on trains unlimited times for a day. What benefit is there to also getting a saver day pass for the day we will take the glacier express? Is there some type of extra discount besides being able to board multiples trains that day?

any help will be greatly appreciated thank you!

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 13 • 11 January 2025 at 10:39:27 #2279906

Dear Kati,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

Yes, it is possible to reserve the Glacier Express seats for 2 person. You can purchase the tickets at a later date. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, there is not need to purchase additional ticket as the Swiss Travel Pass is valid on the Glacier Express. If you have a Swiss Half Fare Card, you purchase a Saver Day Pass at a discounted price.

You can find further information on booking seats and purchasing tickets for the Glacier Express train here: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-express/

Also, you can find useful tips from this post: https://www.myswissalps.com/blog/glacier-express-reservations/

Regards,

Anna

[Kati]

Reply 2 of 13 • 11 January 2025 at 13:38:35 #2280105

Hi Anna!

Thanks so much for your reply!

I am still a bit confused on the saver day pass. If I purchase a saver day pass for the day that I will take the glacier express and I also have my half fare card, will I need to purchase an additional ticket for the glacier express or will those 2 passes, the half fare and saver day cover the ticket?

Also can I purchase both the half fare and saver day pass since now, even though the trip will be in April?

and last question (sorry so many questions) is there a specific site to buy those travel cards? Like the SBB site or are there other sites ?

thank you so much for your help! 🙂

[Arno]

Reply 3 of 13 • 11 January 2025 at 15:21:50 #2280107

Hi Kati,

The Swiss Half Fare Card and Saver Day Pass are sufficient. The Saver Day Pass replaces a “normal” ticket. That’s option 1.

Option 2 is the Swiss Travel Pass. Both options require additional seat reservations, they are always separate.

All of the above can already be purchased from many different websites. Except for the reservations if you travel later in April, in that case you need to wait a bit.

The links below give you all the details, including the websites to buy from:

• https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/
• https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/
• https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/

[Kati]

Reply 4 of 13 • 11 January 2025 at 22:19:21 #2280117

Thanks so much for the helpful information! I think I will go with the option of purchasing the half fare card and the saver day pass for the day I will take the glacier express which will be in mid April.

so to confirm I can purchase the half fare card online now? And just set the start date for April? Once I purchase the half fare card, I can then also purchase the saver day pass since now as well?

thanks again!!!

[DebH]

Reply 5 of 13 • 12 January 2025 at 9:13:11 #2280122

You can purchase the Saver Day Pass at the Half Fare Price before you actually buy the Half Fare Card.

This is what we did, as we used the Saver Day Pass for our Glacier Express Trip last October.  The Saver Day Passes can be bought six months in advance and are at their cheapest then.  They go up over time and eventually sell out and you won’t be able to buy one.

We purchased our seat reservations eleven months out, as we travelled in Excellence Class.  Six months to the day before, so early April 2024, we bought the Saver Day Passes and paid the half fare rate.

About a week before we left we bought the Half Fare Cards, leaving us enough time to make sure all went well and we could add them to our Apple wallets and so on.

It all worked to perfection.

Have a wonderful trip, but buy those Saver Day Passes asap.

[User]

Reply 6 of 13 • 12 January 2025 at 9:32:38 #2280123

Hi Kati,

That’s right, purchasing the Saver Day Passes, the earlier the better. You can still apply your Swiss Half Fare Card discount now, just make sure you have your Swiss Half Fare Card purchased by the time you take your trip.

Reliable online purchase options for the Saver Day Pass can be found in the link that Arno provided earlier.

Kind regards,

Yolanda

[Kati]

Reply 7 of 13 • 12 January 2025 at 19:54:57 #2280461

Thank you all so much! This has been a wealth of amazing information and gave me more clarity.

As a final questions, on the day I will take the glacier express i can just show my seat reservation and my saver day pass to the conductor or to whoever checks the tickets right? I don’t need to go to a specific counter or something before bording?

Thanks so much!!! 🙂

[User]

Reply 8 of 13 • 12 January 2025 at 20:33:56 #2280463

Hi Kati,

Good question.

So, on your day of travel. Should a ticket inspector ask, yes, you would need to present your seat reservation, Saver Day Pass and you could also be asked for a form of identification.  (There is no need to visit a counter).

Kind regards,

Yolanda

 

[Kati]

Reply 9 of 13 • 13 January 2025 at 0:42:56 #2280470

Perfect! Thank you so much! 🙂

[Kati]

Reply 10 of 13 • 13 January 2025 at 15:32:13 #2284348

Hello, good afternoon, Looking to get clarity on one more question lol 🙂 So I made my 2 seat reservations on the glacier express yesterday. Everything went well. I inputted the information for each seat for myself and for my husband. After paying they emailed me the receipt confirming the seat reservations. I made the seat reservations directly with the Glacier Express website. However, on the receipt it only shows my name, it does show 2 seat reservations but only my name. I want to make sure this will not be a problem on the day of travel. The 2 seat reservations are clearly stated on the receipt, but my husband’s name does not appear. I want to know if anyone has had experience with making more than 1 reservation with the glacier express and if there is no issue on the day of travel?

 

Thanks again so much for all of the help!

[Arno]

Reply 11 of 13 • 13 January 2025 at 15:40:42 #2284349

Hi Kati,

That sounds all good to me! It’s a document with two seat numbers, the name of the person who made the reservation, and a bar code.

Enjoy the ride!

[Kati]

Reply 12 of 13 • 13 January 2025 at 15:42:38 #2284350

Sounds great, thank you!!!

[DebH]

Reply 13 of 13 • 14 January 2025 at 9:18:28 #2286913

Kati, that is exactly what I got when I booked our reservations for my husband and myself last year.

My name only but two reservations.

It wasn’t a problem in any way when we boarded the train.