Saver Day Pass and travelling via Kandersteg
A traveler is planning a trip from Basel to Zermatt and is seeking clarification on the validity of their Saver Day Pass tickets, as well as advice on whether to take the scenic route through Kandersteg, which involves more train changes. They want to know if the tickets are good for any departure time and if the alternate scenic route is worth the extra time.
- The Saver Day Pass allows unlimited travel within Switzerland for a day, so it can be used on any train, bus, or boat at any time on the purchased day.
- Consider the scenic route through Kandersteg if you have the time, as it offers beautiful views, although the direct route is not as unscenic as some believe.
- Buying the Saver Day Pass through the SBB mobile app stores it directly in the app, which is convenient for travel.
AI-generated summary-
On the SBB website I’m looking at tickets Basel-Zermatt. We have half-fare cards and are selecting the Saver Day Pass option which recognizes the discount for our half-fare cards. My question is, are the tickets just good for the departure time we select, or are they valid for any departure time that day, on the route we choose?
Second question: Direct routes for this trip evidently all go through the Lotschberg tunnel, which isn’t very scenic. Is the alternate route through Kandersteg (which is available on SBB) worth the extra time & train changes? I imagine it is much more scenic.
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On the SBB website I’m looking at tickets Basel-Zermatt. We have half-fare cards and are selecting the Saver Day Pass option which recognizes the discount for our half-fare cards. My question is, are the tickets just good for the departure time we select, or are they valid for any departure time that day, on the route we choose?
The Saver Day Pass – once purchased and valid for the day you elect to travel – acts as a ‘ride at will’ aka ‘rover’ ticket which is valid on the whole core Swiss Travel system network on any train, bus, tram, boat etc you choose – just walk on!
Second question: Direct routes for this trip evidently all go through the Lotschberg tunnel, which isn’t very scenic. Is the alternate route through Kandersteg (which is available on SBB) worth the extra time & train changes? I imagine it is much more scenic.
The route from Spiez to Brig is part of the world famous Bern – Lotschberg – Simplon Railway built in the early 20th century to link northern Europe to the ‘belle epoque’ destinations of northern Italy.
The old Lotschberg section runs from Spiez up the Kander valley to Kandersteg via Frutigen through the original Lotschberg tunnel then down the side of the Rhone valley from Goppenstein to Brig. The two key scenic sections are the ‘north ramp’ between Frutigen and Kandersteg, where the line does one spiral section, then the aforementioned run down the side of the Rhone valley into Brig. This is the line traversed by the hourly Regio Express Lotschberger train
HOWEVER, it is a myth that the ‘new’ base tunnel route is ‘not scenic’ . The fast north – south trains now run up the scenic Kander valley, enter the Lotschberg base tunnel at Frutigen and emerge at Visp. The tunnel transit is fast, so you are not in the tunnel for long. For the rest of the journey you still see nice mountain, river and farming landscape views. This route gives direct access to the railway to Zermatt at Visp station where there is a easy hop between platforms to the MGB narrow gauge to Zermatt
Thank you 1960man! I guess I really spaced out about what the Saver Day Pass gets you! Got it!
Now, as for the rail route to Zermatt, I still don’t know what to do – have to do a little more research. We have all day for the trip, and don’t mind the extra train switches – would love to see a youtube video to preview both routes.
Again, thanks!
If you are not pressed for time, you will certainly want to do the old mountain route. For most of my life I had no choice but to enjoy the ride on that line! Nowadays the base tunnel route helps to speed things up under certain circumstances (eg it allowed me to take a day trip from Visp to the very north of Switzerland in 2019) but if you have all day it’s the nicest way to go.
Brig is often ignored as a tourist destination but in fact has a nice old town and castle. You might feel like a stopover there:
Brig Simplon Tourismus – Stockalperschloss (brig-simplon.ch)
Yes, it sure looks like the Kandersteg route is what we want.
So on the SBB website I found the following prices (see attached pictures):
Pt-to-pt for two with half-fare cards on June 24: CHF212
Selecting the “Saver Day Pass” option for that route: CHF 148
Obviously the Saver Day Pass option is the best. I also just searched the SBB website to just buy a Saver Day Pass for that day (ie, without specifying a route) and found the same price CHF 148. I think I finally convinced myself that’s the deal.
Now, my question is, if I buy the Saver Day Pass in advance like this, how will I receive the Pass? Will they email a pdf to me? I have the SBB mobile app on my iPhone – is it better to buy it through that (maybe it’ll just be installed on the phone app)?
Note, this is just a trial – our real trip will be on July 1, but that’s further than 60 days out.
Hi stevemacdonal,
If you purchase the Saver Day Pass through the SBB mobile app, it will be stored in the app under Tickets & Passes.
Regards,
Anna
Thanks Anna. And if I buy them online at the SBB website?
Last time I bought one it was a ‘print at home’ ticket. Since then I travelled by car as I had to support an elderly relative, and before that I couldn’t get into CH near Geneva due to covid
You are causing yourself confusion by trying to specify a route and getting the Saver Day Pass price.
A Saver Day pass gives unlimited travel anywhere in Switzerland for a day – so simply don’t specify a route, just book a Saver Day pass for the relevant day on line.
That will give you the flexibility to go anywhere on the day – you could even go Basel – Neuchatel – Lausanne – Martigny – Visp – Zermatt
Hi stevemcdonal,
you can buy your Saver Day Pass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass/price.
Ildiko
To 1960man: Thanks, and I’m sorry for the confusion. In my last post with the attached photos I was simply trying to show that whether I buy the Saver Day Pass on the SBB website (http://www.sbb.ch/en/buying/pages/offerte/offertenProduktbasiert.xhtml) or when you go to buy tickets for a particular route but select the “Saver Day Pass” option, the price is the same, and it states under the option, that the Saver Day Pass is valid for all travel (not just the selected route) that day. Anyway, enough of that. I’m planning to buy three Saver Day Passes
And thanks to Ildiko for the HappyRail link – I see prices are just a bit cheaper there than on the SBB site, and explicitly says that passes will be emailed within 30 minutes! Great!
Hi stevemcdonal,
If you are ever in doubt, you can check the validity map of the Saver Day Pass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass/validity. Make sure to download the map AND browse the list on this page.
Take care,
Ildiko
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