MySwissAlps.com includes Arno
Forum replies
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Hi PoppyWild,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! I’d go for the Swiss Half Fare Card, I’m pretty sure that would be the cheaper option in your case. Indeed, you can do the exact math to compare in detail here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/compare/
Here’s the official shop for the Swiss Half Fare Card: https://www.myswissalps.com/link/stc-swiss-half-fare-card/
By the way, if you’re going to Jungfraujoch, I’d recommend going up and down via two different routes. There are 3 routes in total, so that way you’ll see most of the scenery. Parking in Interlaken or Matten, or simply taking the train from Brienz, would work best. You’ll find all details here: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/jungfraujoch/
Hi Gary,
Given the fact that you already have the Swiss Half Fare Card, I would additionally buy the Berner Oberland Pass, not the Jungfrau Travel Pass or any other passes. My reasoning:
- It covers a much wider area than the Jungfrau Travel Pass, allowing you to change your plans if needed (e.g. because of the weather). All (coverage) details can be found here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/
- Your trip from Lucerne to Wengen/Mürren is included.
- Your trip from Wengen/Mürren to Zermatt is included until Brig, provided that you travel via the scenic Lötschberg route (see the downloadable map here: https://www.myswissalps.com/details/berner-oberland-pass-validity/).
You can buy the pass from the official shop through this link: https://www.myswissalps.com/link/stc-berner-oberland-pass/. Select the Swiss Half Fare Card in the Discount dropdown to get the discounted pass price.
Hi Lyndabyrd,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Indeed, you’ll get a discount if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card at the time of travel. But I haven’t found that option online either, so you’d best purchase the regional pass from a staffed station when in Switzerland.
The Swiss Half Fare Card is best purchased from the official shop here: https://www.myswissalps.com/link/stc-home/
You’ll find further pass details here:
Hi Cathby,
The fares you’ve listed look like the “from-prices” that are displayed by default in the Swiss timetable. But those are meant for Swiss residents, most of whom have a subscription for 50% discounted tickets. Without a rail pass, you’ll pay at least double these amounts. At least, because from-prices may include Supersaver-tickets which are even more than 50% off but time-restricted and not refundable.
This means you’ll be saving significantly more with a rail pass than you thought. Please see “How to find realistic prices in the timetable” at https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/train/timetable/
Some examples: a 2nd class single journey Punt Muragl-Lucerne costs CHF 84 per person. A single trip Lucerne-Zurich Airport costs CHF 31.
I assume you’ll be needing some kind of public transport on most days, and not only during your town-to-town transfers.Without knowing the exact details of your itinerary, I suggest looking into the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass. Its flexibility and ease of use are great: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/.
Or at least consider the Swiss Half Fare Card: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/. It nearly always saves money, although I find it less convenient as everyone has to buy tickets for each trip.
If you want to run exact calculations, you can use your guide and downloads at https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/compare/
Hi Bita,
That’s a wonderful east-to-west plan! Personally, I would consider fewer hotel changes, and stay in Montreux longer instead of the single nights in Rossinière and Geneva. Both towns are only an hour from Montreux.
Your question about the ticket to Maienfeld was already answered here: https://www.myswissalps.com/community/thread/15-day-pass/#post-2797818
You asked which travel pass or ticket is most convenient, but also said you will be using the Swiss Half Fare Card. If you are still deciding: the most convenient option is the Swiss Travel Pass, as that includes a lot of transportation for free so you can hop on and off without buying tickets each time. A spontaneous extra free trip, e.g. to the viewing point Les Plèiades near Montreux, is easy that way. You don’t need both; please find all details here to choose:
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/
- The official shop for either: https://www.myswissalps.com/link/stc-home/
The bus stop you need for Heidiland is called “Maienfeld, Heididorf”. That’s the destination to fill out in the timetable: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/train/timetable/. The bus stops right at the entrance.
in reply to: Unable to link my Swiss Travel Pass to the SBB app
Hi Bita,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Once you’re logged into the website, please go to the main forum page https://www.myswissalps.com/community/forum/questions/ and click the button “Post a new thread” at the top.
Your ticket will be valid for the entire day, and you can get off and back on the train wherever and whenever you want. Have fun!
No, I have never heard of an app or website for Switzerland that allows you to exclude stops. I would like that, but I use the workaround of multiple via-stops.
My guess is that few people apart from us want this, because the functionality is hidden in the software of the travel planner somewhere: if a route is closed for maintenance, it will automatically suggest detours.
Didn’t the multiple via-stops work for you PiperClassique? It works for me; please see attached. But perhaps I misunderstood what you’re looking for.
Attachments:
Indeed, the timetable can get you some pretty weird options 🙂 I use Anna’s method if I have planned stops en route. If I don’t want stops but just force a particular route, I fill out multiple via-stops, and it will usually do pretty well. There is a maximum though, but for most of my trips I was able to fill out sufficient via-stops to do the trick.
Hi Mustard,
Yes, you can buy Swiss Half Fare Cards for everyone. Just go to the official shop: https://www.myswissalps.com/link/stc-swiss-half-fare-card/
Fill out everyone’s names (as on their passports), country of residence, and birthdates, and that’s all you need.
Hi Lambie,
Yes, Annika has been in touch with you directly and is looking forward to supporting you personally as your travel approaches.
Hi Tom,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Perhaps it helps knowing that seat reservations can still be cancelled until the day before travel, and you can rebook them to a different time until 45 minutes before travel. So you can still adapt to the weather somewhat within your available time.
This, and more details about Jungfraujoch, can all be found here: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/jungfraujoch/
You’d best not drive for your Jungfraujoch trip, but take the train straight from Interlaken so you can do the round trip via Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. If you park in one of these towns, you’ll only see one route.
Enjoy your trip!
in reply to: How to buy Jungfrau Travel Passes for a group?
Hi Laura S,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! The price (in Swiss francs) of the Jungfrau Travel Pass is the same online and at the station. Buying online is best, because you’ll get digital (PDF) versions, meaning you can have as many copies as needed and can never lose them. You would receive all 19 passes, and can forward each one to the owner so they can keep it on their phone (or optionally print it).
If you were to purchase at the station, you would need to bring all 19 passports. It would take quite a while to get it all sorted out. And you’ll end up with paper passes, which cannot be replaced when lost.
The best online option is the tourist webshop of the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) here: https://www.swissrailways.com/buy-jungfrau-travel-pass
If you want, you can select a different currency than Swiss francs in the upper right corner of the webshop, e.g. if that prevents banking fees for you.
You don’t need reservations for the regular trains, but for popular mountain trips, I’d recommend it (though it depends on the season too). Sometimes it’s even required, like for Jungfraujoch: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/jungfraujoch/
Hi Cod_ninja,
On the SBB site, when you proceed as if you were purchasing the ticket, you’ll reach the screen where you can select the class of travel and single vs. return journey. That’s where the ticket conditions are displayed too.
If that doesn’t provide enough information, you can also buy from one of the other ticket platforms listed on this page: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/italy-switzerland/. They are often a bit easier to navigate, and with clear conditions. I just saw a ticket with the condition “80% refundable before departure of the train. No refund afterwards.”, for example.
Hi Gramcookie,
I see what you mean. But yes, online is definitely best, because you’ll then have as many hard copies as you want, and as many digital copies as you want. Buying at a station gets you one single hard copy, so that’s a problem if it gets stolen, lost, or damaged.
Of course, it’s different if your printer is unavailable. Personally, I’d rather have multiple digital copies than one hard copy, but you should do what feels best to you.
For me, the easiest way is:
- On my laptop (not phone), I browse to the SBB tourist webshop (not their domestic website).
- I wait until their e-mail arrives in my inbox (almost immediately).
- The attached PDF files are the passes. I will then send those files to my printer and save copies on my laptop. I open the same e-mail on my phone and save the PDF files there too. And I forward them to others I’m traveling with, so we all have each other’s copies. They can also print theirs if they want.
If you prefer to order from your phone, that’s fine too. You can forward the e-mail you received on your phone to an e-mail address you can access from your computer, and you can forward the e-mail to the others who travel with you.
Further information is here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/
Hi Wop,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Lauterbrunnen is not part of that route, but you can include it as a side trip from Interlaken if you have time.
1. No problem, as long as you have train tickets for both days, or a Swiss Travel Pass.
2. Which pass is best depends on your total number of trips, including excursions. With a Swiss Travel Pass, the Swiss portion of the Rome to Zermatt trip would be included, as well as discounts on cable car rides in Zermatt. You’ll find more details here:
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/compare/
- https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/italy-switzerland/
Zurich to London is easily done by train, by the way. Only one change in Paris, which takes time, but you’ll travel city center to city center with no need to get to and from airports. The Swiss portion of this trip would also be included in the Swiss Travel Pass.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/france-switzerland/
If there’s no need to visit Zurich you could even bypass it and take a train straight from Lucerne to Basel, then the high-speed train to Paris, and the next one to London.
P.S. I noticed you unsubscribed from all our e-mails. I’m not sure if that’s intended, but that also means you won’t be notified anymore when you receive a reply here in the forum.
Hi Frick,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Your GoldenPass train reservation shows coach and seat numbers, so that’s where you’re expected to sit. However, if there are unreserved seats, you can always move around.
More information is available here: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/goldenpass/
The Swiss Half Fare Card is best purchased online, because then you get the digital version. It can be backed up as many times as you like. If you buy at a train station, it will take more time, and you’ll get the paper version, which can’t be replaced if lost.
More information and links to purchase are here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/
The same applies for point to point tickets, but you’ll only need them for a 1-hour trip, so a paper ticket would be fine too.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/regular-ticket/
Enjoy Switzerland!
Hi Kirsten,
Correct, on https://www.myswissalps.com/planning/practical/mobile-internet/, the O2 eSIM is one of the recommended options that I tested thoroughly, both in Switzerland and Germany. I recently used it again. It works great, especially in Switzerland because it has one of the best networks in Europe. There’s internet even in most tunnels.
But there’s also a pure Swiss eSIM mentioned on that page. I used that one last month, and it also works flawlessly. It includes unlimited data, so if you are online a lot, that’s even better than the O2 eSIM. You’ll find more details on wifio.travel. Don’t forget the voucher code MSA10 for a 10% discount.
I don’t have much experience with Airalo. The one time I tried, in Switzerland, it did not connect. I know they are good in general, so my one try might not mean much. Their support staff gave me a credit. I used the other two brands more often, and they never failed.
Note that regardless of which eSIM, even in Switzerland, there are some small remote areas where coverage is limited. But that’s the exception.
Wishing you a wonderful 10 days in Switzerland! The itinerary you created with Annika is packed with fantastic places to stay and things to do.
Hi Gramcookie,
You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass in Davos during the opening hours of the staffed desk. However, you will only get a paper pass and not via e-mail. If you lose or damage it, there won’t be a replacement. Also, you should bring all your passports to the station to be able to buy them there.
Instead, I recommend buying online from the tourist webshop of the SBB: http://www.swissrailways.com. They’ll send the passes by e-mail within a few minutes, and you can each keep a copy on your phone. Printing is optional and not needed. You can make as many digital copies as you want.
Hi Mjsc68mjnk,
You’re referring to the personal travel plan you received as part of our Plan + Package service, right? The link in the text you quoted gets you to the right page to purchase priority boarding only. Please scroll to the button below the text “If you already have a ticket for the Gornergrat Bahn, you can also purchase Priority Boarding separately”.
I understand it’s confusing because when you click the button, priority boarding is called a “ticket”. But the amount says it all: CHF 7 per person. That’s exactly what priority boarding costs. If you were purchasing a Gornergat ticket along with your priority boarding, the amount would be much higher.
By the way, the Gornergrat ticket shop seems to have a glitch at the moment. You’d best try again in a few days.
Does this help you out?
