4 day Travel Pass Vs Half Price Card

Dear Moderator

I am a first time traveller to Swiss Alps and I am planning a trip to Italy & Switzerland from June 12-23. I will travel from Milan to Interlaken on 18th June and taking the flight back home on 23rd June. I had intended to take the Swiss travel pass but I am rather confused .Considering 18th June to be my activation day of the pass, I will still be left with June 22 and 23 morning (my flight is on 23rd 1200 hrs from Zurich). I intend to spend 18-21 in Interlaken and 21st onward in Lucrene.

Any tips on how best to cover the remaining 1 day(June 22) and travel from Lucrene to Zurich on 23rd June ? We are 2 adults + 1 child (11 yrs)

Appreciate any guidance on this.

Hi BRusty,

Thanks for joining us! One of the options is to get a 4-day Swiss Travel Pass, and rely on the free Visitors Card that will be provided to you by hotels in Lucerne during the last two days. Please see here for more information and links. You also need train tickets from Lucerne to Zurich.

Swiss Travel Pass information can be found through myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass. Of course you can pick an 8-day pass as well, or a Swiss Half Fare Card, it all depends on what you plan to do. You can list that and do the math as explained here.

Thanks Arno. I think the half fare card is a better choice for us. Since we travel from Milan to Interlaken do you recommend booking reservations in advance on sbb? I was wondering where to buy the Junior Card as we will presumably take a regional train from Milan to Domoddoorro (Can't spell properly but I think u get the idea) and then onward to Spiez?

Request one more suggestion from you - Do you think I should buy the Jungf tickets in advance considering the peak season around June 19? They are an expensive lot. If I buy s return ticket from Interlaken to Jungf,Can I choose my onward time journey and spending some time at Grindelwald before heading to Jungf (and at Lauterb on return journey) ?

Hi BRusty,

Regional trains from Milan to Domodossola don't require seat reservations.

If you buy Swiss Half Fare Cards, you don't need Junior Travelcards. The free Swiss Family Card, that you can obtain at Swiss railway stations when showing your Swiss Half Fare Card, is sufficient. It's explained ​in the Swiss Half Fare Card price section. For you, it makes sense to get out in Brig to get your Swiss Family Card. In that case you need additional discounted tickets for your children for the leg Domodossola-Brig, as you don't have your Swiss Family Card during this part of the route yet.

Tickets to the Jungfraujoch can be purchased in advance. ​Such a ticket will be valid all day (assuming you don't make a seat reservation, which is for a specific train only), so it's no problem to get out during your journey and explore Grindelwald. I don't expect it to be necessary for June though. And buying your tickets on the spot has an important advantage: you can first make sure the weather is fine.

Thanks a ton Annika. One more question to help me put my plans in order. Can I get the half price card online in India and print it out to use if somebody checks it on the leg to Brig ? I am wondering about the same about the family pass too. By the way I was not planning to buy half fare card for my 11 year old daughter as so thought she can travel free if both parents own a half fare card . Am I right ?

Hi BRusty,

Yes, you can get it online. Please click the first link in Annika's post. You only need cards for the adults. Once you obtained the Swiss Family Card in Brig, your daughter travels along for free everywhere.

If you prefer to print it at home you need to order through www.swissrailways.com. In that case they can also provide you with the Swiss Family Card, so you don't need to get one in Brig. This is a bit more expensive than the other options listed on the page, but more convenient.

Thank you so much for all the advice.Since travel from Milano centrale to Domodossola is technically an Italy travel,can my child travel free on that leg ? In that case should I first book a regional ticket for three of us only till Domodossola and then a new ticket for only two adults from Domodossola onwards to Interlaken ? Sorry for so many questions but I am somewhat lost.I remember reading that regional tickets in Itatly cannot be booked beforehand but not sure why sbb keeps showing them to me!

Hi BRusty,

If you print the Swiss Half Fare Card and Swiss Family Card at home, then indeed you only need two tickets for the adults for the leg from Domodossola to Interlaken.

As for the Italian leg up to Domodossola: as far as I know children of 11 years old travel for free in most trains, but I'm no expert on Italian trains. The SBB site should be able to offer you the right ticket, based on the child's age and traveling time. If you travel on a train that requires seat reservations, you will need them for all travelers, children included, but the site should take care of that as well.