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Could you please guide me to how to use Swiss half fare card, it was confusing up there! Firstly ist available for all tourists from all countries? Where to buy it? And if i bought it should i buy any othrt tickets together with regular tickets? If i showed it to the counter will he/she give me discounted regular ticket or should i buy somthing else? Thanks in advance
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Hi Murtadha and welcome to MySwissAlps.com!
Have you already seen our page about the Swiss Half Fare Card? If not, you can visit it here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard. The Swiss Half Fare Card is available to everyone.
You can buy it here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/price. Make sure to select Your country of residence (in the grey box), so you can see where you can buy it.
Yes, if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card, you have to buy tickets, 50% discounted ones. At http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/howtouse you can read the details on how to use your Swiss Half Fare Card.
And make sure to check the ‘Where is it valid’ tab too.
In case you are not familiar with the Swiss Rail System and how train travel works in Switzerland, please check this one too: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/howtotravel.
I hope this helps,
Ildiko
Hi Ildiko,
your efforts are much appreciated so many many thanks and just for confirmation when i am on a train i should hold only half fare card and regular ticket which is half the price ,right? And i intend to buy tickets directly from counters which means they will tell me if it is not valid , right? And according to your information the half fare card bought from interlaken ost is it valid in lauterbrunnen, grindelwald, kandersteg, appenzel, schilthorn and jungfrau?
thanks in advance
Once you are in possession of a Swiss half fare card, just keep it in your ‘pocket’ (or nowadays on your smartphone as a QR code).
To buy a ticket ‘on the ground’ go to one of the standard Swiss transport ticket machine which are placed at all normal railway stations.
Here is a video film showing you how to use a ticket machine.
If you go to a manned ticket window, you just need to ask for a ‘halbtax’ fare.
Please note that although the card is known as the ‘half fare card’, away from the main line railways discounts are not always strictly ‘half’ ie exactly 50% ), but whatever the discount is you will always get it if you state that you are in possession of a Swiss half fare card.
Hi Murtadha,
You can buy your Swiss Half Fare Card online, so if you arrive to Switzerland, you can already start using it. You can get it here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/price. You do not have to wait to get in Interlaken, so you can save even more with the car as you already can use it to arrive to Interlaken.
Yes, you get a 50% discount for your transportation, Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald First, Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen, Kandersteg (Oeschinensee) included, if you are ever in doubt, please see the validity map.
Once you have the Swiss Half Fare Card, you can get the discounted tickets at the ticket counters at the train stations or from the ticket machine or using the SBB mobile app or you can buy them even online. Learn more: Where to buy your Swiss rail pass or ticket
If you are already on the train and the ticket controller arrives, you have to show him/her your discounted ticket + your Swiss Half Fare Card.
Let us know if you have further questions,
Ildiko
Hi Ildiko,
i am so sorry for annoying you guys alot but i have to so could please help with thus wuestion below
on SBB website subscription & tickets >buy online> Guests from abroad . There are two options swiss half fare card and swiss travel pass of 3,4,6,8&15 and with second option there are swiss travel pass flex so my question is Guest abroad includes me as i am from Iraq? Does This type of swiss travel pass provide free transportation in entire switzerland for all types of trips buy the way they say no need for log in to buy it ? Which one do you recommend ?
thanks in advance
1960man,
hello
thank you very much for your awnser .
If you are not resident in Switzerland, then you are from ‘abroad’ just like any other visitor from outside the country.
All the types of tourist pass are described here:
Hi Murtadha,
yes, you are not a resident of Switzerland, so you are “Guests from abroad”. You can read about these rail passes here:
– Swiss Travel Pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass
– Swiss Travel Pass Flex: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassflex
– Swiss Half Fare Card: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard
If you have a Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Travel Pass Flex, you can travel for free from city to city by train, bus or boat. It doesn’t matter how long you travel – just do not leave Switzerland. Also you get usually a 50% discount on the mountain transport price (like cable cars). See the validity map here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity.
It depends on your itinerary which rail pass is the best for you. At http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass you’ll find a calculation spreadsheet, that can help you to compare your options.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask if you have further questions,
Ildiko
Hi Murtadha!
I’m not sure from which website you’re trying to buy. The ones we recommend are listed here: https://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/price. If you prefer to buy from SBB, then I recommend their tourist webshop and not their domestic website (see http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/wheretobuy for explanation). The official SBB tourist webshop can be found here: https://shop.switzerlandtravelcentre.com/en/product/swissHalfFareCard .
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