Do Swiss Travel Passes go on sale?

Is there any time of the year when the swiss travel pass is on sale? I will only be there for 3 days next March and have bought the global eurail pass for 2 consecutive months (as am travelling all over by train) which was very expensive, so hoping I could get the pass cheaper if I wait?

Hi Tazkat28, welcome to MySwissAlps.com!

There is no fixed date or season for pass sales. The options also depend on where you live as some retailers may offer a promotion while others do not. The best you can do is keep an eye on the Swiss Travel Pass promotion section and this forum. Promotions will be announced there. As you can see there is a promotion available for your country Australia right now, but not one you'll benefit from if you only stay 3 days.

By the way, as you have a Eurail Global Pass there is no point in buying a Swiss Travel Pass too as it covers everything the Eurail Global Pass covers (so you'll pay double for that), and more. A Swiss Half Fare Card is cheaper and might be useful if you plan to go anywhere not covered by the Eurail pass.

Thank you so much for your reply- it was much more helpful than I could work out from rail Europe! Could you tell me please if it is worth getting the swiss half fare card get a discount for a trip to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise? I am also planning Chateau de chilllon, paragliding in Interlaken, taking the boat to St Beatus caves (I think there is a discount with the global pass for this?), seeing the chocolate show at the Grand Hotel Schuh, and going to La Maison du Gruyere but wasn't sure if any of those would have a discount with the swiss pass, if not and the global pass will cover my travel, I will be a very happy girl!

Oh wow, I didn't know Swiss Passes can sometimes be discounted. Good thing I saw this forum. Thanks kaztak28 for asking!

Hi Tazkat28,

Good to hear Arno's information has been helpful. The validity section of the Eurail Global Pass page helps you to find out what's covered and what's not: myswissalps.com/eurail globalpass/validity. You can compare it to the Swiss Half Fare Card validity information: myswissalps.com/swissh alffarecard/validity.

Museums such as the Chateau de Chillon and La Maison du Gruyère aren't covered by the Swiss Half Fare Card. The only advantages to the Swiss Half Fare Card I see right now are a somewhat cheaper trip to Zermatt and discounts to Klein Matterhorn. This probably won't justify getting the Swiss Half Fare Card, but doing a detailed calculation based on a list of each and every trip you intend to make, as explained at myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass, will get you the decisive answer.