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I have several questions regarding the Saver Day Pass(SDP). I will have the Swiss Half Fare Card (HFC) and I have several days of travel.
June 20th – Geneva to Lauterbrunnen – It appears that I wouldn’t really save any money with the SDP over just buying the regular ticket (5 CHF cheaper to just buy point to point ticket using my half fare card) but… wouldn’t the SDP give me more flexibility if I miss a connection if I have that? The last question on this journey, is there any reason to get a 1st class SDP?
June 24th – Lauterbrunnen to Zermatt – After a thread with some experts it appears that buying a SDP would save me a bit of money on this journey. Again, would there be any need at all to purchase a 1st class SDP? It doesn’t look like it to me.
June 26th – Zermatt to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express. I’m really confused on seat reservation vs ticket in terms on HOW to just get your seats first (they say they release 93 days in advance but the ticket is not released then. I’ve been playing on the website and not quite sure how I JUST buy my seats and not the ticket. After I buy my first class seat reservation with my HFC, it appears that it would be cheapest to have a first class SDP for this date. Am I thinking correctly?
June 28th – St. Moritz to Tirano on the Bernina Express. I figured out how to just get the seats with my HFC and I bought them the day they dropped (and still missed the first train out of St. Moritz with the First Class, single 2 seats on the side!). From my math and understanding, it appears that getting a 1st Class SDP is the way to go for this date as well. Do I have this right?
So… For these movements that I have (all set in stone and hotels reserved) the best deal for me is the Swiss Half Fare Card, and 4 difference Saver Day Passes. I have alarms set in my phone to get each SDP on the day they are released.
Thank all you experts SO much. I really don’t know how anyone does this without you all.
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Answers in BOLD type:
** Please note first that SDP prices are based on an algorithm and change day to day, so book as far ahead as you can as prices rise nearer the date
June 20th – Geneva to Lauterbrunnen – It appears that I wouldn’t really save any money with the SDP over just buying the regular ticket (5 CHF cheaper to just buy point to point ticket using my half fare card) but… wouldn’t the SDP give me more flexibility if I miss a connection if I have that? The last question on this journey, is there any reason to get a 1st class SDP?
If you buy a regular point to point ticket it is valid on any train throughout the day, so you could buy a ticket at 11.30 in Genève, have lunch then depart Genève on any train be it the 12.45 departure, the 13.00 departure or a 14.15 departure (for example – not real times). 1st class gives you more space and comfort.
June 24th – Lauterbrunnen to Zermatt – After a thread with some experts it appears that buying a SDP would save me a bit of money on this journey. Again, would there be any need at all to purchase a 1st class SDP? It doesn’t look like it to me.
as above. If you are going via the Loteschberg mountain route, I can recommend the 1st class on the new trains used on that line – I sampled it in December and was very impressed.
June 26th – Zermatt to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express. I’m really confused on seat reservation vs ticket in terms on HOW to just get your seats first (they say they release 93 days in advance but the ticket is not released then. I’ve been playing on the website and not quite sure how I JUST buy my seats and not the ticket. After I buy my first class seat reservation with my HFC, it appears that it would be cheapest to have a first class SDP for this date. Am I thinking correctly?
You can always get a seat reservation only on special trains like Glacier Express, as that is how the Swiss system works. So you must persevere through the various stages of obtaining a reservation for the Glacier Express. The ‘buy a reservation only’ option (with Glacier Express and many other online train seat booking systems) comes up as almost the last stage of the process before you actually pay
June 28th – St. Moritz to Tirano on the Bernina Express. I figured out how to just get the seats with my HFC and I bought them the day they dropped (and still missed the first train out of St. Moritz with the First Class, single 2 seats on the side!). From my math and understanding, it appears that getting a 1st Class SDP is the way to go for this date as well. Do I have this right?
As above, get the SDP as soon as you can
Thank you so much!
1st class gives you more space and comfort.
Do all trains have 1st and 2nd class on this journey?
If you are going via the Loteschberg mountain route, I can recommend the 1st class on the new trains used on that line – I sampled it in December and was very impressed.
How do I know if it’s the Loteschberg mountain route?
The ‘buy a reservation only’ option (with Glacier Express and many other online train seat booking systems) comes up as almost the last stage of the process before you actually pay.
The confusing part to me, when I play with the booking site like I already have a seat, is that I don’t see where I can bypass the seat selection and just buy the train ticket. But as mentioned, wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to just buy a Saver Day Pass for the Glacier Express?
1) Genève – Lauterbrunnen all trains have some 1st class
2) Most people asking for advice on this forum want to go the scenic route over the old Loetschberg mountain route. That is the 100+ year old railway Spiez – Frutigen – Kandersteg – Goppenstein – Brig.
http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadmin/fap_pdf_fields/2023/330.pdf
Inter city trains now normally go via the fast Base tunnel route Spiez – Visp
3) that’s because you don’t need to do anything else except reserve the seat. You can buy the ticket later – even up to a few minutes before you board if you wanted to . All the train conductors need to see when they check tickets is that you have a valid railway ticket and a valid seat reservation for the train you are on.
Hi Sburbank35!
The Lötschberg mountain route is described in detail here: http://www.myswissalps.com/lotschberger/gettingthere. The blue timetable block explains what to enter in the timetable to make sure you’re getting connections on the mountain route. If you’re not familiar with the timetable yet, this practical guide may be of help: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable.
Seat reservations for the Glacier Express are totally separate from the ticket or pass you use. You don’t have to get both at the same time. As long as you’ve arranged for both when boarding the train, you’re fine. If you use the booking option listed at https://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/tickets, you’ll first have to select your travel stations and date and select seats. After that, a new screen will appear at which you can select discount options from a drop-down list under “Reduction”. The Saver Day Pass isn’t mentioned there, but that’s no problem. You can pick “Swiss Travel Pass” or “GA Travelcard”, because both passes offer the exact same benefits as the Saver Day Pass for the Glacier Express route (being: free traveling). This way you’ll end up paying for your seat reservation only.
Yes, in most cases the Saver Day Pass is cheaper than normal tickets for the Glacier Express route: https://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/tickets. You’ll have to buy your Saver Day Pass as early as possible for the best fare: https://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass/price. Don’t forget to choose a 50% discounted Saver Day Pass, as you’ll have a Swiss Half Fare Card. And make sure that the class of your Saver Day Passes matches the class you make your Glacier Express seat reservations for.
Arno… thank you so much for that information. Very helpful to know how to just pay for the seat on the Glacier Express! I have alarms set for all my Saver Day Passes that I will need! From my research yesterday, it appears that there is only one day the SDP is cheaper… the day it comes out… then it’s more expensive the following day.
I’m not sure if I should create another thread for this so forgive me if I’m doing this wrong… I’ve been reading about the Top of Europe pass. Summer prices aren’t out yet, but if they are similar to 2022 (159 discounted for 3 days) it seems like this is another pass that I should buy with my HFC. Since we are planning to go to the Jungfraujoch and seems to also include the lifts/cable cars to Murren, Mannlichen, Klein Scheidegg and also a trip to Grindelwald First, all of which we plan to do from Lauterbrunnen.
Thank you all so much for your help. I have a lot of good notes on all of this from yesterday and today.
Hi Sburbank35,
You can calculate your pass option with the help of our calculation spreadsheet: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. The Top of Europe Pass can be a good solution, the other one I can recommend is the Jungfrau Travel Pass. You can read more about it here: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrautravelpass. A 25% discount applies to the pass price if you have a valid Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare Card at the time of traveling, see the details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrautravelpass/price.
Take care,
Ildiko
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