[amrick]

14 June 2022 at 23:21:04 #827502

Thank you so much for helping me here. My husband and I are spending our (postponed) honeymoon in September! We are so excited. I have a few questions that I’d like clarification on:

• We plan to ride the Glacier Express Excellence class while there. I just reserved 2 seats online but the website also says, “tickets are not available until 2 months before your date.”
• We plan to buy the Swiss Travel Pass because we are there for 14 days. If we buy this pass, do we still need to buy two separate tickets for Glacier Express or is Glacier Express included in the Swiss Travel Pass? I assume from this site that Glacier Express IS indeed included in Swiss Travel Pass (please confirm or correct me).
  • Because we are buying Excellence class, we need to either get the first class Swiss Travel Pass OR get the second class Swiss Travel Pass and pay the difference to upgrade to Excellence class?
• Do I need to get the Swiss Travel Pass AND the Swiss half off fare card too or can I just get the Swiss Travel Pass and that’s fine?
• Just to confirm, no need to buy tickets for any regular rail if I have the Swiss Travel Pass. I can just check the timetable and we just board? Exceptions: Glacier Express and Bernina Express and all those other tourist type trains
• Is hard to lug around luggage around the train?

Thank you so much for all your insight and expertise! I truly appreciate being able to ask you all these inane questions.

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[Removed user]

15 June 2022 at 9:13:27 #943237

Hi Amrick and welcome to MySwissAlps.com!

A honeymoon in Switzerland sounds amazing! 🙂 Congrats on your wedding!

For the Glacier Express, you need to have the ticket and the seat reservation. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, that is valid also on the Glacier Express, so you do not need to buy the ticket, just the seat reservation. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass you do not need any other passes (like the Swiss Half Fare Card) for that route. You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/price. You can reserve your seats for the Glacier Express here: http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/tickets.

Reservations for Excellence Class cost CHF 420 per person and single journey, regardless of the travelled distance and season. You also need a 1st class ticket or pass. If you have a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass you need to upgrade it for that route. You can do that at any train station. Find more information at http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/2nd1stclass. As far as I know, upgrades usually cost half of the price difference between 1st and 2nd class.

Make sure to check the validity map of the Swiss Travel Pass at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity. If the route is not free with your Swiss Travel Pass, you should buy an additional ticket. This is true for example for mountain transport. From city to city you can travel for free with your Swiss Travel Pass. Seat reservation is usually not needed (usually just in case of panoramic trains).

I am sure you can manage to take your luggage on the train. Check this one for more detail: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/luggage.

I hope this helps,

ILdiko

[amrick]

16 June 2022 at 4:55:47 #943238

Perfect. Thank you!!

Do you recommend getting the half-off fare card too while we are there?

I ask because we will be traveling around Switzerland but also doing cable cars and other touristy-type things. We will be staying in Lucerne, Grindelwald (plan to stay there a few days to visit Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen) and do some day hikes as well as via ferret, and then moving not to Zermatt to do the matterhorn and other day hikes, and then taking Glacier Express to St. Moritz before heading to Zurich and home.

Off topic question but for activities like cable cars and boat rides, I keep seeing the ability to purchase tickets online but if the Swiss Travel Pass or Half-fare card gives you discounts, wouldn’t it make more sense to buy those tickets in-person at the ticket office instead of pre-buying online?

Example: I keep getting folks to tell me to purchase the Golden Round Trip but wouldn’t I get a discount if I bought while there instead of online? Plus I’d have to stand in line to exchange the voucher for a ticket which defeats the purpose of buying online. http://www.getyourguide.com/lucerne-l867/golden-round-trip-from-lucerne-to-mount-pilatus-t94602/

Again, your work here is so appreciated!

[Removed user]

16 June 2022 at 15:17:25 #943239

If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you get also 50% discount for most of the mountain transports, so I do not think that you need a Swiss Half Fare Card too. See and compare the validity lists of these passes here:

• Swiss Travel Pass:http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity
• Swiss Half Fare Card: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/validity

You can buy tickets online in advance, using the discount of your Swiss Travel Pass. Just make sure to select the right price, to do that you should select the option with the Swiss Travel Pass. Regarding the Golden Round Trip to Pilatus, your boat trip is for free, the bus from Lucerne to Kriens is also free, you only need the ticket for the cableway/train from Kriens or Alpnachstad to Pilatus, which is discounted by 50%. You can buy it here (select that you have a Swiss Travel Pass).

I recommend buying your mountain transport ticket 1 day in advance (or on the spot), after you’ve already checked the weather forecast.

I hope this helps,

Ildiko