MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Glacier Express sold out, how to travel instead?
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Hello.
I was trying to reserve seats for the Glacier Express for January 2 2020 for my wife and I but they are sold out on the actual Glacier Express.
As we didn’t give up hope, I kept looking and found HappyRail.com and tried them out and was able to purchase passholder fares-glacier express seat reservations.
It was odd so I kept digging in and now I think I made a mistake by purchasing them. I still didn’t get e-tickets for the passholder fares- glacier express that I bought but I realize it is the weekend so maybe they will send it Monday morning.
But my question is, is the Passholder Fares- Glacier Express the right one to buy for seat reservations on the Glacier Express? Is Happy Rail actually selling seat reservations? Because I didn’t get to pick seats either. We bought a Swiss Travel Pass, which is why I chose the passholder fares, is that what the passholder fare means? Is it for people who have the swiss travel pass?
I am worried Happy Rails will just take my money and not refund me back even if I can’t get on the Glacier Express.
Sorry I know that’s a lot of questions but thank you so much in advance! I am stressed about this trip to Switzerland because everything seems so complicated or maybe it’s only because I don’t know the system. I should’ve been smarter and not lazy and reserved my seats for the Glacier Express way ahead of time. It was one of the main highlights my wife and I were looking forward to.
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Hello Camo and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
Don’t worry, if you don’t get seats (you won’t I’m thinking) you will get a refund. See http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/glacier-express-sold-out-get-day-pass-a-seat.
“I should’ve been smarter and not lazy and reserved my seats for the Glacier Express way ahead of time. It was one of the main highlights my wife and I were looking forward to.”
Can’t argue with that. But all is not lost. Just take regular trains like Pamela did. Your wife will still get to enjoy the same scenery. 😉
Ok thank you for the confirmation. But do you know how they would know I didn’t get seats?
And yes I was actually reading her thread and was very surprised because our situation is pretty much the same!
Our hostel is right in front of the Zermatt train station. I heard sometimes people might cancel or not show up for the Glacier express ride. In that case do you think we might be able to snag 2 seats if we are lucky?
But if not, would you say the only difference between the local train and glacier express is the panoramic window view of the scenery? Also, is the local train as slow or faster than the glacier express train?
Hi Camo,
Happyrail will try to book your seats, so they will know whether that succeeded or not before you do. I expect the train is booked out though, given the popular season and short notice. In that case you’ll receive a full refund.
You can visit the station service desk the prior evening or some morning and check if any seats are left. I once got seats that way, but that’s a long time ago and I don’t know if that could still work.
Please see “Regular trains versus Glacier Express” at http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress. Regular trains also have pretty large windows. The largest inconvenience is that you will have to change trains a few times, but that’s still pretty doable.
Enjoy the ride!
Pamela first found out she had a refund by checking her HappyRail account and found the charge for the seat reservation had been reversed.
Camo, you are not alone. It is VERY confusing!
I haven’t managed to book any seats yet. I’ve bought a Swiss Rail Flex Pass and I’m currently trying to establish what I do now!
It is definitely not straight forward.
Susie
Hello Susie,
If you want to select seats on the Glacier Express you can do so at shop.glacierexpress.ch/gex_en/specials/daytrips/glacier-express. ONce you have selected seats you will get the option to claim a reduction (100% of the ticket price) for your Swiss Travel Pass Flex.
The other alternative is to buy just a seat reservation at http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/tickets.
Hello Susie new,
I have attached a detailed link about the Swiss Travel Pass Flex and the train timetable for your reference. Perhaps it’s a start to understand what benefits you have on your pass:
Good luck!
Suzanne
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