Half Fare Card- Purchasing from overseas

lee1001

1 post
new member

Feb 6, 2011 - 5:11 AM

Hi, We will be in Switzerland for two weeks and the Half Fare card ( one month option) seems ideal for train trips we are planning.
We would like to pre purchase it so we can also book train trips online before we depart.

I have three questions ..
1. It seems that to buy the card is CHF 110 but to have it sent to Australia ( DHL is the only offered option) is CHF 90. Clearly this is excessive. Is there any way / option through SBB where I can pre purchase with a reasonable delivery cost, so I can do online train bookings in advance?

2. Are their other agents who sell the Half fare Card online and have reasonable delivery costs to Australia?

3. We are traveling to Switzerland from the Cinque Terra in Italy.
If we pre purchase the Half fare card, can we use it when we book the train trip to Muerren ..through either the Italian Rail system? or Swiss Rail system?

Regards

Lee

Annika

7202 posts
expert &
moderator

Feb 6, 2011 - 6:49 AM

Hello Lee, and welcome! I don't know about the SBB, but the Swiss Half Fare Card can be ordered online from Australia through the Swiss Half Fare Card page. Click 'Other countries' under the header 'Order your Swiss Half Fare Card here'. A CHF 30.50 delivery fee for DHL shipping applies. I'm not sure where you found the amount of CHF 90.00. Currently, I don't know of any other agents shipping the Swiss Half Fare Card to Australian travellers.

Pre-booking your 50% discounted train tickets for Switzerland can be arranged through the Swiss timetable. It doesn't matter if you already have a Swiss Half Fare Card when booking, as long as you have all required tickets/passes when boarding the train. You can enter the Swiss leg of your trip in the timetable, click 'Fare/Buy' and follow the ordering process. The Italian leg and seat reservations can be booked through Rail Europe Australia. As it's an international journey, you also need seat reservations for the train crossing the border between Italy and Switzerland.

You can also choose to purchase the Swiss Half Fare Card and the discounted Swiss tickets once you are in Switzerland (e.g. in Brig).

MySwissAlps.com recommends to read this:
Swiss Half Fare Card prices Discounted tickets for the Swiss Half Fare Card

Last modified on Dec 24, 2021 - 11:19 AM by Arno

Half Fare Card- Purchasing from overseas

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