Is Swiss Half Fare Card best for month Switzerland

Is the Half Fare Card (HFC) best for our situation? Are we missing anything?

We will be spending the entire month of June all over Switzerland (Appenzell, Luzern, Lugano, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Martigny, Lausanne, Murren, Zurich) and we will be using mass transit every day (train, bus, funicular, gondola, boat). We don't mind buying tickets every day, as it appears that the SBB phone app makes that process easy.

Our initial calculations suggest that the HFC will offer the most economical ticketing resource. We considered the 15 Day Swiss Travel Pass, regular or flex (STP, STPF), but we would probably end up with an HFC anyway. We are considering the panorama train trifecta,e.g., Gottard, Bernina, Glacier (OK, quadfecta if we decide to add the Golden Pass). We will also be taking various mountain transport, e.g., Gornergrat, Jungfraujoch, etc. Are any of the regional passes worth considering, even if we have to purchase one of the over-arching passes (STP, STPF, HFC) as well?

We understand that the STP/STPF gets you into various sights, where the HFC does not? Is that a consideration we should factor in, or are there other resources for reduced cost entry to places of interest?

Hi Cyclefriend,

If you will travel that much, the Swiss Travel Pass is very often the best option: easier and cheaper (cost per travel day of CHF 28.60). I'm surprised that your calculations show that the Swiss Half Fare Card would be cheaper. Are you sure you got the full prices from the timetable? If you take the reduced price, which is shown by default, and take 50% of that, the outcome will be wrong. Please see:

• www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass
• www.myswissalps.com/timetable

Please also see "Alternatives if you stay longer than 15 days" on www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/details.

I would only consider a regional pass in combination with the Swiss Half Fare Card. You'd have to do the math to be 100% sure.

As for sights not included with the Swiss Half Fare Card: museums are not included, while most of them are free with the Swiss Travel Pass. Other sights like mountain tops are "covered" by both, but the Swiss Travel Pass includes some for free, while with the Swiss Half Fare Card it's always 50% off:

• www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard/validity
• www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity

Hi Arno,

Let me check my math. I tried to remain aware that the SBB pricing assumed half fare, but I may have missed it a time or two. I will respond back to this string with my findings.

Cheers,

Cyclefiend

Hi Arno,

You are correct, we checked our math and, for our itinerary, the Swiss Travel Pass is a better deal, even if we each have to buy two 15 day passes. This is especially true for travel in 2nd Class. For travel in 1st Class the Half Fare Card wins, but only by 2.5%. If we also consider the convenience of avoiding most ticket purchases and included access to sights (museums, etc) then the STP is clearly the way to go.

Thanks for pointing this out to us.

Andy & Laura

Hello Andy and Laura,

Here is a link for all information in regard to the Swiss Travel Pass and the direct page to pricing.

• https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass
• https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/price

Kind regards,
Yolanda