Cheap way to train travel 5 days in Switzerland

What is the best rail plan if traveling for 5 days with three travel days between cities and several mountain train excursions? Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss half fare card?

Hi gwensheryl, welcome to MySwissAlps!

Which rail pass is best, depends on lots of details about your itinerary. I suggest you read through this guide in order to find out which pass may suit your plans. You're also welcome to post a detailed itinerary here, allowing us to assist you.

Thanks Annika. We will be in Switzerland from 6/27/16 to 7/4/16, we will be traveling by train on 6/28/16, Zurich to Interlaken, then on 6/30/16, Interlaken to Zermatt, then on 7/2/16, Zermatt to Geneva. In between, on 6/28/16, we want to take the train to either Piz Gloria or Harder Kulm, on 6/29/16, we want to go from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch, and on 6/30/16 and 7/1/16, we want to cover the following from Zermatt: Gornergrat Bahn, Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and Rothorn. We realize that this is an ambitious itinerary and really want to know if the Swiss Half Fare Card would provide a 50% discount on all or most of these trips. We want to travel in First Class between cities. We are skeptical that the 120 CHF Half Fare Card would provide such a discount as a stand alone card. Please advise.

Hi gwensheryl,

Please see here and here for what's covered in the Swiss Travel Pass and Swiss Half Fare Card. Those maps show all the details you need. The page Annika gave you helps you to pick the most economical option.

Dear Arno: Thank you. We will purchase Swiss Half Fare Cards but need some clarification. If we order them now and have them delivered to our home, can we reserve train tickets on line and receive the 50% discount before the cards are validated? How do we validate the Cards? Do we need to reserve the trains from city to city in advance (First Class)? What about trains to mountain sites?

Hi gwensheryl,

Actually it's easier than that. The purchase options are listed here. You can go to www.swissrailways.com/ en to order the Swiss Half Fare Cards, and select "Online Ticket" when they list the delivery options. You will get them by e-mail to print at home. There's no further validation.

Once in Switzerland you just buy a discounted ticket from a machine or staffed service desk whenever you need them. No need to buy in advance or book seats. The only exception are two tourist trains, as explained here. When the conductor asks for ticket you show the Swiss Half Fare Card and the tickets.

Enjoy the rides!

Thanks so much for your quick and helpful responses. Lots more questions....On June 29 we are planning to go to Jungfraujoch. We are staying in Interlaken, so will leave from there. Do we need to purchase tickets in advance? Do the trains book up? When we are in Zermatt, we are interested in skiing for a few hours. Where should we go? What suggestions do you have? In Interlaken, we are trying to choose between Piz Gloria and Harder Kulm. Which would you recommend? Thanks for all your help...

Hi gwensheryl,

You don't need to buy tickets in advance; you can do so in Switzerland as they don't sell out (see my previous post please).

You'll find lots of tips on what to do on our Interlaken and Zermatt pages.

Can you ski? If so, you can rent equipment in Zermatt and go to Klein Matterhorn. Do note that this is summer skiing, so the snow will not be perfect like in winter, and you'll be skiing at high altitude. If you can't ski, you need both equipment and hire a instructor. I'd recommend to do that in winter, not in summer when the circumstances are not that easy. It's quite pricey too (hundreds of francs), but you can do it if you want to.