[Removed user]

19 July 2016 at 19:10:29 #809721

Hello,

I am planning a trip from the UK to a few destinations in Switzerland. Our trip plan is –

Paris – Sarnen

Sarnen – Zermatt

Zermatt – Paris

Plus a few day trips, like Sarnen – Lucerne and taking the train to the Jungfrau.

I think that the half fare card works out best for my travel plans, but please let me know if you think another pass would be better value for money. Also, I am unsure on how to get the saving when booking online.

If anyone knows whether you can buy the half fare card online and then buy your tickets for travel in Switzerland online (using the 50% discount), that would be very useful. I am thinking that it would be better to have tickets ready (rather than having to purchase at the stations).

Many thanks in advance,

Lee

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[Annika]

20 July 2016 at 5:56:22 #854353

Hi Lee,

Welcome to MySwissAlps! The Swiss Half Fare Card will work well, but I can’t say whether it’s cheaper than a Swiss Travel Pass. That depends on how long you’ll stay and which day trips you plan to make. Please see here for how to choose the best pass.

You can visit http://www.swisstravelsystem. co.uk to purchase the Swiss Half Fare Card. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick “Online Ticket” from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the card within a few business days (no delivery fees), so you can print it at home.

Whether you buy tickets before or after you buy the card does not matter, as long as you have both when you board the train.

Enjoy your stay!

[Removed user]

20 July 2016 at 8:23:50 #854354

Hi Annika,

Thank you for the information! Just one further question; you say that it doesn’t matter whether we purchase tickets before of after we have the half fare card, but how would we receive the 50% discount for the service from Basel-Sarnen for instance (on the Paris-Sarnen part of the journey) if we didn’t already have the half fare card? I have looked online and can’t seem to find an option for purchasing rail tickets with a half fare card? Are you able to explain please?

Many thanks,

Lee

[Arno]

20 July 2016 at 10:33:22 #854355

Hi Lee,

You just select the half fare option; they won’t check if you actually have a Swiss Half Fare Card at the time of booking. The train staff will check that. The half fare option is not widely available on online booking sites. The SBB site and their app have this option. Note that tickets don’t book out so you can also buy tickets from the machines or staffed ticket windows just before your trip.

[Removed user]

20 July 2016 at 11:26:01 #854356

This is very useful Arno; thank you! I was concerned that the trains would book out, so that’s good to know. I would always book a seat in the UK if I was using a long-distance train, or needed to get on a specific time train, but useful to know that this isn’t the case for the Swiss trains.

Many thanks,

Lee