Purchasing Swiss Travel Pass at Zurich airport

Hello, we are a family of 4 adults, arriving Zurich airport on August 22nd. Can we to purchase our Swiss Travel Passes (4) at the Zurich train station (at the airport) and pay in cash Swiss currency? We will be going to Lucerne the same day Thank you.

Hi Prema-

Welcome to My Swiss Alps and the forum.

You can make the purchase as you describe.

If you choose to buy the passes on line, you will not have to take the time upon arrival to purchase them, which could take up to a half an hour or thereabouts. I'd rather be traveling, myself.

Arno and Annika, the forum moderators, can give more details. I am not a travel pass expert.

Trains to Luzern leave twice per hour from Zürich airport. One is direct.. The other requires a change at Zürich main station. Check the timetable

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

If you decide to pause in Zürich, you luggage can be stored in various ways.

Slowpoke

Hi Prema,

Indeed you can purchase there as long as you arrive during opening hours (6:15 AM to 10:30 PM). They'll accept Swiss francs but there is no need to pay with cash as they'll accept credit cards and debit cards as well. Having some cash at hand during your stay is convenient though.

As Slowpoke said, buying online is the better option. It will save you time. You will prevent missing the first available train while waiting at the ticket office. Simply print your pass at home. It's very easy: go to www.swissrailways.com/ en. 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 passes within 1-3 business days (no delivery fees), so you can print them at home. More purchase options are here: myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ price.

Have a good trip!

Thank you Slowpoke & Arno. I am hesitating getting an online pass and printing it at home, because then I will just have a piece of paper. over my two weeks trip, I will need to show my pass several times on trains and busses, and I am concerned the paper I print the pass on, will show wear & tear. I believe if I purchase the pass at the ticket counter they will give me a card. Am I correct? Please let me know. thanks very much. Prema

Hi Prema,

Actually it's safer to buy online as you can store a copy of the printable pass wherever you like (on an USB stick, in the cloud, on your phone, etc). So you can print it again should you loose your first printout. You can even print it twice and keep a copy in your hotel if you like.

If you buy at the station, you will also get a piece of paper. It's not a card like a plastic credit card. They will put it in a pouch for you, but it's still one copy. If you loose it, you won't have a backup, and there's no refund.

Can the the passes be laminated? Will the laminated passes br acceptsble

I wouldn't recommend that. Although it will probably work, you'll take the risk of the train personnel not being able to scan the code on the passes. There's no need to do so either. You can print a new pass whenever you like.