Swiss Half Fare Card and when to purchase

  • TravelElla
    Participant
    73 posts
    22 June 2022 at 14:52:16 #827570

    Hello MSA Forum members

    We are going to visit Switzerland for 23 days (end August – mid September).

    Our travel plans are:

    3 days Zürich & Schaffhausen: going to buy 1 day point-to-point ticket from Zürich – Schaffhausen & 2 days the Saver Day Pass

    5 days Lucerne Area: going to buy the Tell Pass Summer for this duration

    8 days Interlaken Area: going to buy the Regional Pass Berner Oberland (because we are going to do a lot of cable cars and mountain excursions which are all included in this pass, as well as all our travel plans for buses, trains and boats)

    1 day travel to Zermatt (buy the Saver Day Pass) & 2 days in Zermatt (Gornergrat and Sunegga day trips and maybe Glacier Paradise)

    1 day travel from Chur to Locarno (buy the Saver Day Pass) & 2 days Locarno Area (point to points tickets on Train/Bus only as far as Bellinzona and Laverso Valley)

    Now here is where I need some help from you:

    I see that there is a discount price with the Regional Pass Berner Oberland if you have a Swiss Half Fare Pass. When I add the CHF120 for the Half Fare Pass to this discounted price, it is basically the same price as the “normal” fee. I do understand this, but now I am considering the following: If I do buy the Half Fare Pass as well (although everything is already included for our 8 days in Interlaken area), we will benefit from this Half Fare Pass for the first 3 days of our trip as well as for the days after our 8 day Interlaken stay, because we will get discounted prices on the point-to-point tickets and Saver Day Pass tickets which we have to buy for the other days that are not part of Tell Pass Summer and RPBO.

    Do I understand this xtra discount correct?

    I know that the Saver Day Pass is only valid for a specific date and that I have to print out tickets for the point-to-point journey, but most of these dates are fixed because we have to travel to our next destination on those days.

    If I decide rather to buy a 6 day Swiss Travel Pass for the last 6 days of our trip (Zermatt & Locarno), instead of Saver Day Passes, is there a discount on this 6 day Swiss Travel Pass if we do have the Half Fare Pass as well or is the discount on the Half Fare Pass only valid for point-to-point tickets and Saver Day Passes?

    If I have to go for this Half Fare Pass option as well, when do I purchase this ticket? Do I need this Half Fare Pass before I buy the Regional Pass Berner Oberland and Saver Day Passes?

    Please advise what will be the best option for our travel plans.

    Thank you

    TravelElla

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 June 2022 at 16:17:03 #943488

    Hi TravelElla,

    ‘3 days Zürich & Schaffhausen: going to buy 1 day point-to-point ticket from Zürich – Schaffhausen & 2 days the Saver Day Pass’

    May I ask why are you getting the Saver Day Pass? For visiting the public transport in Zurich? Here is how you can travel in Zurich: http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich/travel.

    Indeed, I highly recommend the Swiss Half Fare Card. It is valid for a month and it would give you a discount in Zermatt and also for all of the Saver Day Passes and also the Regional Pass Bernese Oberland is cheaper (35% off). I think it would be great for you, but make calculations before you decide.

    No, there is no discount on the Swiss Half Fare Card if you have a Swiss Travel Pass, also there is no discount on the Swiss Travel Pass if you already have a Swiss Half Fare Card.

    But I do not think that you need both passes (Swiss Half Fare Card and Swiss Travel Pass).

    The tricky side of the Saver Day Passes is that they can be very expensive – or even run out – if you do not buy them early. So make sure to get them in time if you do not buy the Swiss Travel Pass.

    Have you heard about the Swiss Travel Pass Flex?

    ‘If I have to go for this Half Fare Pass option as well, when do I purchase this ticket? Do I need this Half Fare Pass before I buy the Regional Pass Berner Oberland and Saver Day Passes?’

    You do not need to have your Swiss Half Fare Card at the time of purchasing the other passes or tickets. But you have to have everything at the time of your travel.

    I hope this helps,

    Ildiko

    Learn more about the Tell Pass Summer: http://www.myswissalps.com/tellpass

    TravelElla
    Participant
    73 posts
    22 June 2022 at 19:29:23 #943489

    Hello Ildiko

    Thank you for your reply and detailed xtra info.

    Our Zürich arrival day will be city sightseeing walking and we do not need transport for this day (only train ticket from airport to city) The next day we want to buy Saver Day Pass for boat trip on Lake Z to Rapperswil, then train to Arth-Goldau onwards to Zug and back to Zürich as well as two Trams. The point to point train ticket will only be from Zürich to Schaffhausen. The 2nd Saver Day Pass will be for train travel from Schaffhausen, along the Konstantz lake via St Gallen onwards to Küssnacht am Rigi and from there a bus to Weggis for our 5 nights stay.

    I have read months ago about the Flexi Pass but actually forgot about that option. Thanks for this reminder 🙂 I will definately make my calculations to see if this Flexi Pass will be a better option in comparison to the Swiss Travel Pass and few Saver Day Passes that we will need.

    If I go for some Saver Day Passes, I will definately buy them 60 days in advance hopefully to get the best price.

    I am glad to hear that I can purchase the tickets without having already the Half Fare Card. Of course, I will have everything in place when our trip starts.

    Thanks for the xtra links. I will read through it.

    Greetings

    TravelElla

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    23 June 2022 at 5:39:57 #943490

    Sounds good. Let us know if you have further questions.

    If you like chocolate, you can visit the Lindt Museum in Kilchberg. You can find the link here: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/culinary/chocolate.

    Ildiko

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