Swiss Travel Pass – must be printed or mobile ok?

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    20 August 2017 at 15:55:21 #813017

    Hi – Great forum, I learned a good deal already through the answers posted here! Thank you!

    We plan to visit Switzerland next week for 12 days (Aug 29 – Sep 9) and thinking of buying the Swiss Travel Pass online and opt for the ‘e-ticket’. I have 2 questions:

    1. Do I need to print out the ticket and carry hard copies or would it be OK to show the confirmation on a mobile device?

    2. A couple of folks in my party are arriving a few hours after us. If I make the booking for all of us, can I just email the confirmation to them and they will be able to use it? Will they be asked to show the card used for booking or any restrictions that the person who booked need to be there?

    Thanks in advance for your help!

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    20 August 2017 at 17:59:40 #868636

    I also have the similar question…

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    21 August 2017 at 5:19:16 #868637

    Hi vineeth, and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    >> We plan to visit Switzerland next week for 12 days (Aug 29 – Sep 9) and thinking of buying the Swiss Travel Pass online and opt for the ‘e-ticket’. I have 2 questions: 1. Do I need to print out the ticket and carry hard copies or would it be OK to show the confirmation on a mobile device?

    Yes, you need to print it out and carry a hard copy. It’s not a “e-ticket” as such, it’s a “Print at home” ticket delivered by email. There’s a difference!

    >> 2. A couple of folks in my party are arriving a few hours after us. If I make the booking for all of us, can I just email the confirmation to them and they will be able to use it? Will they be asked to show the card used for booking or any restrictions that the person who booked need to be there?

    Each passenger will be issued a separate Swiss Travel Pass with their own name and passport number on it (so you will need to collect this information before buying for other members of your party). You don’t have to show the credit card you bought it with.

    You can email each person the PDF of their own Swiss Travel Pass so they can print it out.

    Alpenrose

    rockoyster
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    21 August 2017 at 5:25:46 #868638

    Hello Vineeth,

    Make sure you read this page http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/howtouse especially the On Board the Train section.

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    21 August 2017 at 11:54:39 #868639

    Thank you so much @Alpenrose666 and @rockoyster – much appreciated!

    I’m now trying to decide between the Travel Pass and the Half Fare card. Used the spreadsheet to see which one would be a better fit and given I will have to go for the 15 days card (8 is 4 days too few for our itinerary) and the fact that the Jungfraujoch ride is cheaper with the Half Fare card, slightly leaning towards it.

    A few follow up questions, please help:

    1. Is there usually a long line / wait to buy tickets? Just trying to get a sense – 15 min vs 1 hour each time?

    2. Also, can I pay using my overseas Credit Card at all stations?

    3. Is there an option to buy tickets using the SBB mobile app?

    4. For scenic route reservations (e.g. Bernina Express) can I also do that at the station using a CC?

    Thanks in advance for your responses!

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    21 August 2017 at 16:00:11 #868640

    Hi Vineeth79,

    To make sure your reply is sent to the right person, you must click “reply to” and not “post a reply”. Unfortunately you can only “reply to” one person at a time.

    In case neither of them read your reply I’ll try and answer your questions.

    1. At Jungfraujoch or train stations in general? The bigger the station the longer the wait. Zurich could be 5 minutes or 45 minutes. You can usually buy your ticket at a ticket machine though (in German, English, French or Italian). Jungfraujoch can get quite busy in the summer too.
    2. Yes, Visa and MasterCard are accepted at train stations
    3. Yes. There is an app for Android and an Apple “SBB Mobile App”
    4. Yes. But those should be made ASAP as they easily sell out! If you are looking at the Bernina Express you can make reservations here.

    Lucas

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    22 August 2017 at 0:37:25 #868641

    Thank you Lucas!

    It’s great that I can use the machines or the app itself.

    If I buy tickets through the app, do I need to get print outs / hard copies or can I just show the tickets from the app itself if asked?

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    22 August 2017 at 2:23:21 #868642

    >> If I buy tickets through the app, do I need to get print outs / hard copies or can I just show the tickets from the app itself if asked?

    Yes, if you buy a ticket in the app, you can display it to the conductor in the app.

    Alpenrose

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    22 August 2017 at 15:12:55 #868643

    Thanks Alpenrose666!

    I have now purchased the half fare passes and have the app downloaded as well.

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    1 September 2017 at 5:30:41 #868644

    Hello again!

    We are in Lucerne and were able to go up Mt Rigi and enjoy the views before the clouds and rain came in. It was beautiful!

    We have one more day (today) in Lucerne before we check out and head to Wengen.

    Wanted to go on the Bernina Express badly but wondering whether it is worth the drive to Chur (we rented a car yesterday and drove to Bern / Interlaken and back to Lucerne but was raining throughout) and the tickets if its overcast and raining all day. Any tips please?

    We have nothing else planned on the itinerary for today but don’t want to be spending a lot (even with half fare) if we won’t be able to see a thing. Should we do it?

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    1 September 2017 at 14:07:33 #868645

    Hi vineeth79,

    Sorry it is late in the day now – you were looking for advice on what to do today?
    I would normally recommend the Swiss Transport Museum on a rainy day. I wouldn’t try and go all the way to Chur to catch the Bernina Express and then try and get back to Luzern today.

    If you did go for the Bernina Express please let me know how it went!

    Lucas

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    11 September 2017 at 11:54:53 #868646

    Hi Lucas,

    Sorry for the late response. Back in Hong Kong now and have more time on hand!

    So we did make it on the Bernina Express that day, but did not go to Chur went to St Moritz instead. It was late by the time we decided to go and the trains from Chur had left by then. Since we had a rental car, we took the opportunity to drive around a bit and take the train from St Moritz instead. Have to say that it was a good decision indeed – the weather did clear up a lot by the afternoon and we were able to enjoy the views.

    Couple of learnings from the trip:

    1. Need to make a reservation for the Bernina Train. I purchased tickets on the SBB Mobile App and it was not very clear how to reserve the seats (but don’t get me wrong, apart from this one minor glitch I absolutely love the SBB app). Since we didn’t have reservations, we had to go to the very first compartment which didn’t have the panoramic windows or the better seats. That was initially a bummer till we found out that the windows could be rolled down. Aha – great views and pictures!

    2. We actually got down at Poschiavo and took a regional train back to St Moritz. Figured out that the regional trains are equally good on this route, just that they travel a bit faster (or so it seemed). Cant comment much about the windows since in our case we got better viewing area on the regional train windows compared to the non-reserved compartment on the Bernina

    3. Parking meters at St Moritz station don’t work that well. We were unable to add time on the meter and even the locals couldn’t figure out how to do it. Thankfully we didn’t get a ticket or worse the car wasn’t towed.

    4. Weather in Switzerland changes very dynamically. Plans need to be dynamic / flexible.

    But all in all, a great day, super ride and excellent views! Thanks again for all your help and advice during our trip. This forum rocks!

    Here’s a picture I took on my trip: 🙂

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    11 September 2017 at 22:12:34 #868647

    Sounds like you had a good trip! Always nice to hear. 🙂

    If you have a moment we’d be thankful if you could post this trip report (just copy and paste on a newt hread) on the trip report forum. If you have the time of course, as I am sure others will find your tips useful!

    Lucas

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    19 September 2017 at 12:46:18 #868648

    Done!

    Thanks again, ciao till the next time!

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