Which pass should I buy for Brig, Bern and Zurich?

Hi everyone!

I am going to Switzerland from 27th of December to 2nd of January and I'll visit Zermatt (3 days with hotel in Brig), Bern (1 day) and Zurich (3 days). So I'll use almost everyday trains.

In particular, in Zermatt I want to go to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Gornergrat.

So, in your opinion, what is the most convenient thing for me? I guess I should buy a pass.. but I don't know if Swiss Travel Pass, Half Fare Card, Interrail,..

Could you give me some advice?

Thanks a lot for the help!

Thanks for joining us, simoneb94!

An 8 day Swiss Travel Pass would be the most convenient option for the trip you've planned. All regular train, bus and boat journeys will be for free, so no need to buy tickets. You only need discounted tickets for mountain rides.

The Swiss Half Fare Card will work too, but requires you to get tickets for each and every trip.

The Interrail Pass's coverage isn't as extensive as the other two, so I wouldn't recommend that one.

Which pass turns out to be cheaper for your specific requirements can only be told if you make a detailed list of plans and start calculating as explained at myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

I hope this gets you started!

Thank You Arno for the clear answer! I'll check it :)

I have another question about tickets. Are there any trains that need reservation? For example, long distant trains like Zurich-Brig or Brig-Bern..

And if I reserve 2 seats for the same train, can I get 2 next seats?

Hi Simoneb94,

You don't have to reserve seats, please see myswissalps.com/train/ reservations. And with a Swiss Travel Pass you do not need tickets either.

Hi Arno,

I didn't explain it well, sorry.

I saw your link and I read this:

"If seat reservations are not required for your train, it may still be possible to book a seat. We recommend not to do so to be flexible, unless you're traveling in a group and want to be sure you can sit together."

I know I don't need to buy tickets and to reserve seats with Swiss Travel Pass, but as I'll travel with another person, I want to be sure that I will stay close to my partner during the train ride!

Hi Simoneb94,

You can book seats for some of the long distance trains on sbb.ch. I never did so myself. It's very uncommon to book seats in Switzerland as trains are mass transportation. People simply get on the first available train and find a seat. Apart from rush hour around the bigger cities, finding a seat, or two seats, isn't a problem. But you can book to seats next to each other for some trains if you wish. I think it costs CHF 5 per seat.

Thank your advice, Arno!

Sorry for the late.

I bought an 8 day pass that I received 2 days ago. But I have to fill it with my name, residence and passport number.

instructions aren't clear. Can I fill it on my own using a normal pen or should I go to Swiss train system personnel once I am in Switzerland?

Hi simoneb94,

Which exact pass did you buy? Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Travel Pass Flex? And where did you buy it? In most cases all personal details are already printed on it but apparently in this case it's not.

I bought Swiss Travel Pass Youth (not Flex) directly on SBB.ch (it costs 309 CHF).

Should I ask them?

Hi simoneb94,

On our Swiss Travel Pass page here we recommend their simpler web shop for tourists at www.swissrailways.com/ en. That would have gotten you a print at home pass through e-mail which is ready to use. It looks like you purchased through their domestic site instead, and I don't have much details about that. I think you received an "old style fill out yourself" pass. If you are unsure about what to fill out you can ask at any train station before you board your first train.

Enjoy your trips!