Hi,
We intend to purchase a Half Price Swiss Rail Card for our travel around Switzerland. Prior to Switzerland, we will be touring Austria, and obviously crossing from one country to the other. We are planning to leave Innsbruck and travel to Lucerne. What I would like to know is does the Half Price Swiss Rail Pass give any discount for this journey? Also, as we are planning to travel from Vienna to Salzburg, to Innsbruck by train, what are the best options for discounted Austrian rail travel?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Swiss Half Fare Card gives you discounts on ANY tix you buy for travel within the Swiss Borders. So purchase a ticket from Innsbruck to the nearest Swiss Border town. Then use your HFC for tix from the border on to Lucerne.
Posted by
Green Bay
20158 posts
Vienna to Salzburg, use the Westbahn trains. It is 25.50 EUR/p and you can buy the tickets on the train from the conductor.
You may find it is cheaper to buy a Sparschiene ticket from Innsbruck to Zurich, buy your half Fare card at Zurich Hbf, then ticket to Luzern. Sparschiene are advance purchase nonrefundable tickets where you must board the train on your ticket, or forfeit it. Check the price anyway and compare it to a full fare ticket to Buchs, then the Half Fare continuing on to Luzern. SBB will give the same price (in CHF) as the Sparschiene ticket bought from OEBB, same restrictions.
Posted by
OP
23 posts
Thank you for your replies, they are quite helpful :)
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
"Vienna to Salzburg, use the Westbahn trains. It is 25.50 EUR/p and you can buy the tickets on the train from the conductor."
In order to buy tickets from the Conductor, you'll either need cash or a Chip & PIN credit card. The portable POS terminals used to process payments do not accept the old fashioned magnetic stripe cards.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5400 posts
You can also buy Westbahn tickets at any Tabak shop prior to travel.