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Another Swiss Rail Question

Posted by on

Hello,

We will be coming to Zermatt from Venice in August (plan to train to Visp, transfer, then train).
We have a three nights in Zermatt before boarding the Glacier Express to St. Moritz. We have our seat reservations for the Glacier Express but were unable to book tickets at the time since it was further than 60 days.
We will then spend three nights in St. Moritz and head to Innsbruck via train.

I was looking into the day saver pass for the Glacier Express as we booked 1st class seat reservations but now maybe thinking we might need a different type of pass with the stays in Zermatt and St. Moritz? We are hoping to do some mid-level hikes after taking cable cars. Should we be looking at getting a half-fare card instead? I am a little overwhelmed with the different options.

Thank you so much for your help!

Posted by
6894 posts

The half fare card would give you 50% discount on:
- the leg of the inbound journey from Brig to Zermatt
- the rides above Zermatt
- the Glacier Express fare OR give you a cheaper price for the Saver Day Pass
- only a few rides above St Moritz, including the highly recommended Bernina Express, but excluding Muottas Muragl, Piz Nair, or Diavolezza
- St Moritz to the Austrian border (or to Scuol-Tarasp if you decide to take the bus from there to Landeck, which is a significant shortcut vs. train all the way)

I think you're likely to at least be close to break even, but you need to make a few calculations yourself. And don't fret: we are not talking about a lot of money in the context of a trip to Switzerland. You're unlikely to save/lose more than $50, whatever you choose. In doubt, I would get the Half Fare Card.

EDIT: I just ran the numbers. Basically, if you travel to Gornergrat and back in Zermatt, and on the Bernina Railway in St. Moritz, on top of the journeys to/from Zermatt and St Moritz, the Half-Fare Card breaks even. And the more you travel, the more you save.

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you so much for your help! I'm thinking we probably wouldn't need one of the multiday passes either.

I will look into the train-bus suggestion you provided; doing it all by train did seem to be a significant amount of time

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