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Does it make sense to buy both Swiss travel pass and half fare card

Posted by on

I'm traveling with my husband and 19 year old daughter to Berner Oberland for four days (leaving from Fussen Germany and arriving in BO Aug21) and staying in Murren for four nights. From Murren, we will head to Zermatt for 3 nights and then off to Lausanne for two nights. The Swiss travel pass appears to be very convenient and worthwhile in traveling between sights and in Lausanne but does not seem to offer as much of a savings on all mountain lifts as the half fare card.

Also, since a 10 day pass is not available with the Swiss Travel pass, I would have to pay for a 15 day pass to cover our entire trip. I could possibly buy an 8 day Swiss Flexi travel pass and a half fare card but I'm not sure if that's the best idea either. We will probably go to jungfrau which is a very expensive option and only covered 25% discount with travel pass but 50% with half fare pass . It appears that all the zermatt lifts are covered at 50% with the travel pass ( same as half fare card). Is that correct?

So what is everyone's opinion here? I'm leaning towards Half Fare Card as we will be hiking more than anything else and I would have to buy those tickets any ways which eliminates the convenience offered by the Swiss travel pass in cities where outside of Murren and Zermatt.

Posted by
20103 posts

You have to sit down and price up every single journey and cost using www.sbb.ch/en.
Then all of your options and the cost with the 15 day pass (2 regular and 1 youth), 8-day flex pass (2 regular and 1 youth), and 3 Half Fare Card.
Without going through this exercise, you are guessing. Its your vacation, you have to do the work. It should take less than an hour for you to do this.

Posted by
1443 posts

Don't buy both a HFC and a STP. It is usually the case that the HFC is the cheaper option, but the STP offers a lot of convenience and free entry into a lot of muesums, castles, and other attractions. I always opt for the STP for the convenience factor. I like not having to buy a ticket and it promotes spontaneity.

You are concerned that the 8-day STP would expire 2 days before the end of your visit. However, it looks like you end your trip in Lausanne, yes? Many hotels in towns along Lake Geneva give their guests a Riviera Card, which gives you free use of trains and buses (and a discount on many museums, including Chateau Chillon) serving the Lake Geneva area. It's essentially a STP for the area. If your STP expires as you get to Lausanne, your could rely on a Riviera Card for free transport for your remaining time. Confirm that your hotel offers this, of course.

Posted by
16893 posts

A Swiss Travel Pass for 15 consecutive days only costs $40 more per person than the 8-day flexi pass (which leaves you with 2 days of no coverage somewhere in the trip). There's no combo of flexi pass + Half-Fare Card that makes sense to me in comparison; not even a 3- or 4-day flexi.

With the Swiss Travel Pass, you would have to buy your 50% off lift tickets around Zermatt and the discounted tickets around Muerren, but remember that the discounts start above Muerren and above Wengen, so lower-level valley transport is still fully covered to hop on, along with any museum visits.

Eddie's suggestion of 8 days consecutive + Riviera Card sounds like a good option.

Posted by
11294 posts

Have you looked at the coverage map for the Swiss Pass? Be sure you're looking at a 2017 map, as the coverage does change. Here's one: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/pdf/freizeit-ferien/ferien-kurztrips-schweiz/internationale-gaeste/sts-geltungsbereich_en.pdf

Anything with a solid line is 100% covered by a Swiss Pass. Anything with a dashed line is 50% off, unless it has a 1 in a circle next to it, in which case it's 25% off.

Only those few routes that have a 1 next to them; these are the only ones where a Half Fare Card gets you a better deal than an active day on a Swiss Pass. I agree that it definitely doesn't make sense to get both. As Sam says, do the math and pick the one that gets you the best deal.

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