I am having difficulty ordering a Swiss pass online. For some reason it says my identity doesn’t work and to just get one when I arrive in Switzerland, I am nervous about not getting train seats for some of the panoramic trains ahead of time.is a Swiss Pass necessary to purchase seats?
Posted by
Chicago
4116 posts
It sounds like you might be trying to buy a pass for Swiss residents. As a tourist you can’t buy this and don’t need it. You can just buy tickets for the train without any type of pass.
If you do want to buy a pass, make sure you are looking at options for tourists. It used to be under international guests on the SBB website.
Posted by
Chicago
4116 posts
I see SBB has changed their website. For passes, you want to look under guests from abroad.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/offers/guests-from-abroad
But again, you do not need a pass for travel in Switzerland.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
1241 posts
Yes, you were obviously trying to buy a Swiss Pass, which is for residents or long term visitors to load their transportation cards onto, which is why you were having trouble.
What you may have been trying to do is a Swiss TRAVEL Pass. Very different thing. SBB sucks at naming things to not make them confusing.
You don’t need reservations for anything in Switzerland except scenic trains like the Bernina, Glacier & Golden Pass. For that you go on to their respective websites to purchase, which is separate from the actual ticket. You can use a travel pass as your ticket or purchase the actual ticket, but the reservation is a separate purchase.
Posted by
Switzerland
389 posts
One easy way for people to know that they are inadvertently looking at the wrong pass:
The SwissPass is free and is simply a physical or digital ID card on which you can store various transportation passes and use as ID on the train.
The Swiss Travel Pass is a paid pass that allows train (and other public transport) travel. Its website shows travel benefits and prices. If you don’t see a price or cost listed, you’re on the wrong site.