I have looked at my trip and I think it would be best to get a Swiss half fare pass. I will be coming from Paris and first stay will be in Bern. I have found some tickets for Paris to Bern for 127 euros total for my husband and I. To get to Basel it will be 67 euros and then 73 euros from basel to bern. I read somewhere that the half way fare card will work on some trips bordering the country like a trip from euroairport to basel. Does anyone know if this is true? Can I use card on a trip from Paris to Basel? Or should I just book ticket from paris to basel and use half fare card to buy ticket from basel to Bern. Thanks!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Going from Paris to Bern, Basel would be the first point where a Swiss Half Fare Card would be valid. So, from Paris to Basel you can't use the Half Fare Card, but from Basel to Bern you can.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Basel SBB is the first Swiss station (and equally the last French station), so your Swiss Half Fare Card is valid for all trips from Basel to other Swiss destinations (including Bern), and not valid from Paris to Bern.
It is also valid on all transport in Basel, including to and from the airport because the bus is run by Basel city.
Basel to Bern costs CHF 41 full price, or CHF 20.50 with a Half Fare Card. Swiss prices are in Franks (CHF), so I am not sure where you are looking to get a price in Euros. You can look up prices and times on the SBB website: https://www.sbb.ch/en
You can buy a separate ticket Paris to Basel on the website of the company running those trains: https://www.tgv-lyria.com/en
Or on https://www.trainline.eu/ or https://loco2.com/en Other resellers may charge more.
To see what exactly is covered by a Swiss Half Fare Card, look at the validity map here: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/infotexte/uebersichtskarte-sts.pdf