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Swiss pass

I am wondering whether it is best to purchase a Swiss Pass ahead of time in the U.S. or upon arrival in Europe. We are flying into Frankfurt and will take the train into Switzerland.

Posted by
11247 posts

Which type of Swiss Pass are you looking at? We get the half-fare cards and have done it both ways. I liked having it in hand on our last trip, and pre-purchased some of our tickets selecting "Half-Fare" reductions at SBB.CH.

Posted by
16893 posts

If you want to use a Swiss Travel Pass for part of the ride from Germany, then it's better to buy in advance. It kicks in when you cross the border. Otherwise, you can't buy it until you get off the train in a Swiss station.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks for your help. We are planning to purchase a 15 consecutive day Swiss travel pass for two. It sounds like purchasing ahead of time is the way to go but if anyone has further advice, thanks in advance!

Posted by
19637 posts

I thought you had to buy it ahead of time and could not buy it once you arrived?

No, that is only for the Swiss Transfer Ticket.

Posted by
53 posts

I think the SBB had the Swiss bankers draw up all these rules!
They make it so complicated you just wind up buying the Swiss Pass to make it simple!

Posted by
16 posts

Do we need to buy the swiss travel pass first before making reservations ONLINE on the BE?
So if I choose the Swiss Travel pass as my option , so I need to enter a number off the Swiss travel pass to complete the reservation?

Trying to understand if the following is possible:
a) Reserve seats on the BE online from the US by selecting 'Swiss travel pass' option.
b) Buy the Swiss travel passes once we land in Switzerland?

Thanks