Swiss Rail Passes - Half Day, Flex, Full Day ???

Google THE ALPINS IN THE ALPS…….young couple that has an incredible website on all things Swiss that will help you tremendously with the Swiss Pass….you can ask them anything and they answer about the best pass to buy while in Switzerland…….

The passes/discounts cover more than just the trains. So, it depends on what you’ll be doing. Taking any cable cars or funiculars? Visting any museums?

For my two-week trips, I have always gotten the Swiss Travel Pass because I like the convenience of not having to purchase tickets for everything.

Thank you Jane! I will check them out now.

Good points Carrie. Thank you for responding! I would prefer not to buy tickets too, but I as I’m pricing the individual train trips it seems that a Half Day Pass (which seems to cost 78 CHF pp) makes sense for us economically. And yes, I see on the SBB website that with the Half Day Pass, for instance, the cost of the Jungfraujoch cogwheel train reduces from 262 CHF to 130 CHF.

I haven't used a multi-day Swiss rail pass for decades, but I saved a lot of money on a travel-heavy day in 2024 by purchasing a Saver Day Pass. SDPs are date-specific and go on sale six months before the date of travel. The initial price is CHF 52 if you do not have a Half-Fare Card or CHF 29 if you do have an HFC. Both prices rise as the travel date approaches, making them potentially less financially beneficial (or not worthwhile at all). However, the ability to pick the specific dates when you'll be making costly trips is highly advantageous--assuming your itinerary is rock-solid and you're able and willing to make the purchase shortly after the passes go on sale. I was nervous about the latter point, but it worked out. If you regularly purchase trip interruption/cancellation insurance, you might be covered for some perils that might cause you to be unable to use the SDP.

I'm not aware of a "Half Day Pass". Perhaps you're referring to the Half Fare Card? The HFC currently costs CHF 120 per month but is increasing to CHF 150 on January 1, 2026.

CHF 1 is equivalent to US $1.24 or €1.07, so all these costs are higher than they may seem to be if you tend to think in US$ or euro terms when planning a trip.

Thanks so much acraven. Very good into on the Saver Day Pass. I’m sure that will come in handy as I get more into the Lauterbrunnen area planning, or maybe even for the Glacier Express.

I’m even confusing myself about the passes! You must be right - that I meant the Half-Fare Card. However, when I try to purchase it from sbb, the initial purchase price for an adult is 190 CHF, unless I’m mistaken, which I hope I am. https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/half-fare-travelcard.html

Ah - the 190 is in dollars, at least here on Swiss Railways (actually $195 on this site.)
https://www.swissrailways.com/en/buy-swiss-half-fare-card?affiliateId=249&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&hsa_kw=half%20fare%20card%20switzerland&hsa_acc=7149890793&hsa_grp=1327113036382125&hsa_tgt=kwd-82945820463188:loc-190&hsa_src=o&hsa_ad=&hsa_cam=765298968&msclkid=a1bef639c4d017f931fc9f16e61f6dfe&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US_EN_SE_SRW&utm_term=half%20fare%20card%20switzerland&utm_content=Swiss%20Half%20Fare%20Card

There is a one year Half Fare Card @ CHF 190.00.
The one month HFC is the one you want

https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-half-fare-card.html

Perfect, swissnomad. Thank you! This is exactly what I’m looking for. Evidently I have to wait a bit to purchase it, but thanks to your link, I’m all set.