My husband and I (late 50s) will be in Switzerland from Sept 16-24 and then into France. We will have back packs and travel by trains. I have done research and it seems to make sense that we purchase the half fare card for our time in Switzerland, but I still have a couple of questions that aren't crystal clear to me!
Our itinerary - Zur to Luz (2 nights), Luz to Zermatt (3 nights), Zermatt to Grindelwald (3 nights), Grindelwald to Strasbourg (2 nights), Strasbourg to Paris (5 nights)
1) It appears that the point to point tickets remain the same price if I purchase today or 40 days from now - correct??
2) Should I pre-order the half fare card - is there one website better than others to purchase from?
3) I think we want to avoid pre-purchasing supersaver tickets to allow us the flexibility and not get locked into a specific time/train to travel. However when I look on SBB site for next few days, I still see supersaver rates available, so maybe we could still get that rate vs point to point when we get there.
4) Saver Day pass - these appear to fluctuate in price and also when I look at dates right now just a few days out - there is no saver day pass available - are these sold in limited quantities? Does the half fare card make these passes half price or just a slight discount (when I did a dummy booking with one passenger with half fare and one with no discount the difference was only 3 CHF - 49 vs 52)
5) Saver Day pass might be an attractive option on our Zermatt to Grindelwald travel day as we'd like to get to Grindelwald, drop our bags and then head over to Lauterbrunnen and go up to Murren. From what I can see on the rail map, the funicular and train from Lauterbrunnen to Murren are included and it looks like the gondola down from Murren to Stechelberg and bus back to Lauterbrunnen station are included too? Do I have this right and all this would be included in a jam packed day with the Saver Day pass which right how is 44 CHF vs the point to point only for Zermatt to Grindelwald is 47.10CHF?
5) From Grindelwald we train to Strasbourg France. Should I buy a separate ticket just to Basel to get the half fare applied on that section and then purchase a separate ticket from Basel to Strasbourg in the Basel station - in France it appears that point to point tickets go up in price the closer you get to travel so maybe I should purchase that section now?
Sorry for so many questions - Thanks!