We booked six-day travel passes for our trip to Switzerland in June. We thought we were purchasing non-consecutive passes, but it turned out they were consecutive. That mistake ended up costing us more than $1,000. Shame on me for not catching it.
One important thing I learned from the experience, however, is that Switzerland Travel Centre (STC) is not SBB (Swiss Federal Railways). Rather, STC is a separate travel company, partly owned by SBB. There is no reason travelers cannot purchase their tickets and passes directly from SBB through its excellent, easy-to-use website.
One major disadvantage of purchasing through STC became very apparent when we encountered a problem. The friendly and efficient SBB personnel at the train stations could not access our STC reservation or obtain any meaningful information about our tickets through their computer system. Because the tickets had been purchased through STC, SBB staff were essentially unable to help us. We had to deal directly with STC.
After considerable difficulty, I finally found a telephone number for STC's London office and called them. Unfortunately, they were no help whatsoever.
Based on our experience, I would strongly recommend that travelers purchase directly from SBB rather than through STC, particularly since the price appears to be the same. Had we purchased directly from SBB, its station personnel presumably would have been able to access our reservation and assist us. Instead, when we presented our tickets and asked for help, there was very little they could do.
I also found STC's online presentation potentially misleading. To an unfamiliar foreign traveler searching for Swiss rail tickets, it can be easy to come away with the impression that STC is the official Swiss railway ticketing site. It is not. Although STC is partly owned by SBB, it is a separate company and, as we discovered, that distinction can become very important when something goes wrong.