Hello,
My wife and I are planning to go to Switzerland in mid-May and want to take the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt. I want to get tickets as early as possible to ensure seats, but I see the first class seats cannot be reserved more than 90 days in advance. A half-price pass seems the best discount to use, so do I buy that pass and tickets now and then reserve a seat in February? Or, do I just wait until the reservation window opens up? Thank you!
Posted by
Green Bay
22110 posts
Get the seat reservations first, then you will know you have seats. Tickets are an after thought, since people will show up with seat reservations and Swiss Travel Passes, and they do not need tickets.
Posted by
Wengen
2948 posts
Tickets do not ensure seats. No ticket does that. Only a reservation ensures a seat.
That is the first thing you need to know. Tickets and reservations are separate.
A ticket permits you to use services on a route, but does not guarantee a seat. A seat reservation guarantees you a seat, but is not sufficient for travel.
The second thing that is that you do not need the Half Fare Card to buy discounted tickets. If you buy a ticket with half fare reduction you will be asked to show that you have the HFC when the ticket is inspected on the train, but you do not need it when buying tickets.
The third thing is that you do not need to buy tickets in advance. Mostly people just buy their ticket on the day of travel. (Also, you only need one ticket, even if your trip involves 8 sectors operated by 5 different companies...)
So basically you can do your reservations for the Glacier Express as soon as possible. But the tickets and passes you only need to get at the lates before you board your first train..