Train Travel in Switzerland

The delightful boat ride and cogwheel train to Mt Rigi and the open air Cabrio cable car to Mt. Stanserhorn are completely covered by the STP; Pilatus is discounted. I believe that Chillon is covered also, but things may have changed since my last visit.

For scenic routes, the STP covers the regional trains that run on the exact same tracks. With the regional trains, you can open windows, and they usually have open seats, so you can bounce from side to side as the scenery changes . For the panoramic trains, you will have glare from the windows on your pix.

Most folks probably break even on the half- fare card, but I always go for the convenience of the STP.
When you look at prices on the SBB app, the app assumes you have at least a half-fare card, so double those prices.

Have a great trip!

if I have a STP, do I have to buy any additonal tickets for travel, like for the Golden panoramic Train going from Wengen to Montreaux?

No.

Is 1st class included in the STP?

There is a separate price category for the STP in 1st class, generally about 60% more. You can buy class upgrade tickets for 1st class if you have a 2nd class STP.

If one of your party is under 25, they can get a discounted STP. You have 8 nights, so an 8-day STP will leave you a day short since you will be traveling 9 days total. So the question is do you want a 15 day pass or an 8-day pass and travel full fare on your first or last day. Also note that the discounts you receive for travel above Wengen is only 25% with the STP, whereas the HFC gives you 50%.

Hi, thank you for your reply. Yes, I'm leaving the 9th day for an early morning flight out of Geneva. I will just have to pay for train tickets going to Luzern on my first day. I feel like thats the cheapest option. Then we'll hop on the train on our last day from Montreux to Geneva airport. Has anyone ever done early morning train rides? We will probably have to be on the train at 6:30AM to catch our 9:30AM flight.

I'd like some advice. It was recommended to us that when heading from Wengen to Montreux, take the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, then Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken Ost, from interlaken to Zweisimmen and then catch the Golden Pass Line to Montreux. We were told the scenery is breathtaking. Has anyone done this route? Does it matter if we are in first or 2nd class for it? Thank you.

Yes, the Golden Pass route is very beautiful. As for 2nd class or 1st, no difference IMHO. Both will be very clean and have nice large windows. I don't know about during high tourist season, perhaps first class might be less crowded. But all the seats look similar to me.

We will probably have to be on the train at 6:30AM to catch our 9:30AM flight.

Direct trains from Montreux to Geneva airport take at least 1 hour and 16 minutes. If your flight is direct to North America, that is risky, as 3 hours from airport arrival to flight departure is standard advice. The first direct train from Montreux is at 5:20 am and arrives at 6:44 am. I'd plan on that one.

Hi Green Bay, thank you for your reply. I am traveling within Europe. Switzerland is the first leg of my month long stay in Europe.

You might consider traveling to Geneva airport the night before and staying at an airport hotel. That will save 37 CHF per adult and 18.50 CHF for the child, since your STP's will still be valid. That comes to about $165.

take the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, then Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken Ost, from interlaken to Zweisimmen and then catch the Golden Pass Line to Montreux.

The Golden Pass journey starts in Interlaken Ost. You can already get on the Goldenpass Express train there and then not have to change trains in Speiz and Zweisimmen.

https://www.gpx.swiss/en/

It is possible that the Goldenpass Express train might be busier than the regional ones, or the times are not convenient for you, in that case just follow the route and change trains in Speiz and Zweisimmen. (Interlaken Ost > Speiz > Zweisimmen > Montreux).

With the regional trains, you can open windows

Note that on this route you can not open the windows on any of the newer regional trains. This is phasing out as the train cars are upgraded, and being able to do so will be unlikely, especially for the section from Interlaken Ost to Zweisimmen.

Hi Greenbay... I looked up the tickets on the SBB website for 2nd class and altogether for the 4 of us it is 100.35 USD. The 37 you were quoting is 1st class.

I've also thought about the hotel idea and staying in Geneva but when I looked up hotels near the airport that provide a shuttle, they were much more than what I would pay for a train ticket. Anything cheaper, I would need to take a cab to the airport or the train again and that defeats the prupose.

I looked up the tickets on the SBB website for 2nd class and altogether for the 4 of us it is 100.35 USD. The 37 you were quoting is 1st class.

When looking at ticket prices on the SBB website you will see:

“Price display: Half Fare Travelcard”

If you do not have a Half Fare travel card, you must change this in the drop-down menu to be “Full Fare”

That is what Sam did to see the price of 37.00, first class would be 63.00

Sorry, but 37 CHF is the full fare price for a 2nd class ticket from Montreux to Geneva airport. You must be looking at a Supersaver ticket or a Half Fare ticket. Supersaver tickets must be bought well in advance and are only good for the specific departure time it was bought for. That might be an OK thing for you to do, but don't miss your train or your ticket is worthless.

Yes, it was the Supersaver, I was thinking I would purchase it before hand and make sure we are there early to catch our train.

So much to think about. Now I'm wondering if it would just be easier to rent a car!

Well, the best thing do is probably do as the locals do. Get the Half Fare Card, and then just buy tickets as you go. The reduction you get on the Jungfraujoch ticket alone already justifies getting the HFC.

Wengen, thank you for the feedback. I am going to sit tonight and map out every ticket we will have to buy and take in to account the full price ticket to the airport should I get the STP, and take it from there. Truth is, it is our first time, and I really like the convenience of the STP. We watched several videos last night on Youtube of people visiitng Jungfraujoch, and now we are second guessing if it is something we should do on this trip. We would have to pack boots, and coats, and being that this isn't our final destination in Europe and all other places we are going to require swimsuits and sundresses and shorts, we are thinking it's a great excuse to visit Switzerland again and maybe do that excursion then. I got excited when I saw the Summer GA trial card and then realized it wouldn't apply to Americans. Bummer! When reading the description, it seemed perfect for us.

Mitsyfd1977,
you can have a great time without doing the Jungfraujoch. When we were there a few years back, we saw gals going up to the Jungfraujoch in their sandals and sundresses, as it was warm on the valley floor. Next, we saw them in the mountain top gift shop buying parkas. It was crazy!
I agree with the convenience of the STP. Once you have this pass, you'll probably find more ways to use it than originally planned.
You will be in a beautiful area with plenty to do. Skipping the Jungfraujoch is probably a wise decision this time around.
Enjoy!

Thank you Pat! I want to get the 8 day pass, but am traveling out of Switzerland on the 9th day early in the morning out of Geneva airport. So transportation to the airport will have to be paid for and it's like 165 dollars. I didn't realize when I booked.

I am not an expert here, but I believe you can buy a one day discounted pass, for one specific train, that is more reasonable, if purchased in advance. Someone here will chime in.
Safe travels!

We will arrive in Zurich on 7/30/25; party of 7 adults. Our itinerary will be primarily in the Bernese Oberland/Jungfrau region; Bern; Lucerne; Zweissimmen; and Geneva area. We plan to use rental cars but wondered if it is worth purchasing a Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass for special trains; funiculars; cable cars; Beautus Caves; Spietz Castle; Franciscan Monastery in Lucerne; Lion Monument; Castle de Chillon; Open Air Swiss Museum; and hiking trails? Some of us will be in Switzerland until 8/4; others until 8/5/ and the rest of us until 8/6.

Thanks.

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teri it would probably be a good idea if you posted this as a topic. Right now, you are posting on my topic.

i did not see anyone mention the STP includes several museum entries, as well as (as I recall....I'm working this issue myself for a September trip) local transit in many places.

Thank you Becky. The only issues I have with the STP is that I am leaving a day after the 8 day pass ends which means I have to pay full price for transit to the airport, and that August is a busy month in Switzerland and I'd like the option of first class if I notice trains are too busy when I travel. I know you can purchase 1st class with STP, but the price difference is astronomical from 2nd class. I know I can also upgrade when I'm there, but if I'm already paying over 1500 USD for the STP, I don't want to add more. I haven't decided yet, but at least with the half fare it's cheaper and we can make decisions about what we want to do on the spot, depending on the day.

Hi, I just want to add that spending the night in Geneva doesn't have to mean expensive transport. Geneva is small and the airport is very easy to reach by bus, for 3 CHF per person. You can go to the Geneva transport web site on the path planning page (https://www.tpg.ch/fr/voyager/planifier-votre-voyage/itineraires) and put in the address of any hotel you're looking at to get the exact itinerary, travel time and time table. Have a good trip!

Ho, thank you so much for your feedback. We are just going to travel from Montreux to the airport in the morning. We will leave our Airbnb at 6:00AM in the morning and should have enough time.

You can always get the non consecutive day pass and don't use it on one of your days?

May I ask the forum: is the Luzern-Interlaken more scenic than the Golden Pass from Interlaken to Montreux? The Interlaken-Montreux one only has a 2pm where we can all sit in the same coach car. The one at 11AM has us sitting separately. We'd rather get to Montreux earlier rather than later. Thank you!

they are different. More scenic? In the eye of the beholder.

I prefer the Brünig route, and probably because I love it and it takes me where I want to go. I love the views of Lake Brienz, the Brünig pass and villages, the initial views of Lake Lucerne...

Others prefer the glimpse of Montreux coming down the hill. If you want the direct glimpse you need to pay a lot for the 4 seats over the driver.

Personally, I went to Montreux once and haven't returned, took the train from Spiez via Zweisimmen to Montreux once and haven't done it again, when I connect Lausanne to somewhere in the centre I use the fast Rhône Valley trains.

Different folks prefer one or the other. That's just my personal experience - I am certain many will prefer the other....

Thank you for your response, I am looking at that route now.