Where to purchase pass

I always buy my pass when I get there, so perhaps in Geneva or Zurich (or Bern for the Berner Oberland Pass). The reason is this: suppose I had planned to take a side trip to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn, but I arrive in Switz. to see that they predict rain for a week. I may change my use of trains and a pass may no longer be to my advantage.

If you buy online from this site (which will send you to Rail Europe) you pay in dollars. If you buy in Switzerland, you pay in Swiss francs. The prices may differ due to currency exchange fluctuations. So check both. You can see the price you would pay in Switzerland here:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-travel-pass.html

But remember that if your credit card applies Foreign Transaction Fees (often 3 percent) you must add that to the cost of a pass purchased in Switzerland to make a valid comparison. For example, if the pass cost in witzerland is 500 CHF, a 3 percent FTF would add an extra $15 or so (again, depending on the exchange rate on the day). There are no Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases from Rail Europe.

The big advantage of buying in advance, assuming costs are similar, is that you do not have to spend time in line and at the window upon arrival in Switzerland. You just board the first train heading toward your destination. The passes purchased from Rail Europe come pre-validated.

You may, however, be bumping up on the deadline for regular shipping of passes bought on this site. They want to ensure that it will arrive before your departure to Europe. So for purchases within some date of the travel date, they will charge for expedited shipping.

There is no “family pass” per se. Each adult 16 and over must have their own. Children 15 and under can travel for free with a parent on a Family Card which can be requested when you purchase the adult passes.

I just checked the prices to compare, looking at an 8-day consecutive day pass in 2d class. The price on SBB is 398 CHF. The price on Rail Europe is $433. The dollar and Swiss franc are at par right now, so 398 CHF is equivalent to $397. So the Swiss price looks cheaper by $36 for that pass. But remember the Foreign Transaction Fees if you credit card applies them. And also consider the convenience factor.

That is very helpful - thank you. I'm on the site now, but I can't buy... maintenance issues or something.

The only reason to buy a Swiss Travel Pass in advance is if you are traveling by train and crossing the border and want the discount for the Swiss portion of the trip. If you are flying in, just buy at the airport train station.

You might find that for on-line transactions, SBB requires 3-D security, like Visa Check Out, to complete the transaction. Or use an American Express card.

I'm leaning towards just buying there then. Can I do it at any airport or train station in Switzerland?

You should be able to buy a Swiss Pass (and Family Card for kids) at any train station.

For regional passes like Berner Oberland Pass, you have to buy at a train station in that area (Bern or Lucerne on south).

If it was our link that was down for maintenance, it's probably because they were working on this surprise Swiss Extra-Day offer, valid only on 1st-class versions of 4-day and 8-day consecutive Swiss Travel Passes. Purchase passes here by June 13 (5 pm ET) and indicate a travel-start date no later than June 30.

First class is certainly more expensive, in this case $686 per adult for a new total of 10 (instead of 8) consecutive days, but if you were considering it, then this is a good time to purchase.

You all are so helpful - really appreciate it.

Last question, I think, We will fly into Geneva and sleep there for a day then head to Lauterbrunnen, (and then from there we are going to a lot of different places.) So I can just wait to buy the Swiss Pass when we get to the train station in Geneva?

Yes, you can wait.

To piggyback on the OP, should I be able to buy a Swiss Pass at the Lauterbrunnen train station? I ask because I assume it is a small office.

should I be able to buy a Swiss Pass at the Lauterbrunnen train station?

Packy, that seems a strange request, how are you getting to Lauterbrunnen? People normally buy them at the airport or border stations. Or, if you want one of the consecutive day options, you can buy online here: https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-travel-pass.html

According to the SBB website (here: https://help.myswitzerland.com/hc/en-us/articles/213634385-Where-can-I-buy-a-Swiss-Travel-Pass-a-Swiss-Transfer-Ticket-or-a-Swiss-Family-Card )

You can also purchase these tickets (except for the Swiss Transfer Ticket) at every major rail station in Switzerland (e.g. at Zurich or Geneva airports) as well as at the tourist offices in Zurich, Berne, Basel, Geneva and Lucerne.

I would not think "major rail station" includes Lauterbrunnen, as it is small station in the middle of Switzerland and foreign tourists do not start their first rail trip there.

I bought mine in advance using the www.sbb.ch/en website and didn't regret it in the slightest. Our flight landed in Geneva literally 10 minutes before the train we needed left. If I had had to wait to buy tix onsite, I would have missed that train and would have had to wait another hour for the next one. You can print from home and they charge you in Swiss Francs on that site.

Hello - If we buy a Swiss Pass online and print at home - do we then need to validate it once we get to Switzerland?

thanks

If we buy a Swiss Pass online and print at home - do we then need to validate

NO NO NO! You do not validate Swiss tickets, they already have dates on them.
Think about it logically, what is the purpose of validation? It is when tickets don't have a time/date on them, you need to put a timestamp on them to stop you using the ticket twice on different days. The Swiss Pass already has the dates on it, you chose them when you bought it. And, for print-at-home tickets, you can print out as many new copies as you want, so stamping a ticket doesn't stop you doing anything.

All you need is the printed out ticket and your passport as ID, both to show to the ticket inspector on the train. The purpose of the ID is to stop two different people using two copies of the same ticket at the same time. You name is on the ticket, you also need to enter that when you buy the ticket.

I purchased our Swiss Travel Passes online from SBB before we left home. Our first stop in Switzerland was Wengen, in the Lauterbrunnen area on a Sunday evening because we arrived there from Germany on a RS tour. I could not confirm that the station would sell tickets because it is not one of the "major" stations. The transaction was easy. The price for an 8 day 2nd class pass was 398 CHF and I was charged $398.37. If you lose the tickets, you can reprint them from the email.

The 8 day pass made sense for us because this occurred near the end of the tour. We used it for 2 days in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, then went to Chamonix, France for 2 days to end the tour, then could use the pass from Chamonix to go back to Switzerland for 4 more days when it was over. We made good use of all the features--train, lift, bus, boat, museums--and got our value from it even though we used it 6 out of the 8 days.

What Chris said - no need to validate, just hop on the train and go. We did get asked to show our pass on every train trip, and usually our ID with it, but not always.