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Swiss Rail Pass purchase

We are going to Switzerland in June and plan on using the Swiss Rail Pass. Is it better to purchase this pass on line and have them mail it to you, print it out at home, or buy it upon arrival? We are traveling with 12 year old grandchildren and need the Family Pass option. Also, can the pass be printed out more than once in case of printer failure if printed at home?

Posted by
19636 posts

Buying it on arrival is the best option. You would only need it in advance if you were traveling by train to Switzerland from outside the country and needed it to go into effect as you crossed the border. If they send you an email with a pdf file, you can save it and print it again. But then I've never actually bought a Swiss Travel Pass on-line.

Posted by
5835 posts

Also, can the pass be printed out more than once in case of printer failure if printed at home?

Out of caution, I will "print" (save) electronic documents as a pdf file then print a paper copy. It seems that many younger travelers skip the paper copy and are depending on displaying documents on their devices, but I'm old enough to want the comfort of paper with a electronic back-up.

Posted by
7209 posts

And I think the free Swiss Family Card doesn’t work for grandparents. There is a different card for grandparents taking their grandchildren. At least that’s what I seem to remember.

Posted by
16893 posts

Correct, the free Swiss Family Card for visitors only works for parents and legal guardians. They used to have a separate, buy-in-Switzerland version called a Grandparent Card, but as of this year, grandparents, aunties, and basically anyone can buy a Children's Co-Travel Card. This is also mentioned on our Swiss rail page.

Posted by
101 posts

I failed to say that the children and their father will be traveling from Paris to Basel by train where we will meet them. Which is the best way for him to purchase a Swiss Family Rail Pass?

Posted by
19636 posts

So their father will be with them and you the whole time? Trying to figure out these logistics.

Posted by
771 posts

I don’t know exactly how the Family Pass works, but for 2 adults, we bought pases online and printed them out, feeling good we could reprint them from the confirmation email, if necessary.