Please sign in to post.

Swiss Rail Pass 4 consecutive days

Going to purchase a Swiss Rail Pass for FOUR consecutive day- Will be traveling on 3 of those days- one day I will be in Zermatt o/night.
On this day I won't be traveling except locally in Zermatt maybe to the Matterhorn- Does this count as a day? May be stupid Q- because the pass says FOUR Consecutive DAYS- but one of the days I won't be taking the trains. Thanks- Mary

Posted by
11294 posts

Four means four. So, if you buy a four day pass and only use it on three days, you don't get any discount or refund. But, there's no penalty or anything like that if you don't use it; you just make the rail company happy for buying something you didn't get full use of <g>. I know nothing about Swiss Rail Passes, but if you post your complete itinerary, others can say if your plan is the most effective cost-wise (since you already know that you really only need 3 days).

Posted by
6898 posts

I suspect that you are about to spend about $293 (275CHF) for a 4-day consecutive rail pass. Depending on where you are traveling in Switzerland, you may be paying too much for rail travel. Also, if you intend to go up to the Jungfrau or Schilthorn, no rail pass covers more than 50% of the fare. Let us know where you intend to travel by rail in Switzerland and we can advise you further. You can also attend our upcoming RS travel group meeting at Panera's in Natomas at 10:00am on April 20 and we'll have 6-8 well seasoned travelers that can assist you.

Posted by
16024 posts

A 3-day Flex pass would cost less than the 4-day Swiss Pass. Either one will give you a discount on lifts in the Zermatt area, but neither will fully cover the ride. And there is no lifton the Matterhorn. You can ride ski lifts up Kleine Matterhorn, but for best views of the mountain Imsuggest the Gornergrat train. As Larry says, for such a short trip there is likely to be a better choice, especially if you are going up the Jungfrau. Passes like the Swiss Pas are more cost-effective when you are traveling greater distances. So it would help to know where you plan to travel each day.

Posted by
7209 posts

Swiss Passes also carry the added "convenience" factor of just being able to hop on and hop off whenever you want as many times as you want without having to purchase additional tickets. Of course that's not true on the private lines like the Jungfrau and Gornergrat. You'll have to purchase an additional ticket at the train station, but showing your Swiss Pass will get you a hefty discount. Buying a 4-day consecutive pass does seem like a waste if you're not planning on using it for an entire day...and yes that day will count as one of the 4 consecutive days.

Posted by
8 posts

Thanks for those response. Here my plans- Leaving Paris on the train (5/20)-Day one to Zermatt-o/night(long day) 5/21 Day two- o/night in Zermatt. Want to see the sights there- I will take suggestion on the local sights/train to use. Not taking major trains this day. 5/22- Day 3- Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Mortiz (o/night in Mortiz) 5/23- St. Mortiz ( finally destination is Munich Germany by 5/24) On 5/23 I thought I could either go from St. Mortiz to St Gallen (if using Swiss or Flexi Pass)- o/night in St Gallen 5/24- St. Gallen to Munich- pay for train trip (not using Pass since my four days will be up and my travels than leave Switzerland. Any suggestions- I try figuring the price with and without the Swiss Pass. The prices I came up with were pretty close-if I did it right. Without pass- regular fare $492 $462 if I buy non-refundable train tickets ]Q- CAN ANYONE SUGGEST IF I SHOULD BUY THE NON-REFUNDABLE TRAIN TICKETS- THE SPECIALS OR TO KEEP WITH THE REGULAR TRAIN FARE IN CASE I NEED TO CHANGE TIMES OF TRAIN DEPARTURE?
With Swiss 4 Day pass $475 ( $293.00 Swiss Pass + $113.42 from Paris to Lausanre, & $74.20 from St. Gallen to Munich . Also I can use this pass for discounts while in Zermatt or the local transportation in other towns. So I thought this would be the add't "savings" that would make the Swiss Pass worthwhile. Thanks- Mary