swagman

Hi, I will be taking the Swiss train from Geneva to Zermatt in late January 2012. Should I pre-purchase the tickets now or wait till I get there? I will be there several days prior to the train trip.

Also, if I purchase now, should I do so via sites such as RailEurope or through the SBB site?

I am also thinking about getting my hotel to book tickets for me, that may avoid the service fee charged by sites like RailEurope.

Comments are welcomed, thank you!

s

swandav2000

Hi swagman,

There are normally no advantages for buying Swiss train tickets in advance. Occasionally there are some Supersaver tickets for specific routes, so you can check to see if you can snag one of those:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and...r-tickets.html

If you don't get a Supersaver, there is no reason to buy in advance.

No, do NOT use Raileurope. They do not list all of the available trains or connections, and they will over-charge you for your ticket (plus you'll pay a mailing fee).

Many people take advantage of other savings cards like a Swiss Transfer Ticket or a Half Fare Card, so you may want to investigate those --

www.swisstravelsystem.com

Have fun!

s

greg

What benefit do you think you are getting by buying tickets before going to Switzerland? The route you indicated has frequent train services with open seating. If you buy the tickets yourself in Switzerland, you certainly avoid RailEurope fees.

You tagged France, Germany, and Switzerland. Is Geneva to Zermatt the only segment you plan to use a train? If your "other" segments involve many train trips in high fare countries like Switzerland and Germany, you might benefit from getting a train pass.

swagman

Thank you both for your advice.

I have had another look on the SBB site, whilst train schedules for January 2012 are not listed yet but I can see the route I will be travelling on is indeed a frequent service and I guess the need to pre-purchase is not warranted.

I will be heading to Geneva Airport from the French side and I understand the train station is located underneath it. I shall arrive half an hour prior to departure to buy tickets and hope this should be sufficient.

@greg, I tagged the other forums so as to cast the net wider for response, that's all and I am normally a regular on the France forum.

s

swagman

Can someone advise if I should get a Swiss Pass (Rail) or just buy single journey tickets for the following:-

Family of 3 (2 adults + 1 child under 12) travelling from Geneva Airport to Zermatt and then 6 days later, from Zermatt to Zurich Airport.

Thank you.

s

swandav2000

Hi again,

I'm afraid that someone simply has to do the math. Get all the fares for your trips and excursions, add them up, and compare the sum to the various passes and discount cards.

Your child will travel for free.

Good luck as you plan!

s

hkto

All options for passes and other discounts are explained here http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holiday...m-buchung.html

Child under 16 is free with pre-ordered youth card

Do your math before purchasing. For example Swiss Transfer Ticket is 130CHF (anywhere in Switzerland). Geneva to Zermatt is 95, Zermatt to Zurich is 67. So I would just stick with single tickets.

PalenQ

It is so so easy to buy that ticket upon arrival at Geneva Airport - in the train station there and yes no to tiny perhaps savings - no Swiss trains - at least domestic trains, require seat reservations and they IME rarely are chock full - just buy the ducat upon arrival.

If you were traveling much else around Switzerland then consider a Swiss Pass or Half-Fare Card, Swiss Card (which provides everything the Half-Fare Card does but can be for some itineraries a better deal as it also covers 100% a journey from any border or airport to anyplace in Switzerland and then out to any border station or airport as well.

Children under 16 get a free Family Pass where they never pay anything on any transport - this is with a Swiss Pass or Half-Fare Card, etc even on pricey cable cars that passes only give 50% off on. If your stay in Switzerland does not exceed 4 days then consider the 4-consecutive-day Swiss Saver Family Pass as it would also be useful once in Zermatt for 50% off aerial cableways, mountain trains, etc.

Great sources for info on Swiss trains, passes, half-fare cards, etc - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.swisstravelsystem.com. the latter links you to the www.sbb.ch or Swiss Federal railways site to compare prices to the pass or half-fare card, etc.

swagman

Thank you all for your feedback in particular hkto for doing the sums for me!

Perhaps finally can someone advise me if one can purchase a Family Pass for my child from the ticketing machine located in the station or do I have to do so from a manned ticket counter?

s

PalenQ

when comparing prices of various passes to local tickets be sure to check pass prices in both US dollars if bought in the US and Swiss francs for those bought in Switzerland - much of the past several years the same exact pass or transfer ticket (only sold abroad I think), etc have been significantly cheaper in dollars - a month ago it was about 20% cheaper due to the swift rise of the Swiss franc - since the france was devalued they are about the same last I checked but you never know. And figure in whatever your credit card charges for foreign transactions - often 3% and never use the official rate you see in papers but knock a few cents off for banks to make their profits even higher!

PalenQ

Perhaps finally can someone advise me if one can purchase a Family Pass for my child from the ticketing machine located in the station or do I have to do so from a manned ticket counter?>

I too would like to know this - when you buy a pass you can request a free Family Pass if you have kids under 16 (grandkids and non-relatives do not qualify I believe) but otherwise I do think you can get a Family Pass without buying anything else - it used to cost about 20 Swiss francs but could be free.

I await an answer as well!

tipsygus

I asked the Swiss Travel office here in the UK about buying a Family Pass for myself, my niece, her daughter and a great niece. There would be three family names on the pass. I was told that was possible. Unless passports are checked there is no way the ticket conductor on the train would know the relationship of the party. However we did not make the trip so I have no idea if there would be problems.

PalenQ

IME Swiss conductors rarely do more than glance at my Swiss Railpass - indeed I could be using the same one for years as no one ever looks at it - but technically I think the Family Pass only applies to your actual kids under 16 but I would not sweat that!

PalenQ

Passports are checked only one with passes IME - when you are activating the pass once in Switzerland you usually must show all passports or ID cards at time of validation.

PalenQ

Also, if I purchase now, should I do so via sites such as RailEurope or through the SBB site?

I am also thinking about getting my hotel to book tickets for me, that may avoid the service fee charged by sites like RailEurope.>

RailEurope, owned in part by the SBB or Swiss Federal Railways, does charge a fee for orders under $400 or so but nevertheless check with them in any case - Swiss Passes sold by RailEurope have often been significantly cheaper bought here than the same exact pass in Switzerland so you could save but this will not always be the case - due to currency fluctuations, etc it can swing the other way - but I would always check - and compare to www.sbb.ch - Swiss tickets are open ended - meaning they do not come with a seat reservation, which is option and only available on a relatively few trains IME - and I think not on the Visp to Zermatt trains (change off the mainline from Geneva at Visp to the mountain train to Zermatt) - so usually just buy when you arrive - it is so easy to buy the tickets at the Geneva Airport train station (also a good way into Geneva proper, the train from airport) upon arrival - hotel desks do not charge a fee per se but do expect a nice gratuity for such a service I think.

swagman

Hi All

Just letting everyone know I ended up purchasing a Swiss Pass as recommended by the agent at the ticket counter. The cost was CHF275 per adult 1st class. It was explained to me this ticket operates similar to the Swiss Transfer Ticket (which can only be purchased outside of Switzerland) and allows 2 border to destination journeys. Initially I was under the impression that it had to be from the same border but in fact it didn't such as in my case - Geneva to Zermatt and then Zermatt to Zurich.

The Swiss Pass also gives half price discount for additional train travels which the Swiss Transfer Ticket doesn't.

PalenQ, you were spot-on on both of the above!!

I tried the automated machine at the station and it gave me a price of CHF342 for 2 adults 1st class tickets one-way from Geneva Flughafen to Zermatt.

To obtain a Family Pass, you are required to provide passports to the agent over the counter so that the names of the parents and the child(ren) are noted on the Family Pass. I am not sure if the automated machines are capable of issuing Family Pass.

Whilst our tickets are checked by the conductors on the train throughout our journeys, never once did they ask for our IDs to verify the names on the tickets.

Hope the above information helps.

s

PalenQ

swagman - wow does not take much to make the Swiss Pass pay off, especially in first class! Did not realize regular fares were that sky high - thanks for note.

scatcat

That does sound really expensive even for 1st class.

rcartinc

Thanks everyone for all the info on this subject. My wife and I are traveling from Zurich to Zermatt, then back to Zurich, then on to St. Anton, Austria, and return to Zurich. If I understand correctly a Swiss Pass will cover these destinations? Also am I correct that we will need to go back through Zurich in order to get to St. Anton. We are leaving for Switzerland on Feb 20, 2012.

swandav2000

Swagman, I believe you are confusing the Swiss Pass with the Swiss Card (the latter gives you transport from the border to a destination, then to a border again, and functions as a half-fare card in between).

rcartinc, you can get the exact schedules and connections for your trip at the Swiss rail site

www.rail.ch

have fun!

s