We will be leaving for our trip to Switzerland in the midst of our busiest hurricane month and I am a bit anxious about the possibility of the trip having to be canceled at the last minute. Even if I buy insurance for the Swiss Pass, it does not cover weather-related emergencies, so if I buy the pass here, I would be out the cost unless I use it within the next 6 months, which I may not be able to do. For this reason, I would prefer to buy it when we arrive in Switzerland. We are US citizens traveling from the US. Could we wait and buy the Swiss Pass upon arrival?

Yes, but it has to be in a Big City, like Geneva or Zurich, not a small one like Montreux, Vevey, etc.

Yup at the airport train station you arrive at.

Wait until you get to Switzerland to buy it. If you want to use your Swiss Pass on the Glacier Express (not 100% sure if it's running again after the derailment) or the Bernina Express you will need to make a reservation. You can do this in advance (by email) even if you have not bought the pass, these two trains require an additional fee when using the pass. You will need to show your passport when buying the Swiss Pass.

Hello drchris

Are you flying into the Zurich Airport? If so, the rail office is very conveniently located for purchasing your passes on arrival. And if English is your only language -- fear not! They speak perfect English!

If you are hungry on arrival or are anticipating a longish train journey, this airport is a good place for refreshment. There is a food court (very similar to an American-style food court), a bakery, chocolate store!, and even a grocery store inside the terminal. Good for last-minute purchases on chocolates for your return home flight day, too!

Happy travels!

>Yes, but it has to be in a Big City, like Geneva or Zurich, not a small one like Montreux, Vevey, etc.

This is absolutely incorrect - whatever you can buy in a big city you can also buy in the tiniest station counter in the back end of nowhere - as long as it has a manned counter. They are all connected to some server farm in some office building basement, and where the terminal is located on which your payment is accepted and the pass is printed is absolutely of no consequence.

This is absolutely incorrect - whatever you can buy in a big city you can also buy in the tiniest station counter in the back end of nowhere - as long as it has a manned counter.

Not true, I went to buy the pass at the Montreux office and they told me to go to Geneva or to another big city, they said they didn't have the packages available there and I was there last week.

Basically I agree with Altamiro (I live in Geneva) so I'm a little surprised about your experience. You say a package. Not Swiss Pass? I won't call Swiss Pass a package. So I wonder what sort of package you were not able to buy at Montreux station.

I have followed the cost of a Swiss Pass bought in the U.S. vs those bought in Switzerland for years.

And for several years they were considerably cheaper if bought in the U.S. - right now they seem about par but you can never tell whether it is cheaper to buy one here or there as prices in dollars fluctuate - RailEurope, part owned by Swiss Railways recently reduced Swiss Pass prices and also had a special deal whereby on some passes they included free trains to various mountain tops -like Titlis, Pilatus and a few others, etc. These specials come and go but again always check IMO

Sites with lots of great dope on Swiss trains as well as giving current pass prices are www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - on the latter's home page are always notices of any temporary specials still on - like the one that just expired giving free trips to various mountain tops (Swiss Pass generally pays 50% for trains and conveyances that just go to mountain tops - and even 50% can be $40-50 return. So IME it pays to check both sources in dollars and in Swiss franc - and for purchases in Switzerland keep in mind you never get the official bank rate (banks make money of foreign exchange) and many American credit cards tack on a 3% foreign exchange fee.

Thanks for all the helpful information. Currently, the cost is pretty comparable in the US and in Switzerland, and I would consider the added 3% to be "insurance" against having bought one in the US and then not being able to use it should our trip be canceled. We've been through two major hurricanes in recent years, and they do shut travel down, plus if your house is affected, it takes a lot of time and effort to clean up. We hope there won't be another one coming our way this year, but that is so unpredictable. In addition, my son (who follows these things) says the second, larger volcano in Iceland is likely to erupt in the near future if it follows past trends.

PalenQ - I'm sorry we missed that special but I will check for future ones.

Swisshiker - Thanks for the heads up on food. We are arriving at the Zurich airport in the early morning and hope we get breakfast on the plane but haven't checked, so we may need to fuel up before we leave. We are just going to Lucerne, so the train ride will be short.

Justshootme - If I make a reservation by email and then our plans change, can the reservation be changed or refunded? (This may be on the website but haven't had time to look yet.) We do plan to take the Glacier Express partway. We had originally planned to also take the Bernina Express, but when I posted the original itinerary, feedback was that it included too much, so we have scaled back and hope to do the Bernina Express on a future trip, perhaps while visiting Italy.

Sorry, drchris I do not know the answer to your question. I made the reservation by email and did travel using the Swiss Pass as planned. The train station is located at the airport in Zurich, just go downstairs for the platforms, there are ticket counters and a SBB reservation office at the airport train station. You can easily buy your Swiss Pass from here. If you are not travelling in the busy season, you may be able to put off booking the GE and snag a reservation at the SBB office just after buying your Swiss Pass. Worst case senario you can take a regular train in lieu of the GE.
Hopefully, somebody else can answer your question and will chime in.

Justshootme - If I make a reservation by email and then our plans change, can the reservation be changed or refunded?>

Good question since the Glacier Express supplement for passholders is as steep at the Jungfraujoch - about $35 or so. But change may be if seats are available on the train you want to change to - and GE's, which often are chock full with tour groups - can always be full - so be flexible if that is the case.

PalenQ, when I took the Jungfrau it was half price with a Swiss Pass. This made the GE supplement look like a bargain.

SwissPasses now only get 25% off the Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch train - 50% from Wengen to Grindelwald to Kl Scheidegg and 100% on trains below those towns to Interlaken-Ost

A few years back it was 50% Wengen or Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch but was reduced last year sometime - and is about the only train, gondola, funicular, cableway, etc portion not getting 50% off if the Swiss Pass don't cover it in full.

Do you reserve a particular seat, or just a 1st or 2nd class seat and sit in whatever seats are available? If a particular seat needs to be reserved, please advise as to the best seats. I know Rick Steves has some suggestions about which side of the train to sit on for some trains, and I'll check that again, too. We are trying to decide between 1st and 2nd class and are leaning toward 1st class, in part as that apparently allows us to go to the upper level of the lake boats, and we hope to ride those in Lucerne, on Lake Thun, and Lake Leman. Comments on whether 1st class is worth the extra price? (I know that's subjective.)

>Do you reserve a particular seat,

You get a particular seat reserved (you get a number assigned) but you normally don't get to choose it.

>or just a 1st or 2nd class seat and sit in whatever seats are available?

That's what you do WITHOUT reservation. Which is the usual way people go.

>If a particular seat needs to be reserved, please advise as to the best seats.

There are IMO no "best" seats, except maybe not the ones right next to lavatory.

>Comments on whether 1st class is worth the extra price?

You can simply pay the price difference in the instances where 1st class makes sense (e.g. on the boats).

On the other hand, many boats have entirely enclosed 1st class area while in the open part of the lower level (2nd class) you can sit in the fresh lake breeze. Anyway you can always decide in the last minute whether to pay extra or not. The boats have conductors selling tickets.

Regarding where you can buy Swiss Pass, I asked the question at a counter of Geneva station yesterday when I was buying a ticket. I was told " at any manned station ". I don't know what went wrong with pookymimi at Montreux station.

I don't know what went wrong with pookymimi at Montreux station>

perhaps there was a female clerk at the Montreux ticket window?

From experience I definitely support buying a second class ticket and upgrading to first on the Lake Steamers --the best parts of a wonderful journey (twice) for me.

altamiro - what if you get assigned to a "bad" seat (like next to the lavatory? I assume you can move around if other seats are open?

Thanks to all who suggested buying a 2nd class ticket and upgrading for the boats.

I need to get all of this decided soon! The focus on kitchen remodeling and new floors that has taken my attention away from trip planning ends tomorrow (at last!), so I can refocus on the final details of the trip. I usually have all the details taken care of months in advance, so waiting til the last minute is a new experience for me. I know many people don't plan meticulously in advance and still have wonderful trips, so I will trust that it will all work out