Regarding Swiss Train Tickets & Half Fare Card
 

I will be in Switzerland for 3-4 days in April. All travels will be by rail.

Day-1 : Travel from Paris to Interlaken West
Day-2 : Interlaken West to Jungfraujoch & back, take boat in Lake Thun.
Day-3 : Interlaken West to Murren & back (day trip)
Day-4 : Interlaken West to Venezia S Lucia

The half fare card becomes beneficial even with Day-2 & 3 plans.

For Day-1 & Day-4 journeys, I plan to buy tickets in advance. I wanted to know if there is any option to get these tickets also at a discount from/till Swiss border onwards using the half fare card. But the Half Fare card which costs ~120 CHF has a validity of 1 month.

Any suggestions on how to go ahead?

Regards,
Rajat

Have you actually looked at the Swiss Federal Railways site where you can also buy all these products? www.sbb.ch/en

If you have and your questions still haven't been answered then my apologies for the suggestion and good luck on your trip.

swisstravelsystem.com also has information about passes.

The half fare card can be used as far as the Swiss border but you can buy a ticket all the way to Venice and the ticket office will take your half fare card into account in the price. If you buy online, it will ask you if you have a pass.

It used to be that Swiss rail tickets were the same price no matter when you bought them but I can't be certain whether that is still the case.

French rail tickets are certainly available at cheaper prices if purchased in advance.

You may compare the Swiss half Fare Card (valid from Basel SBB up to Domodossola) with the Bernese Oberland Pass which gives free rides from Berne (or Lucerne) up to Brig (via the scenic old Loetschberg line only) as well on lakes and mountain railways in the whole Jungfrau area (but only half fare from Klaine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch and from Muerren to Schilthorn).
http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/home-en
You would then need additional tickets from Paris to Berne (or Lucerne) and from Brig to Venice. You may book them with https://www.captaintrain.com/en

I checked online and found that Swiss railway tickets price are less if bought in advance.

From sbb.ch site, I see that Half Fare Card has a validity of 1 month. So, cant purchase it now for the advance bookings.

WhenI ran some price comparisons for 2 adults & 1 child, I found the following :-
Paris -> Interlaken West by SNCF = 333 CHF (without any discount fare)
In Swiss Railways, it comes 247 CHF without any discount and 163 CHF with Half Fare card & junior card

So, I am thinking of going ahead and doing the advance reservations now. Later, once I reach Interlaken, I will buy the half fare card for Jungfraujoch and day rides.

It will be good to know if there are any gaps in the above plan.

Check whether the price differential is due to the French section of your Paris to Interlaken journey.

And you can purchase half fare card in advance online.

But you need to nominate your chosen month long period.

Or you can validate your card at Swiss railway stations before you use it.

I have also previously sometimes found it cheaper to buy the kids a discounted adult ticket on the French rail system.

"So, I am thinking of going ahead and doing the advance reservations now. Later, once I reach Interlaken, I will buy the half fare card for Jungfraujoch and day rides"

It's feasible, but this solution will of course cost you more.

The Swiss Transfer Ticket is made for you! It gives you a trip by train to any place in Switzerland from any border station or airport and then another trip out to any border station or airport - coming in you book your French train to Basel then hop on any train to get to your Jungfrau destination- say you want to stay up in the hills in say Grindelwald, just about 25 minutes from Interlaken and for most much more romantic

and then you'd get a train ticket from Interlaken or Grindelwald to Domodossola,Italy and book on www.trenitalia.com to Venice from there.

and with the Swiss Transfer Ticket you can buy a Half-Fare Card at 50% off normal price and get 50% off everything that moves in Switzerland in between your first and last trips - including the Jungfraujoch train on which Swiss Passes only give a 25% discount above Wengen and Grindelwald.

for lots on Swiss trains and passes: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.comand www.ricksteves.com. STransfer Ticket is sold I believe only outside of Switzerland.

After considering all combinations, I find that purchasing only the Swiss Half Fare card works out the cheapest for my travel plan.

@dreamon - I am trying to purchase the half fare card online from ssb.ch. But, it is not working out as the text gets jumbled up in the English page :(

How about buying the advance tickets considering the half fare card discount and then buying the half fare card + family card (for my son) at Basel station when I am entering Switzerland?

Will this work?

I read that it is also possible to buy the Swiss Half Fare Card / Family Card at SNCF outlets in France.

If this is possible, then it will be convenient.

Can anyone confirm this please?

<<I read that it is also possible to buy the Swiss Half Fare Card / Family Card at SNCF outlets in France. >>

Where did you read that?

I find it very, very unlikely, since each country has its own national railway system. You could buy a ticket from France into Switzerland at an SNCF gare, but not just an individual Swiss railway ticket or pass.

I read it here. Select Europe -> France
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/sales-outlets.html

One question - Is the below site reliable? It works fairly well to buy the half fare card online through this site. Charges are the same 120 CHF.

http://www.swiss-pass.ch/swiss-half-fare-card/

TIA,
Rajat

Why buy online when it is sold at any train station in Switzerland - why hassle with possible mailing fees, etc - just buy on arrival. But really what was the difference in price between the Swiss Transfer Ticket and Half-Fare Card straight up> Did you investigate the Jungfraubahn Pass?

Maybe because the Man in Seaat 61 recommends buying online and mentions that the tickets can be sent anywhere in the world?

You can buy half fare cards at pretty much any Swiss railway station. However, last June I was entering Switzerland at a point where there was nowhere to validate my pass.

I found that if I bought the half fare card via sbb.ch/en prior to departure I could enter the dates of the month I wanted (i.e. prevalidated) and print the pass at home. However, the dates could not be changed if my plans changed.

On this particular trip I did not buy a Junior/family card so you would need to check that out. The last time I did buy one (at a train station) it cost 30chf.

I'm not sure why you're having problems with the English version and can only suggest you try again later. The sbb contact centre is very good if you continue to have difficulties.

Thanks @dreamon. I found today that from sbb.ch/en site, online Half Fare card can only be purchased from some countries in Europe. From India, an order form based manual process has to be followed :(

I have sent out a query to sbb contact centre asking if I can purchase advance tickets using Half Fare discount card option and then purchase the card while entering switzerland at Basel. Once they confirm, I will go ahead and book the advance tickets.

@PalenQ - For my train travels (Basel-> Interlaken, Interlaken <-> Jungfraujoch, Interlaken <-> Grutschalp, Interlaken -> Domodossola) the cost with Transfer+ Half Fare is ~ 829 CHF & only Half Fare card = 827 CHF. So, going for only Half Fare Card.

Guys, I read up about below site and feel it's a scam. Anyone using, please check thoroughly.
http://www.swiss-pass.ch/swiss-half-fare-card/

Regards,
Rajat

"I have sent out a query to sbb contact centre asking if I can purchase advance tickets using Half Fare discount card option and then purchase the card while entering switzerland at Basel. Once they confirm, I will go ahead and book the advance tickets"

It would be way easier to buy all together at the ticket counter of Basel SBB. You will have to change trains at Basel SBB anyway. Trains from Basel SBB to Interlaken run every 30 min.

Guys, I read up about below site and feel it's a scam. Anyone using, please check thoroughly.

Appears to be the official site of Swiss Federal Railways to me- why do you think it to be a scam?