Yes it's very unclear to me - some have said they have gotten 25% off int'l journeys to Germany with a year Half-Fare card so always try.

>Yes it's very unclear to me - some have said they have gotten 25% off int'l journeys to Germany with a year Half-Fare card so always try.


Yes, it is true - Austrian, German and Swiss railways honor each other´s discount cards with 25% discount if the trip is going over a border.
So if you have your HFC in hand and buy a ticket from Hamburg to Zürich via Stuttgart you get 50% from the Swiss part and 25% off for the entire part from Hamburg to the Swiss border. You won´t get this discout by buying online though - only from the counter.

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Another alternative for incredible savings:

Clickandrail. It's the SBB's last minute savings program for train travel in Switzerland.

I used this for my last trip to Schwyz-Locarno. I bought tickets using my half fare card for SFr. 28 roundtrip.

Advantages/Disadvantages

+ Tickets are available for full fare or half fare

+/- You can purchase tickets no more than three days before use.

+/-It must be done on-line using a credit card. It's not available at train stations.

-/+ not all destinations are available. (But you don't have to use destination points per se. You can get on or off anywhere in between)

- you are bound by the train departure times you choose.

-/+ you must write in the names of the ticket holder. One train conductor asked for ID to make sure the ticket names and ID matched (didn't understand why though).

+/- you must have a printer to print out your ticket. This printout is your ticket.

So for all of you who believe in "Geiz ist Geil" (stingy is great) and are looking for the ultimate cheapest legal way to travel, clickandrail is hard to beat.

Hmm. The ½ Fare Card does exactly what it says it does: 50% discounts just about everywhere including mountain cable systems.

I think you should consider the Swiss Card was well. It includes a train ride from where you enter Switzerland to where you exit Switzerland. For example, last year we entered at Basel and left from Geneva. Our destination was Lauterbrunnen.

The cost of the tickets point to point were 59.60 to Lauterbrunnen and and 71.60 from Lauterbrunen to the Geneva airport.

The Swiss Card is 178 chf; the Half Fare card is 99 chf. 79 chf difference in cost.

If I buy the same entry and exit tickets point to point I actually pay less if I use the Swiss Half Fare card!!

Better yet, I can get the Half Fare card in Zürich when I arrive and pay no shipping costs!!!

I used my Swiss Card several years ago on the Gornergrat train at a 50% discount.

As far as I have experienced, the 50% off applies widely. I have found to date only two short rides in the Berner Oberland (Sulwald - Isenfluh and the Grindelwald -Pfingstegg cable lines) where I received only 25% off.

Both were short rides, so the extra cost was small.

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Does a 16 year old qualify for a child rate (student) or are they considered adults? We are trying to decide if it is worth it to buy the Swiss 1/2 fare card for the museums and lifts/cable rides while we vacation in Switzerland for a few days this summer. We don't expect to use the rail system as we will have a car. Can anyone clarify this?

It is not entirely clear, but it appears not. Most references I have seen mention children under 16. I did see it mentioned somewhere that children between the ages of 6 - 15 travelling without parents are half the adult fare with the family card. That would seem to indicate that children 16+ would be treated as adults. It would be worth contacting Swiss Rail about.

The Swiss Youth Pass applies to people between the ages of 16 and 26, inclusive.

If you have a Swiss Card or a Half Fare Card, I am not sure what the procedure is.

It is a question worth asking.

Hi Bob Brown,
Per your recommendation some months back, I just bought a swiss rail pass -- 8 day consecutive, 2nd class. Hope I did the right thing not getting 1st class. It was a bit pricey.

Those people at BETS are certainly helpful and friendly. Even after I paid my money, they told me to call any time before my trip if I have questions.

Susan

though there is a difference in first class vs 2nd class always, in Switzerland second class is very good and i think you won't have any problems with getting seats, etc.

And if you want on any train you can sit in 1st class and pay the difference in the 1st and 2nd class fares to the conductor if you find a situation dictates it... but i don't think it will.

As often recommended, it is worth paying the 1st class upgrade on lake boats. Not that there is something wrong with the 2nd, but the entire top deck is 1st class and you have much better views from up there. Just ask for an upgrade when you are on the boat and the ticket vendor comes along (or buy the upgrade at the docks kiosk).

Thanks for the feedback. I'm already regretting (a little) that I didn't buy first class, but maybe I'll upgrade on some train trips, and definitely on boats.

S

I am looking for clarification of one point re the Swiss Flexipass. Two posts on this thread mention that the 50% discount is available until the last 100% free day is used. This would mean that in order to get the full value of the Flexipass you must reserve the last day for a 100% day even if it isn't the day that you are doing much travelling. Doesn't make sense to me. I always thought that it is 50% on all days up to one month with the 100% days to be used at your discretion. Does anyone know the exact terms of this pass? I couldn't find it on RailEurope.

Hi...I was wondering if the first class upgrade mentioned by you is also at half rate...or is it at full rate?

Lenore,
Call BETS (budget europe travel). They will answer any question you have about flexipasses.

Susan

My trip is in September. I will fly to Zurich. I can buy the HFC at the train station there. I can use it at once going to Luzern. I will do 2 day trips while basing myself there. Then I will take a train to Dijon. This post convinced me that I should get this card. Don't you think?

Thanks, Susan. I checked the BETS website and it does clearly state that the 50% disocunt is only available between the first and last free days on the Flexipass. So that would not work for us. The Swiss Pass is what we usually use. It offers so much flexibility. We're working on the figures to see if the half fare card or the Swiss Pass will be best this year.

georgiegirl - go to www.rail.ch and price out all of your intended journeys. If the sum of all the fares is greater than 200 CHF, then you will save money with the HFC.