Swiss Rail Pass-Is First Class worth the price?
 

Hi,

I will be buying a railpass for our trip to Switzerland, and I can't find anything that tells the difference between 1st & 2nd class.
Is first class worth the extra money? What is 2nd class lacking?

Thanks!

>Is first class worth the extra money?

IMHO: No.

>What is 2nd class lacking?

In peak travel times, free seats. Otherwise nothing.

You can always pay the difference between 1st and 2nd class and upgrade right on the train if you don´t like it. Most of the time You won´t need it. However, for example around a weekend on the north-south lines, or around the rush hour along the main axis Zürich-Geneva the trains can be pretty full (standing room only). During this time your chance to get a free seat in the 1st class are much better.

I don't think 1st class is worth the extra money. The first time our family purchased a Swiss Pass, we got it for 1st class. Second time we opted for 2nd class. There is a bit more room in 1st class, but not worth the extra money. Many local trains don't offer 1st class, so that would be a waste of money. We met more locals tavelling 2nd class.

We are going back to Switzerland this fall and will purchase 2nd class passes.

Have fun in Switzerland. It is our favorite vacation destination.

"Worth the price?" Personal preference IMO.

I think it depends more on the duration of the journey. For short trips of an hour or two, I'll go in 2nd class. For longer journeys or busy times/routes (as Altamiro noted), I like 1st class. Seats are definitely more comfortable in 1st class, and there's more leg room and space overall.

We bought first class once and didn't think it was worth the difference. Most American perceptions of the difference between first and second class is molded by the airlines where the difference is huge. I don't know the actual physical difference between first and second on a train but it is a very small percentage. We have ridden in second class for six and seven hours and it was very comfortable. The only advantage I can think of is that first class coaches are closer to the terminal and therefore less walking.

During peak hours (people commuting out of Geneva after work Mon thru Fri) there are WAY less people in 1st class. This may or may not come up as a tourist.

Yes, second class can have fewer available seats.

Also, for certain trips the first class cars will have much larger windows for viewing scenery.

Sometimes the 2nd class cars are older and dirtier. Yes, even Swiss trains can be dirty - I was shocked the first time I encountered this as is isn't very typical but it does happen.

Most of the time there is really no need to spend extra to have a clean comfortable ride. We have mostly always used 2nd class and I travel a lot within Switzerland by train just because I like it.

Once my husband and I went away for a romantic weekend together to Ascona from Zurich. I convinced him (he prefers taking the car) we should take the train - it would be so nice and relaxing, he could take a nap...etc. etc. Well, the dirty old car was taking away from the romance, so we just upgraded to 1st class when the ticket collector came by. It wasn't much more percentage-wise and worth it for the panoramic windows and clean cozy seats.

One thing we love (esp. my daughter) about Swiss train travel is that you can pack a picnic to bring along. In fact, many Swiss when off on a holiday will bring along wine glasses and wine to have with their snacks. Groups of older couples will all clink their glasses (Swiss tradition dictates you don't drink until you clink...)with toasts to everyone even while training. I love when little old Swiss men take out their army knives to slice up the fruit for their wives. Very sweet.

My daughter and I trained to Zermatt and because she rides free with me, and I have a half-price card, I got the first class tickets. We happened to get a brand new car that normally runs on the Glacier express. I will tell you that the car was beautiful - like in a movie, and the views were spectacular with the enormous windows. There were fancy picnickers all around us - very civilized - and a real experience.

We've done Swiss rail passes several times and have been glad that we did the first class ones. There is not a lot of difference in the train cars, but we did find the second class ones often jam packed while there was plenty of room in the first class ones (although admittedly one time we found the exact opposite of that to be true). But one thing we tend to do a lot of is ride the boats on the lakes which are free with the pass. If you have a first class pass you go to the upper deck, MUCH more comfortable and better views than the lower second class deck. In our case we did enough of those free boat rides to easily make the first class pass worthwhile.

I've never seen the need to go the first class route, but the few advantages of doing so are well-covered above.

When I first started going to Switzerland in the early 1980s there was a marked difference between the cars. (That was when many local trains still had the wooden seats in 2nd class.) But that difference has went away to a large regard since them. I noted on my last trip a couple years ago that many 2nd class cars had the contoured headrests that used to be seen only in 1st class. And I never saw a car with wooden seats!

One thing I have seen is people tend to be a bit more approachable in 2nd class, which I suppose makes sense given that those who pay the extra for 1st class may well be doing so to get away from the crowds and distractions.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. Sounds like it depends on the train and route, and as long as we can upgrade if needed, we'll go 2nd class.