Switzerland Rail Passes News
 

Hi folks,

I am just back home from the Dresden Travel Fair, where I got a good dose of virtual Switzerland travelling :-) (beside some cheese + wine)

What caught my eye is that with the Swiss Pass from this year on you get a reduction of 50% on the mountain railways/cable cars, not only 25%. This makes it even more a bargain. In addition, the Swiss Pass is also a "Swiss Museum Pass" - about 400 museums all over Switzerland give free entrance for the Swiss Pass travellers. See www.museumspass.ch for details.

By the way, we also had discussions here on sending luggage with Swiss Railways. The newest information is that you can send your luggage as "Schnelles Reisegepäck" (fast travel luggage?) between 45 destinations in Switzerland and they guarantee it will arrive the same day. Cost is 20 Sfr. per piece. www.sbb.ch/baggage (German, don't know the website of the English version)

Happy travels in Switzerland!

Ingo
(having another bite of the Swiss cheese ;-) )

Sounds good, Ingo! Topping for other folks who check in on Saturdays. J.

Hi Guys!

Wow, Ingo, great news! That change will make the decision to Pass or Half-Fare that much harder! Thanks for the update!

s

Hi. At another thread PalQ (I think) mentioned that the Swiss Pass is presently a good bit less expensive at raileurope. I took a look and it appears to be a big difference indeed. Am I missing something? (I purchased mine at the Zurich flughafen my last two trips.) J.

I have always been under the impression that ALL rail passes were sold at a set price (determined by the railroads) and that any additional costs were those involving S+H fees, etc.

In the past it seemed that the basic cost of Swiss Passes were no more or less expensive at RE than they would be buying them in Switzerland..so am I the one who is "missing something"?

I just compared Swiss Pass prices on RailEurope.com and RickSteves.com - they are the same.

1st cl/indiv
4-day........278
8-day........395
2nd cl/indiv
4-day........185
8-day........264

But they are not the same if you compare raileurope and the sbb.ch website.

Oh, good grief. I looked again and saw that the pdf file at sbb.ch is in swiss francs. Would you believe that my laptop screen is small? I have senior citizen eyes? Not enough coffee yet? So sorry gang. Mea culpa, etc. J.

one more cuppa coffee sounds good! I'll go get one, too..

Here are the prices in Sfr. from the swiss travel system brochure I got yesterday:

Swiss Pass 2nd class 1 Traveller (2+ Travellers)
4 days 250 (213)
8 days 362 (308)

Swiss Pass 1st class 1 Traveller (2+ Travellers)
4 days 378 (322)
8 days 543 (462)

You did know that you get a reduction if two or more persons travelling together, eh?

I.

I am not sure what those prices are listed by Travelnut.

I just printed out the PDF page from the Swiss web site that has the rates for 2006.

A 4 day 2nd class Swiss Pass, 1 adult, is 250 chf. For two adults together it is 213. The 8 day version is 362 for 1 adult while the 15 day version is 444.

The Swiss Flexi Pass 2nd class for 8 days is 450.

The 1st class prices, 4 days are 378 and 322 respectively for 1 adult and 2 together.

The Swiss Card is 178 per adult 2nd class.

Given the price differential and time differential, one must still look at the proposed travel plans when figuring the most cost effective discount instrument.

If, like me, most of the travel is in the mountain regions on various trains and cable lifts, the Swiss Card is still my better deal.

I cannot amortize the difference in cost between the two because I don't usually ride SBB trains other than to come in and go out of the country, the cost of which is included in the Swiss Card.

Ingo's prices from SBB site still show that passes are indeed cheaper from RailEurope than at the station in Switzerland, but not nearly as great a difference than they were in 2005 when i figured the differential to be about 18% cheaper for the exact same pass thru RailEurope in US.
Here prices from Ingo's post above and RailEurope prices - I used 1.30 Sfr to the $ as in today's NYTimes so multiplied by .77 $ to franc, the official and i think optimal rate - prices differentials will of course vary as to currency fluctuations - the disparity in 2005 was larger due to the higher value of the Swiss franc then - up to .90 $ to franc i believe at one time.
Swiss Pass 2nd class 1 Traveller (2+ Travellers)
4 days 250 (213) = $192.50 ($164)
8 days 362 (308) = $279 ($237)
RailEurope prices in $
4 days $185 ($158) - $7.50 and $8 cheaper respecitvely than in Switzerland
8 days - REurope: $264 ($225) - $15 and $12 cheaper than in Switzerland

Swiss Pass 1st class 1 Traveller (2+ Travellers)
4 days 378 (322)SF= $291 ($237)
8 days 543 (462)SF= $418 ($356)
RailEurope prices:
4 days 1st cl= $278 ($236 saver p.p.)
RE is $13 and $18 cheaper respectively
8 days 1st cl=$395 ($336) or $23 and $20 cheaper respectively.
So currently Swiss Passes still cheaper thru RE in US than at station in Switzerland - again this is as of 2/23/06 - currency fluctuations can cause difference to shrink or gain.
Now Reurope does charge $15 shipping fees on orders under $299 but some of the agents, like BETS (800-441-2387) who i deal with do not so the price differential is real.
Note that in 2006 for the first time RailEurope is not guaranteeing their prices for the whole year and reserve the right to change them - unlikely unless significant currency fluctuations in THEIR favor! (don't expect a decrease in price if dollar goes up!)




Swiss Pass 1st class 1 Traveller (2+ Travellers)
4 days 378 (322)
8 days 543 (462)

I have always been under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that pass prices were set and that there were no discounts.

What you seem to be saying, Pal, is that RailEurope, which is partially controlled by the SBB, is selling Swiss Passes for less than the SBB sells them for is that correct?

Correct.

All of this is caused by currency fluctuation. It was also cheaper in June of 2005 to buy the Swiss Pass in US$ via Rick Steves or Rail Europe than in Sfr. in Switzerland. One important perk with the Swiss Pass is to get the Swiss Family Card if you have qualifying kids--having them ride free is a fantastic bargain.

I wish I had seen this post earlier. Was there in mid Jan and from Basel to Geneve we paid CHF260.00 return for the 2 of us. and that was only 2nd class.

Re: Free Swiss Family Pass: kids under 16 get a free pass the same as their parents (only parents, not grandparents, etc.) - I believe these too cost more in Switzerland - I think i saw on the www.sbb.com Swiss Rail site that Family Cards there cost 20SF. I could be wrong but that's what i remember.

I paid SFr. 20.-- last year for my kids. Should still be in that range.

It does indeed perplex me why the Family Card costs SF20 in Suisse but is free in US? There's more than currency fluctuations to explain that!

Maybe because it's valid for a whole year? Also, there is no requirement to buy any other adult pass with it.

OK that makes a whole lot of difference i hadn't realized, and quite a bargain that probably pays off in a single trip - i was comparing apples to oranges.

Schuler--Are you sure it is not necessary to buy a Swiss Pass or Card to get a Family Card? When I asked RailEurope about that, they said they didn't think it was possible. Also, does each child cost 20SF?

It's called a Juniorkarte. It costs SFr. 20.-- for each child. Third + children get it for free.

As a parent, I just need to show a valid ID from the children showing their birthdate. You don't need to buy a halbtax or anthing else with it.

For more info:
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/...uniorkarte.htm

Thanks very much, Schuler!! The adults in our party will be travelling with a Eurailpass. Do you know whether that qualifies as a "valid ticket"?

I don't know. I think it's best if you write them an email about this. Or perhaps someone else on this board could comment?

The excellence of this development is not to be understated.

Maybe i don't understand the Family Pass - my understanding was that it would give free passage to a child traveling with a parent, and only a parent, and would match the type of ticket the parent has - thus would it just match the Eurailpass benefits in Switzerland and Eurail gives 25% off on all Jungfrau area trains, even to Jungfraujoch, so if you pay SF20 for the family card it would give 50% instead of 25% - point is unless doing the very pricey Jungfrau jaunt if you pay SF 20 for the pass you'll in effect only save 25% on each ticket purchased - thus if just going to Grindelwald for example the savings would not add up to the cost of the pass. But if you were going to take several gondolas, etc. then the pass would be worthwhile even if the kids had a Eurailpass which i assume they will.
Still the question remains does the SF20 pass give a 50% discount on regular tickets or just match the ticket or pass the adults have?

With the Family Card the children are completely free, no cost, when accompanied by a parent with a valid pass. For instance, riding on the Junfraubahn, a family of four with a Swiss Pass would get 50% off for the parents and the kids would ride free so that family would essentially all ride for the price of one adult ticket.

drexelus: thanks for clarification with Swiss Passes - we still don't know with a Eurailpass valid in Switzerland where parents get 25% off Jungfrau if kids then go free as one may suspect according to rules of the Family Pass - but the Family Pass comes free with the Eurailpass - maybe they would have to buy a SF20 Family Pass in Switzerland for this to be so? This seems unlikely to have different forms of Family Pass so the answer is still questionable. Thanks for the Swiss Pass info!

It now appears to me that Family Cards "work only with Swiss Travel System products," at least that's the wording from RailEurope's product info sheet regarding Family Passes - as Eurailpass is not a Swiss travel System product it would not qualify.

There are two passes for children. One is the Family Card (or Pass) which comes free when you buy the swiss Pass etc., and covers all the children traveling with you aged under 16. They then travel free everywhere.
The other is a Junior card, which costs chf20 per child for the first two children, and free for any others. again, it covers your own children under 16 who travel with at least one parent, and the children go free wherever you go, regardless of what sort of ticket you have.
We were in Oberland in 2004, and had Jungfrau Passes and bought Junior Cards (2 at chf20 each, 3 free ones). Then we were in Grindelwald in January, and had a Swiss Pass, and the Family card came free.So one way or another the children travelled free.(or near enough - the expenditure was limited to 20chf for the first 2 children)

One additional clarification regarding the Swiss Family Card--you still need (or so I was told) to make and pay for seat reservations for the kids where guaranteeing particular seats is required or desired--for example, on the GoldenPass routes.

This is all so confusing to me. Perhaps, someone out there can point us to what kind of pass we need. Thanks in advance. There are two of us traveling together based in Basel for 7 plus wks this summer. We will be using public bus transportation in Basel, traveling around Switzerland, day trips to Zurich, Bern, Lucern, etc., 5 day trips to Lugano, Geneve, Strasbourg, Dijon and perhaps a day trip to Frieburg. It's so hard to figure out what to buy, especially when many of the passes only are offered for a month. There's one pass (I can't recall the name now) that's offered for up to a yr (I wish!!) and gives 50% off all transportation in Switzerland. Would that be my best bet? I love the idea of getting a museum pass as part of the deal. Any and all help appreciated!! Thanks again.

Annette

Probnably two Swiss Passes - both good for one month overall validity and then chose the number of long-distance travel days and use the passes for the rest of the time for 50% - then just buy point-point to go to Strasbourg and Dijon. BETS info line - 800-441-9413 will answer any questions on Swiss rail, passes, etc. On their web site: www.budgeteuropetravel.com you can request the free European Planning & Rail Guide that has a good chapter on Swiss trains, including specialty ones like Bernina Express, which to me is Europe's number one scenic train and i think i've taken them all in 36 years of railing Europe.

I am completely confused. Budget Europe Travel Service told me children would never be free on the trip to the Jungfraujoch. They would only be 50% off. I have e-mailed the SBB, and I will post their reply when I receive it.

Strange. According to the Jungfraubahn website, the juniorcard is valid for their bahn.

http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/DesktopDe...9/86_read-158/

But is the juniorcard the same as the free Family Pass you get with Eurail? Maybe you'd have to buy or obtain the juniorcard once in Suisse for it to give free travel. Maybe we're comparing apples and oranges? This means little to me in effective terms but will be interesting to find out definitive answer.

Annette--
You may be referring to the Swiss half-fare card. It is available for one month's travel for CHF 99 or for one year for CHF 150.

If you purchase the one year card, you will need one passport-size photo. They'll give you a temporary card, then mail you the year card within a week or so.

I purchased mine at a ticket window in the SBB station in Basel.

Enjoy Basel!

digbydog: nice name by way - i'm sure what Budget Europe was saying comes from the RailEurope product sheet that i read - that the free Family Card that comes with Swiss Pass is valid only with Swiss Travel System products, which would not include the Jungfraubahn - so on this the child would only get the same discount as the adults - 50% - not that there is no circumstance in Switzerland where kids can't go free, just with a Swiss Pass and accompanying Family Pass they don't - that's my reading of the RailEurope info sheet they must be referring to.

All I can say is that maybe someone screwed up, but on the Jungfraubahn last summer, my kids went free using the Swiss Family Card. A HUGE savings.