Swiss tickets & passes explained

Swiss trains run like clockwork, so they say...  And they pretty much do.  The whole of Switzerland is covered by a frequent, punctual and efficient integrated train network that's really easy to use.  In most cases you can just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on.  Swiss Federal Railways (= SBB in German, CFF in French or FFS in Italian) runs most mainline trains, but there are many smaller private operators running local & regional routes.

Train travel within Switzerland

  How to check train times & buy tickets

  Regular fares & Supersaver fares,

  Swiss Day Pass, Travel Pass & Half Fare Card

  Map of the Swiss rail network - download PDF

  What are Swiss trains like?

  Travel tips: Luggage, food & drink, bikes, dogs...

  Zurich HB station information

  Useful country information: currency, dial code...

  Recommended guidebooks

  Holidays, vacations & tours of Switzerland

  Hotels & accommodation in Switzerland

Swiss scenic trains

  Bernina Express - The best Alpine train ride!

  Glacier Express - a great Swiss scenic train.

  Golden Pass route - Montreux-Interlaken-Lucerne

  Jungfraubahn - to the Top of Europe...

International trains to/from Switzerland

  Train travel between the UK & Switzerland

  Trains from other European cities to Switzerland

  Trains from Switzerland to other European cities

  TGV-Lyria high-speed trains Paris - Switzerland

Other train travel information

  Train seat numbering plans

  Luggage on trains &  Left luggage at stations

  Eurail passes &  Interrail passes

  General European train travel information

  Taking bikes   Taking dogs

  Travel insurance, mobile data, VPN & other tips

Useful country information

How to check times & buy tickets

Do you need to book in advance?

• No.  Swiss domestic journeys don't need to be pre-booked, trains cannot 'sell out', regular full-price tickets are available in unlimited numbers, good for any train that day.  For any Swiss domestic journey you can just turn up, buy a ticket at the station and hop on the next train.

• However, you can often save money with Supersaver fares or a Saver Day Pass if you book online in advance as explained below.

• Seat reservation is not even possible on most Swiss trains, you just turn up, buy a ticket, hop on and find any empty seat.  However, it's possible to reserve a seat on some longer distance trains for a small fee if you really want to.

• The only exceptions where seat reservation is compulsory are a handful of panoramic tourist-orientated trains such as the Bernina Express, Glacier Express or Golden Pass Panoramic trains.  But regular trains on the same routes, or even in some cases regular cars attached to the same train, don't need reservation, just an open ticket.

Which website to use?

• Option 1, you can check train times & fares and buy tickets for any journey in Switzerland at the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) website www.sbb.ch.

  Be warned, the first price that www.sbb.ch shows you is usually only half the true price, because Sbb.ch assumes you have a Swiss Half Fare card as the majority of Swiss citizens do.  When you change Select discount to No discount the price doubles, so be aware of this when costing your journeys.

  Obviously, www.sbb.ch can sell regular tickets good for any train that day and (if available on the route in question) their cheap advance-purchase Supersaver fares which can save a lot of money if you commit to a specific train.  There's no booking fee.

• Option 2, www.thetrainline.com.  You may find it easier to check times & buy tickets at www.thetrainline.com, which links directly to SBB's system and can sell both regular tickets and SBB's cheap advance-purchase Supersaver fares.  Who are Thetrainline.com?

• Option 3, Omio.com also links directly to SBB's system and can sell both regular tickets and SBB's cheap advance-purchase Supersaver fares.  It charges a small booking fee.  You print your own ticket.

• The www.sbb.ch journey planner not only covers SBB's own trains, it covers all Swiss public transport including private train operators and connecting ferries, buses and funicular railways.  Trains run every hour or every 30 minutes, or even more frequently on core routes.  Trains, buses & ferries connect efficiently, and connections of even just a few minutes are reliable and easy to make.

Regular fares

• There is one standard price between any two Swiss stations using a given route, good for any train that day.  The price is fixed and availability is unlimited, so you can buy at this price at the station on the day.  You sit in any seat you like on any train you like.

• So if you buy one of these regular tickets at www.sbb.ch, www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com, it is valid on any train between those stations by the route stated on the date you bought it for, even if you chose a specific train.

• A round trip ticket costs the same as two one-ways.  The return journey must be made the same day if the journey is less than 116 km.  If the journey is more than 116 km the return journey may be made any day up to 10 days after the outward leg.  But you may as well stay flexible and just buy two one-ways.

• With a regular Swiss ticket, you can break your journey (in other words, stop off) on the way as long as you complete the whole journey that same day.

Supersavers & Saver Day Passes

• For longer-distance journeys you may find Supersaver advance-purchase tickets available if you book online at either www.sbb.ch, www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com.

  Supersaver fares are up to 70% cheaper than the regular flexible price.  You can buy Supersavers a maximum of 60 days in advance and a minimum of 1 day in advance.  There is limited availability at each price point, the further ahead you book, the cheaper it's likely to be.

  Supersaver fares are only good for the specific train you book, no refunds allowed.  However, if you miss your train, the Swiss Railways let you use the ticket as credit towards a full-fare ticket for a later train - just go to the ticket office and pay the difference between the Supersaver price and the regular full-price fare.  Obviously, be careful when using a train-specific Supersaver fare for an onward journey in connection with a train arriving from Paris or MIlan or when arriving on a flight, unless you leave a large time buffer to allow for delay.

• Those websites may also offer you a Saver Day Pass instead of a regular ticket if it's cheaper.  A Saver Day Pass gives unlimited travel all over Switzerland all day, the price varies dynamically depending how far ahead you buy it and how popular that day or date is.

• Using www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com, Supersaver or Saver Day Passes will appear in the search results if they're available.  Using www.sbb.ch, a black triangle with a % symbol will appear to the left of any departures in the search results which have a Supersaver fare available.  Select that departure and the Supersaver price will appear during the buying process when you click Options for the outward journey.  Supersaver fares can only be bought online, and only at www.sbb.ch, www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com.  They will not appear if you look further ahead than 60 days.

Another possible way to save

• Save money with the Germans!  Just a thought.  Given that a normal Swiss domestic ticket from Basel to Geneva is a whopping CHF75 (€72), if there are no advance-purchase Supersaver fares available, why not just go to www.bahn.de and buy a German Railways advance-purchase sparpreis ticket from Freiburg (Freiburg in Breisgau, the last major stop in Germany before Basel) to Geneva a few weeks in advance from as little as €29 and simply not use the Freiburg-Basel part?

• This is perfectly legitimate, and works and saves money from Basel to most southern Swiss destinations including Geneva, Lausanne, Brig, Zermatt, Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Tirano, St Moritz.  It works in either direction - for Geneva to Basel, you'd simply book Geneva to Freiburg (Breisgau).  It also works from Zurich to western & southern Swiss destinations if you use www.bahn.de to book from Augsburg to Lausanne or Geneva, or from Freiburg to St Moritz or Tirano - just check that your chosen journey option passes through Zurich.

• In theory you need to stick to the specific train booked.  Manipulate the departure time from Freiburg or Augsburg to get the time you want from Basel or Zurich southwards.  If you want an early morning train from Basel or Zurich southwards, you'd simply set desired departure time from Freiburg as the previous day in the evening and use the 'enter stopover' feature to include an overnight stop in Basel or Zurich.

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Switzerland is one of the few remaining European countries where relatively expensive point-to-point rail fares and the lack of compulsory reservations makes railpasses both good value and convenient.  You can buy your passes online from the Switzerland Travel Centre, a subsidiary of Swiss Federal Railways.  The Swiss Travel System people can also make the seat reservations necessary for the few panoramic sightseeing trains that require them, such as the Glacier Express or Bernina Express.  But I'm often asked if a pass makes sense, or to help people decide between a Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare card.

The Swiss Transfer Ticket was discontinued in 2019, incidentally - this used to give one round trip from point of entry to any destination within Switzerland.  However, ordinary tickets were usually a better bet.

(1)  Saver Day Pass: Unlimited travel for one day

• A Saver Day Pass gives you a whole day's unlimited travel on the Swiss transport system, covering all SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) trains and most private railways, post-buses & ferries.  The routes on which you get free travel are shown on the official Swiss train map as solid red, yellow or black lines.

  Routes shown as dotted red, yellow or black lines are not covered, this includes a few smaller private railways and some well-known tourist mountain railways such as the Jungfrau Railway & Gornergrat Railway.  Unlike the Swiss Travel Passes, the Saver Day Pass doesn't get you any reduction on these dotted-line routes, if you want to use them you pay full-price.

  One thing confuses people about the map:  Solid lines become dashed lines where the line is in a tunnel.  Dashed isn't the same as dotted!

• Saver Day Passes come in 1st & 2nd class versions, with or without a Half Fare Card discount.  As a visitor you probably won't have a Half Fare Card.

• The price for a Saver Day Pass starts at CHF 52, which is cheaper than even one full-price ticket from (say) Zurich to Geneva - although a Supersaver fare might still be cheaper.  The price is variable, cheaper the further ahead you buy it, if you leave it until the day before it could cost CHF 106.  No refunds, no changes once you buy it.

• Buy online at www.sbb.ch or at Swiss stations.  You can buy a maximum of 60 days before the day you want it for, right up to the day before travel.  It cannot be bought on the day.

(2)  Swiss Travel Pass & Travel Pass Flex:  Unlimited travel for a period

• A Swiss Travel Pass gives unlimited travel across the Swiss travel system for a continuous period of 3 days, 4 days, 8 days or 15 days.

• A Swiss Travel Pass Flex gives unlimited travel across the Swiss travel system for either 3, 4, 8 or 15 travel days with an overall period of a month.  A Swiss Travel Pass Flex is more economical than a regular non-Flex Swiss Travel Pass if you plan to stay put between journeys.  The overall one month starts on any date you like, then you can 'spend' each of your unlimited travel days on any dates you like within that period.

  Check prices in CHF, USD, GBP or Euros at www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com, an international site run by a subsidiary of SBB (Swiss Railways).

• Is a Swiss Travel Pass cheaper than point-to-point tickets? 

  Swiss rail fares are expensive, so a Swiss pass can save money, depending what you plan to do and whether you're adult or youth.  First check the price of the pass that suits you, then divide the price by the number of days travelling you plan to do to get the pass cost per day.  Are the journeys you plan to make each day cheaper than this?  If so, don't buy a pass.  Or do they cost more than this?  Then buy a pass!  You can check fares at www.sbb.ch.  It's not rocket science!

• What does the pass cover?

  See this official map of the Swiss rail network.  A Swiss Travel Pass (continuous or flex) gives you unlimited free travel on all the train, bus & ferry routes shown as solid red, yellow or black lines on the map.  Swiss Travel Passes give you a 50% discount (not free travel) on the routes shown as dotted red, yellow or black lines.

  One thing that often confuses people: A solid line becomes a dashed line on the map when it's in a tunnel, but that's not the same as a dotted line!  Routes on which you only get a discount, not free travel, notably include the Jungfrau Railway & Gornergrat railway.

• How to buy a pass

  Buy at www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com - anyone from any country can buy here, you can choose to see prices in CHF, GBP, USD or Euros.  This is an official Swiss Railways shop, they're owned by SBB Swiss Railways.

• Print your own pass or show it on your phone

  You get an e-ticket/print-at-home option for Swiss Travel Passes and Swiss Travel Pass Flex, so you'll get your pass immediately with no delivery charges.  You can print it out or show it on your phone via their pass activation page at www.activateyourpass.com.

• Would an Interrail or Eurail pass be cheaper?

  You should compare the cost of a Swiss Travel Pass with the cost of an Interrail One-Country Pass for Switzerland (if you're a European resident) or Eurail global pass (if you live outside Europe) as Interrail & Eurail passes can be significantly cheaper.

  Just like a Swiss Travel Pass, Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the major private train operators such as the Rhätische Bahn (RhB) and Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS).  Before 2017 there were some significant private railway operators that a Swiss Pass covered but an Interrail or Eurail pass did not, but in 2017 Interrail/Eurail coverage was extended to include many more private operators, notably the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) which operates the line to Zermatt and half of the Glacier Express route. 

  It's now really only the post-buses, lake boats and a few minor private railways (notably the BOB trains between Interlaken & Wengen/Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald) which the Swiss Travel Pass covers but an Interrail or Eurail pass doesn't.  And Interrail or Eurail passes give a 25% discount on those BOB trains, so even that's not a huge issue.

  Compare the lines covered by Interrail & Eurail on this map with the lines covered by a Swiss Travel Pass on this map.  On both maps, solid lines mean covered, dotted lines mean not covered (although there may be a discount).  Dashed lines simply means line in tunnel.

(3)  Swiss Half Fare card:  50% off Swiss train travel for a month

• Most Swiss residents have an annual half-fare card, and you can buy one lasting a month and giving 50% off standard Swiss transport fares. 

• The 1 month Half Fare Card costs CHF 120, so (obviously) only pays for itself if you plan to clock up more than CHF 240-worth of train journeys.  That's three one-way trips between Lausanne and Zermatt, or four one-way trips between Basel and Interlaken, for example.  Again, it's not rocket science:  Use www.sbb.ch to check the full no-reduction fares for some of the journeys you plan to make, and halve this cost.  Does this exceed CHF 120?  then buy the Half Fare Card.

• Children 6-15 travel free with a family Half Fare card if accompanied by a parent.  This is a worthwhile benefit!

• Buy online at www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com with prices in CHF, USD, GBP or euros.

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Classic InterCity (IC) & InterRegional (IR) trains

Intercity or Interregional train, composed of classic Swiss Mk IV cars...

1st class.  More space, that's all...		2nd class....

Double-deck InterCity (IC) & InterRegional (IR) trains

You'll find double-deck InterCity trains on various routes, with 1st & 2nd class sections on both upper & lower decks and a restaurant or cafe car.  I recommend an upper deck seat for the best views - the stairs are shallow and easy, even with luggage, and there are luggage stacks both upstairs and downstairs.  You'll find these double-deck trains on many IC routes including Zurich-Bern-Lausanne-Geneva, Zurich-Bern-Spiez-Brig, Zurich-Lucerne, Basel-Zurich-Chur.

Double-deck IC or IR train...

1st class, upper deck...		2nd class, upper deck...

ICN tilting InterCity (IC) trains

These ICN Pendolino trains can tilt, enabling them to go round curves faster than normal trains.  They have cut journey times on several curvaceous Swiss InterCity routes.  Designed by Pininfarina, they feature a restaurant car and can reach 200km/h (125mph) although they don't often reach that speed in service.  You'll find these trains operating IC trains on these routes Geneva-Basel, Geneva-Zurich, Lausanne-Basel, Lausanne-Zurich, Basel-Lucerne-Lugano-Chiasso and Zurich-Lugano-Chiasso.  When using the journey planner at www.sbb.ch these trains are shown with a TT symbol in the facilities section, for Tilting Train.

An ICN Intercity train at Zurich HB.

1st class...		2nd class...

Giruno Intercity (IC) & EuroCity (EC) trains

On the Basel/Zurich to Lugano route you'll find the latest Giruno trains, the international ones going through to Milan being classified EuroCity.  Giruno trains have low-floor accessible entrance doors, hence the rather strange seating arrangement inside.

Giruno train at Zurich HB...

Giruno, 1st class.  Larger photo.		Restaurant car with bar counter. Larger photo.

Giruno 2nd class.  Larger photo		Level boarding. Note the destination screen in the door.

Swiss private operators

Swiss local trains are run by SBB or a plethora of local private operators.  The trains come in all shapes & sizes, some old, some new.  Below left, a local train run by Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn (MGB) on the Brig-Zermatt line.  Below right, a train from St Moritz to Chur run by the Rhätische Bahn (RhB).

Matterhorn-Gottardbahn		Rhätische Bahn

SOB Traverso train, used Basel/Zurich-Gotthard-Luzern-Locarno.

Seat numbering plans: Click here

You'll find seat numbering plans for European trains on the Train seat numbering page.

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• Maps of the European rail network:  See the section on the Train travel in Europe page about rail maps.

• Language problems

  First-time visitors often think this will be a problem, but it hardly ever is.  At stations, signs are usually in English as well as German, French & Italian, or they use easy-to-understand pictograms.  On-train announcements on long-distance trains are often made in English.

• First or second class?

  Swiss fares are expensive, even in 2nd class.  And a 1st class ticket costs 75% more than a 2nd class one.  You don't get anything extra in 1st class on Swiss domestic trains - no free food or drink, no limo transfers, free spa treatments or lounges.  Just wider seats, plusher seats, more elbow room as seats are usually 2+1 across the car width instead of 2+2 as in 2nd class, fewer people per car, fewer families and loud kids, more business travellers - see the photos above.  So unless it's a special occasion, or your company is paying, or you are rich, stick with 2nd class whilst within Switzerland as most travellers do.  If you do go 1st class, a yellow stripe above the windows or door indicates a 1st class car on Swiss trains.

• Luggage on trains

  There are no baggage fees or weight limits, and you don't check your bags in, you simply take them with you onto the train, placing them on the racks at the end of each car, or above your head.  More information about luggage on European trains.

• Left luggage at stations

  Many larger Swiss stations have left-luggage lockers in various sizes, up to suitcase-sized.  More information on left luggage lockers & prices.

• Food & drink on Swiss trains

  Most long-distance trains have at least a bistro car serving tea, coffee, wine, beer & snacks from a counter, with some tables nearby if you'd want to eat and drink in the bistro car rather than take it back to your seat.  Some Swiss long-distance trains have a proper sit-down waiter-service restaurant car, not cheap but treat yourself!  Alternatively, feel free to bring your own food and drink (even a bottle of wine, if you like) onto the train, there's no rules against that on the rails!

• First class lounges at stations

  The lounges for first class passengers at Zurich & Geneva have been closed.  More information about station lounges.

• Bicycles

  You can take a bike in the luggage van on most Swiss trains if you buy a Swiss Bike Card, for more details, see the bicycles by train page.

• Dogs & pets

  In Switzerland, dogs of any size can travel for half the 2nd class fare - although for longer journeys there's a Dog Day card which can be cheaper.  Small dogs up to 30cm high at the shoulder can travel free if they are in a carrier.  You'll find information on the Swiss Railways website www.sbb.ch.  You can easily buy Swiss tickets at the station when you get there.

  For more information about dogs & pets on trains in Europe, see the dogs & pets page.

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Swiss scenic trains

Bernina Express:  More information

Glacier Express:  More information

Jungfrau Bahn:  More information

Golden Pass Line: Montreux - Interlaken - Lucerne

This is a mainly narrow-gauge route from Montreux to Interlaken & Lucerne via the well-known ski resort of Gstaad.  It's slower than using mainline trains, but very scenic and marketed to tourists as the Golden Pass route.   Until 9 December 2022 it involved 3 trains, but from 10 December onwards it can be done with just two: Montreux to Interlaken and Interlaken to Lucerne.  The first train is a new gauge-changing service, it runs from Montreux to Zweisimmen on the standard-gauge tracks of the the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS) Railway then from Interlaken to Lucerne on the metre-gauge Brunig Railway operated by the Zentralbahn.  The new trains adjust their wheelsets at Zweisimmen.  They have 1st & 2nd class panorama cars and a new luxurious Prestige class.

As with other tourist trains, reservation is necessary if you want to travel in the panoramic tourists cars, but regular trains run frequently over the same route and these need no prior reservation.

The website for the joint service is www.goldenpass.ch.  But I find it easier to find Montreux-Lucerne Golden Pass times using the journey planner at www.sbb.ch - just make sure you put Zweisimmen in the via box, click advanced options and put Interlaken Ost in the second via box before running the enquiry.  Then it will find journeys with 1 or 2 changes via this slower scenic Golden Pass route, rather than the faster mainline route.

Panoramic car on the Montreux-Zweisimmen section of the Golden Pass route.

Gornergrat, Matterhorn, Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Titlis, Schilthorn

If you live in the UK, you can buy excursion tickets up these mountains here:  www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com

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Guidebooks

Invest in a good guidebook, even in the age of the internet.  For the independent traveller, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both guidebooks provide the same excellent level of practical information and historical background. You won't regret buying one!

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

Or buy in the USA from Amazon.com

Alternatively, you can download just the chapters or areas you need in .PDF format from the Lonely Planet Website, from around £2.99 or US$4.95 a chapter.

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Holidays, vacations & tours of Switzerland...

Railbookers are a train travel specialist who can put together a tour or short break for you as a package, including rail travel, hotels & transfers.  On their website you'll find a range of suggested tours & holidays which can be varied or customised to your own requirements.  And as you're booking a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens to one part of the itinerary such as a strike or delay.  They now have offices in the UK, USA & Australia.

Check out their 8-day Switzerland's Lakes & Mountains tour (link to their UK site) or Swiss Lakes & Mountains tour (link to their US & Canada site) which includes both the famously scenic Glacier Express and Bernina Express trains.  Also see their 5-day Classic Bernina Express & Glacier Express tour (link to their UK site) or Classic Bernina Express & Glacier Express tour (link to their US & Canada site) which also combine these two classic Alpine routes.

  UK call 0207 864 4600, www.railbookers.co.uk. 

  US call free 1-888-829-4775, www.railbookers.com.

  Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, www.railbookers.com.

  Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, www.railbookers.com.au. 

  New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

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Hotels & accommodation in Switzerland

Personal recommendations...

• In Zurich, for something special, look no further than the superb Hotel Schweizerhof, located right next to Zurich station.  One of my favourite hotels, they'll even send a uniformed commissionaire to meet you at the station and carry your bags across the road.

• In the St Moritz-Pontresina area, the Romantik Hotel Muottas Muragl is an amazing place to stay perched on the top of a mountain, with clean simple and (for Switzerland) inexpensive rooms.  It's reached via the Muottas Muragl funicular railway from Punt Muragl station, between Pontresina & St Moritz.

Backpacker hostels: www.hostelworld.com...

www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Paris and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.

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