Cheaper Train Travel with the Swiss Travel Pass

The Swiss Travel Pass (STP) is a convenient rail pass for tourists in Switzerland. For a set number of days, it includes unlimited public transportation throughout Switzerland and discounts on mountain railways, museums and other attractions, usually 25-50%.

➡️ Buy Swiss Travel Pass here

More Convenience

One of the main benefits of the pass is that it saves you hassle of buying individual tickets for every journey. You don't have to worry about buying the correct tickets. You can just hop on and off most any train, bus, tram, and boat in Switzerland which are covered by the pass. Many people find this benefit alone worth buying the pass.

Saving money

You can buy the pass for 3-15 days, with your "per day" cost decreasing the more days you purchase. For example, a 4 day pass works out to about CHF 70/day. But a 8 day pass, works out to about 50/day.

When deciding to purchase a STP, we find it helpful to compare regular ticket prices to the STP. Here are some sample full price train fares between popular Swiss cities (2023 prices):

• Zurich to Lucerne one way - CHF 25

• Zurich Airport to Interlaken one way - CHF 74

• Geneva to Interlaken one way - CHF 92

• Zurich to Zermatt one way - CHF 125

As you can see, the STP saves you money for the longer distance journeys.

Maximizing Value

We find that the pass is most valuable when you purchase it for at least 6 days and use it in the following scenarios:

• you are spending only 1-2 days in multiple regions throughout Switzerland

• you want to visit mountains with expensive cable cars (Jungfraujoch, Pilatus, Titlis)

• you need a flexible itinerary where you can easily change plans and not be stuck with pre-booked tickets

For example, this pass would be great if you were spending 1-2 days each in Luzern, Jungfrau Region, and Zermatt.

Winter Mountains

Besides regular train travel, the Swiss Travel Pass gives you a discount on cable cars for many Swiss mountains. But note that is only a return fare, useful for visiting epic viewpoints and accessing winter trails.

The STP does not discount skiing or sledding day passes.

To get the discount for a return ticket, you often need to show the STP when purchasing the ticket. When purchasing online tickets, there is sometimes a "discount card" option where you can select Swiss Travel Pass. If you don't see that option, you can usually just choose the SBB Half-fare Travelcard option (usually the same discount) and show your Swiss Travel Pass if asked onsite.

When in doubt, best to purchase your tickets in person to make sure you are doing it correctly.

Traveling with Children

When you purchase the Swiss Travel Pass, you get a free "Swiss Family Card" for any of your children aged 6-15. This enables them to travel free with you anywhere you use a valid STP. This can provide enormous savings to your overall travel costs. Do not forget to factor that in when calculating your savings with the STP.

Children under 6 travel free, no pass needed.

When to not buy the Swiss Travel Pass

The STP is not the best choice for some travel itineraries. For example, if you are doing a ski holiday in one location, like Zermatt or Jungfrau Region, you do not need the STP. Instead, just buy individual one way tickets on each end of your trip.

If you are renting a car, you do not need the Swiss Travel Pass. Although it gives discounts on mountain railways, you are usually better off paying individually for those cable cars.

Still not sure? Learn more in my article: Should you buy a Swiss Travel Pass?

➡️ Buy Swiss Travel Pass here

Note: This is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, for qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!