Swiss rail travel

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

Has anybody got any experience of using Swiss trains?

How far in advance can you buy tickets?

Is it worth getting the discount passes (they seem very expensive)?

Any top tips of how/where/when to book would be great please!

Swiss trains are great, run exactly on time. We got a 4 day pass and travelled all over Switzerland. Did a different city each day.

Switzerland is expensive... I have bought mine from EUR countries. But than, I sometimes fly to Switzerland and travel on to France or Germany, so found buying in my destination country cheaper.
Otherwise you need to do the maths.... using their own railway service website. www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/buying-options/online.html

PS: Travelling trough the Alps by train is AMAZING!!

If you have a child with you the half fare pass is great, as you also get a family card which gives free child travel on practically every form of public trabsourt! I got mine before we went, but just bought train tickets from machines selecting the 'pass' options as we went along. Easy peasy (although there seemed to be a ticket checker on EVERY train, even little short 5-minutes-up-a-mountain trips!) It really was a great experience though..try the Jungfrau trip if you can.

If you are flying then taking a train, then you should get yourself a “Halbtaxkarte” at the airport station. Normally you can only get one for 12 months, but at the airport you can get a tourist version for up to one month. They feel expensive but give you half price on every form of transport including the vast majority of cable cars.
I’m not sure if you can buy one from abroad - may be worth googling.

Some passes give discounts on mountain trains and main lifts but not all and very few of these are free because they are privately owned. You need to cost out the individual journeys vs various permutations of rail pass. I think we bought one which included travel on 4 days in 14 as we were travelling between resorts but it was still something like £200 each (dd was free). We bought them at a main station ticket office on arrival. The trains are punctual, connect well and clean, but are not always recent rolling stock or particularly comfy. Watch out for quiet carriages (once made that mistake with a toddler!).

www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests.html

Check out www.seat61.com for detailed info on the trains, timetables and how to buy tickets.

www.seat61.com/Swiss-trains.htm