Switzerland Made Easy: Book Travel Passes and more

ShowMeTheJourney has teamed up with our Swiss partner, Switzerland Travel Centre so that travellers can both simplify and save money, on the rail travel elements of a wonderful holiday in this beautiful country.
Read on to discover why it can be worth considering the purchase of:

• A pass which can be used instead of tickets for when travelling on the trains, cable cars, funiculars and other modes of transport.
• Special tickets which make it easier to take the most scenic journeys to mountain peaks.
• A Half Fare Card, which lives up to its name by enabling a 50% discount on rail travel and more.

For those who have had the rather fabulous idea to take multiple beautiful journeys in Switzerland and / or to travel on more than one mountain railway, a range of money saving rail passes is available for travel in Switzerland.
The passes also include many associated experiences such as cable cars and funiculars, lake boat cruises and the network of post-buses, many of which enable shortcuts to be be made between different railway lines.

These passes can also simplify Swiss travel, because more often than not those that have them can hop on and off the transport, as they can be used instead of tickets.
Therefore another big plus of travelling with passes, in addition to the money saving potential, is that you don't have to worry about booking the right travel ticket online. Also you can also avoid having to make multiple visits to the booking desks at Swiss stations.

So ShowMeTheJourney is pleased to have teamed up with our Swiss partner, the Switzerland Travel Centre to enable the purchase of Swiss Travel Passes and Berner-Oberland Passes and Tell Passes
Discover more about these three passes on the summaries below.

Or for those who are fortunately able to spend an extended period of time in Switzerland, the Switzerland Travel Centre also sells
Half Fare Cards.
Most Swiss residents who travel by train have these cards because they live up to their name and provide a 50% discount on pretty much any Swiss rail ticket nationwide.
So they enable a saving on city to city and village to village journeys, along with nearly all of the mountain railways and many cable cars too!

As can be seen on this map - on which the solid red lines are the railways on which Swiss Travel Passes can be used at no additional costs - So these passes enable their users to simply hop on the overwhelming majority of trains in Switzerland.
Therefore a key feature of the Swiss Travel Pass is that it covers city to city and region to region journeys, most of which are also wonderfully scenic.

This is a big plus, because the mountain railways of Switzerland tend to be grouped in different areas of the country - Hence there being different networks of lines which can be easily accessed from Chur and from Luzern and from Interlaken and from Lausanne and from Locarno.

With a Swiss Travel Pass you can take your pick of these and travel between them.
Or if you would rather not have to transport luggage between locations you can stay in Basel, or Olten, or Zurich and set off on epic, but easy, day trips around the best of Switzerland from any of these locations.

There are two types of Swiss Travel Pass:

1: The Flex Passes enable the user to spontaneously choose travel days within the period of time that they are valid for.
So the plus of these passes is that you can then react to the weather and experience the scenic journeys in the optimum conditions.

2: The 'Standard' Swiss Travel Pass - save money by using the type of pass valid for consecutive days of travel.

Both types of pass are can be booked for 1st and 2nd class train travel.

The scenic mountain railways which are fully covered with a Swiss Travel Pass include the four longest routes and networks:
1: the Rhaetian railway; including Chur to/from Arosa, Disentis, St Moritz and Tirano; plus Landquart to/from Klosters and Davos

2: the MGB route across southern Switzerland between Disentis and Zermatt

3: the MOB railway
and the ZB railway and the route between them - which comprise the full length of the 'Golden Pass route': Montreux - Spiez - Interlaken - Luzern.

4: the Centovali Railway between Domodossola and Locarno, including the journeys in Italy to and from Domodossola.

Many other lines are also fully covered by the pass including the trains between Interlaken and both Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen and the Mt Rigi railways.

The cable cars

The cable cars and funiculars fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass include:

• the Stanserhorn;
• the Klewenalp;
• the Stoosbahn, and
• the Brunni cable car in Engelberg.

The railways on which Swiss Travel Passes enable a substantial discount, include some of the routes which lead up to the summits of mountains;

• Mt Pilatus = 50%
• the Gornergrat Railway up to Europe's highest open air station = 50%
• the steam railway up to Rothorn-Kulm = 50%
• the Monte Generoso railway = 50%
• on to Kleine Scheidegg and Europe's highest station at Jungfraujoch from Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen = 25%

Cable cars and funiculars on which Swiss Travel Pass users can travel at a 50% discount:

• the rotating cable cars to Mt Titlis
• the cable cars on Mt Pilatus
• the cable car routes from Grindelwald, including the Eiger Express to Eigergletscher
• the cable car to Schilthorn

The remainder of the ticket costs can be paid pre-boarding at ticket offices, or they can be arranged with the Switzerland Travel Centre.

Swiss Travel Pass users only have to pay reservation fees to travel on the Bernina Express, the Glacier Express and Golden Pass Express trains.
For non pass users the journey element tends to be around 70-80% of the total costs to ride these trains, so using the Swiss Travel Pass to only pay the 30-20% which represents the reservation fee, enables a substantial saving.
Reservations can be arranged with the Switzerland Travel Centre.

Journeys on the Luzern - Interlaken Express and along the route of the Gotthard Panorama Express are fully covered by the pass.

Swiss Travel Pass users can also travel at no extra cost on:

• public transport networks (tram and bus) in towns and cities
• the Post Bus network, which serves the villages in Switzerland without railways
• and on the lake cruise boats.

The Swiss Travel Passes also in effect includes the free and discounted admission benefits of the Swiss Museum Pass over the period of days that the pass is valid for.

Children under 6 years old travel free.
Children aged 6 - 15 years travel for free if accompanied by at least one parent.

If you want to base yourself in the incredible Jungfrau Region for an extended period of time during April to October, a Berner-Oberland Passs can be great value for money.

Children and dogs are charged a flat rate of CHF 30, no matter how long the pass is valid for and whether you opt for 1st or 2nd class

Included with the Berner-Oberland Pass are these rides. which are not fully covered by a Swiss Travel Pass:

• the trains beyond Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen on to Kleine Scheidegg,
• all of the cable car routes from Grindelwald, including the Eiger Express to Eigergletscher,
• the trains between Eigergletscher and Kleine Scheidegg,
• the trains between Wilderswill and Schynige Platte
• the Brienz Rothorn Bahn
• the funiculars in Beatenberg and Oeschinensee
• the cable cars in Meiringen to the Alpen Tower

Also fully covered are:

• the route between Lauterbrunnen amd Mürren
• the route of the Luzern - Interlaken Express
• the Interlaken - Spiez - Thun - Bern route
• the Lotschberger route between Spiez and Brig via Kandersteg
• the Golden Pass route between Spiez and both Gstaad and Lenk

In addition the Berner Oberland Pass provides a 50% discount on:

• the cable car between Mürren and Schithorn
• the trains between Luzern and Engelberg
• the cable car route between Engelberg and Mt Titliis
• trains between Gstaad and Montreux
• trains between Brig and Andermatt.

Berner Oberland Pass users can also travel between Eigergletscher and Jungfraujoch on tickets which are less than 50% of the usual cost of the end-to-end journey from Interlaken.

The Tell Pass, named after William Tell, can be a great value pass if you will be spending an extended period of time in locations in central Switzerland including Luzern, Fluelen, Engelberg or Stans.
It covers 2nd class rail travel, buses, lake boats and many of the cable cars and funiculars - the summer map of validity

The Tell Pass is available for unlimited travel, for 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 consecutive days in 2nd class, with children's passes a flat rate of 30CHF.

Included with the Tell Pass are these rides. which are not fully covered by a Swiss Travel Pass:

• The Golden Round trip up and down Mt Pilatus (not winter)
• Journeys on the PliatusBahn railway (not winter)
• The cable car route between Engelberg and Titlis, including the unique rotating cars
• The steam railway up Mt Brienz

Plus these routes and rides:

• the Mt Rigi Railways and cable cars
• the boats on Lake Luzern
• the trains between Luzern and both Interlaken and Engelberg
• the Stoosbahn - the world's steepest funicular railway + the buses on route 501 between its base station and Schwyz rail station
• the Brunni cable car in Engelberg.
• the Stanserhorn cable car
• the boat and funicular to Burgenstock
• the scenic railway between Luzern and Goschennen - and on to Andermatt
• the trains between Andermatt and Realp; connect for the Dampfbahn-Furka-Bergestrecke steam railway - not covered by the pass
• the railway between Andermatt and Oberalp; arguably the most scenic section of the Glacier Express route.

Note that the Tell Pass is a fully hop and off pass, so there is no need to obtain discounted tickets for any of these experiences.

Buy a Half Fare Card(s) valid for a month when visiting Switzerland and tehn when booking the holidays and mountain excursions you can make substantial savings by selecting the Half Fare Card rate!

You can also then obtain a discount when adding many mountain excursions to a holiday package, either online in advance of your trip, or you can be spontaneous and use them at a station on the day of your travels in Switzerland.

You can also use the Half Fare Card to book at a 50% rate on all Swiss rail journeys by mainline trains - the red lines on this map.

Book in advance for your stunning journeys by train to Swiss mountain summits.
Holders of Swiss Travel Passes and Half Fare Cards can use the links below to access tickets at the discounted rate.

to Jungfraujoch

• Round trip by cogwheel train from Grindelwald/Wengen to Europe's highest station, or with Eiger Express gondola via Eigergletscher to the Jungfraujoch.
• Enjoy impressive views of the midlands, the Aletsch Glacier and countless four-thousand-meter peaks.
• Discover the Ice Palace, the stopover at the “Eismeer station” or the Sphinx viewing platform, which is easily accessible by lift.

to Gornergrat

• Roundtrip by cogwheel train from Zermatt to Gornergrat, Europe's highest open-air station at 3089m.
• Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Matterhorn, glaciers and Alpine peaks.
• Use the Gornergrat as a starting point for scenic walks in the area.

to Pilatus Kulm

• ride the cable car between Kriens (base station) and Pilatus Kulm via Fräkmüntegg;
• a journey on Switzerland's steepest railway between Pilatus-Kulm and Alpnachstad;
• take the boat or train between Alpnachstad and Lucerne.

to Schilthorn from Mürren

• Roundtrip by cable car from Mürren to Schilthorn at 2970m.
• Enjoy a breathtaking 360° view from the revolving restaurant.
• Experience the Touristorama with James Bond film highlights, Schilthorn was Blofeld's HQ in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.
  Access Mürren by taking the funicular and railway from Lauterbrunnen.

to Mt Titlis

• Roundtrip from Engelberg to Titlis at 3238m with 3 different cable cars.
• Rotair ride on revolving cable car with 360° view included.
• Also included: Return trip on the Ice Flyer - a glacier chairlift at 3,000m, unlimited use of different snow toys in the TITLIS Glacier Park (park open daily from May to October), a visit to the TITLIS Glacier Cave, plus walk across the TITLIS Cliff walk suspension bridge.

to Glacier 3000

• Return cable car ride from Col du Pillon to Scex Rouge, the location of "Glacier 3000" (at 2971m)
• Enjoy magnificent views of the Alps while crossing the 107-meter-long suspension bridge (Peak Walk by Tissot), which is the only one of its kind that connects two mountain peaks.
  Travel to Col du Pillon base station by taking trains between Aix and Les Diablerets, then by bus.

to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise

• Round trip by a set of gondolas from Zermatt to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise at 3883m
• Breathtaking views of Mountain Peaks
• Includes entry ticket to the Glacier Paradise.

to Stanserhorn
Round trip by funicular railways and Cabrio Cable Car from Stans to Stanserhorn at 1898m
The Cabrio Cable Car is a double-decker cable car with an open upper deck
The cable car ticket includes the entrance to the Marmot park.