How to take the beautiful rail journey from Basel to Davos

Don't be put off by the length of the journey and the need to change trains, this is a fantastic journey, particularly once you have passed through Zurich.
The trains to Landquart depart from Basel at either 07 or 33 mins past each hour.

If the timings suit, the quickest connections in Landquart are possible if you can take the trains that leave at 33 mins past the hour.
Take these departures and connecting time between trains at Landquart station will be only 6 mins, but this is Switzerland, so making the connection in time is virtually guaranteed.

However, in order to make this optimum connection you'll need to have booked tickets for the end-to-end journey on SBB, or be travelling with a rail pass.
Six minutes is unlikely to be enough time, to book tickets for the RhB train on to Davos, on arrival in Landquart.

Booking Tickets:

Online bookings open: up to six months ahead of the travel date

SBB and Trainline will sell tickets for this end-to-end journeys which involve taking a SBB train + the train(s) on to Davos which are operated by RhB
‘Individual tickets’ can be used on any train(s) on your travel date, but they tend to be comparatively expensive.

Supersaver tickets are cheaper, the portion of the journey by the SBB train can be discounted by up to 50%, but these tickets are train departure specific.
If you book a Supersaver ticket and a flight delay etc, causes you to miss a train you are booked on to, you will have to book another full-price ‘Point-to-Point ticket(s).
You can then apply for a refund of the Supersaver ticket, but the application costs CHF 10.

Hence it’s worth comparing the ticket price of a journey with the price(s) e of Saver Day Passes (see below) – they might save you money and can also allow for a less stressful journey.

Using Saver Day Passes:

Now that the Swiss Transfer tickets have been discontinued a Saver Day Pass may save you money, if you can book at least a couple of weeks ahead (usually), so that you can obtain the pass at a discounted price.

They can be cheaper than tickets for the end-to-end journey, though they are more likely to be a money saver if you will be making a day return trip between Basel and Davos, even if you can book in advance.

They can be used on;

• the trains between Basel and Landquart
• the trains between Landquart and Davos

They are not train specific, so can still be used in the event of a journey to Switzerland being delayed.

Though as they’re only valid for one day’s travel, the clue is the name, you’ll need to purchase another Saver Day Pass for your return journey, if you'll be coming back to Basel at a later date,
However, they need to be booked at least a day ahead of your travel date, so won't be an option if you book tickets at the station on arrival in Switzerland.
They're also cheaper the further ahead that you book.

Additional Information:

More general info is available on our GUIDE to taking the train to Swiss Ski Resorts.