Is Swiss Travel Pass Worth It? | Opinion From Travel Expert

If you are reading this article, you are probably wondering if it is really a good idea to spend hundreds of Swiss francs on a Swiss Travel Pass. Many guests and journalists have asked me that question in my career as a tourism industry professional.

Well, I always used to reply, “It’s better than buying single train tickets without any discount card, but if you compare all available ticket types & rail passes, it actually pretty much never is the cheapest option.“

In this article, I will dig deeper into whether the Swiss Travel Pass is really worth it and share my insights and observations from ten years of working experience in the tourism industry.

How Much Does The Swiss Travel Pass Cost?

There is no single ticket price for the Swiss travel pass. The final price depends on the number of travel days, the age of the travelers, and whether you choose a Swiss Travel Pass Flex or the standard rail pass, which includes free travel on public transportation for a maximum of 15 consecutive days. 

Here is a full cost breakdown of Swiss Travel Pass Prices for 2024:

Pass Type	Class	3 Days	4 Days	6 Days	8 Days	15 Days
Swiss Travel Pass	1st Class	CHF 389	CHF 469	CHF 602	CHF 665	CHF 723
Swiss Travel Pass	2nd Class	CHF 244	CHF 295	CHF 379	CHF 419	CHF 459
Swiss Travel Pass Flex	1st Class	CHF 445	CHF 539	CHF 644	CHF 697	CHF 755
Swiss Travel Pass Flex	2nd Class	CHF 279	CHF 399	CHF 405	CHF 439	CHF 479
Swiss Travel Pass Youth	1st Class	CHF 274	CHF 330	CHF 424	CHF 469	CHF 512
Swiss Travel Pass Youth	2nd Class	CHF 172	CHF 209	CHF 268	CHF 297	CHF 328
Swiss Travel Pass Flex Youth	1st Class	CHF 314	CHF 379	CHF 454	CHF 492	CHF 535
Swiss Travel Pass Flex Youth	2nd Class	CHF 197	CHF 240	CHF 287	CHF 311	CHF 342

I guess a fair statement would be that the Swiss Travel Pass is worth a minimum of CHF 197 (the cheapest version for people under 25 years old).

Even though the pass offers a lot of freedom and almost unlimited travel on public transportation, spending almost 500 CHF for two adults on a simple 3-day pass is certainly a good chunk of money. I totally understand that. 

Let’s take a look at some of the other perks and benefits included in the Swiss Travel Pass.

Excursions & Activities Covered By The Swiss Travel Pass

The basic advantages any Swiss travel pass includes are quickly covered.

• Unlimited travel within Switzerland with trains, buses and boats
• The pass is valid for panoramic trains like the Glacier Express or Bernina Express (but surcharges for mandatory seat reservations apply)
• Discount of 20-50% on many mountain excursions in entire Switzerland
• Unlimited use of public transport in more than 90 towns & Swiss cities
• Discount of 10-50% on 368 touristic leisure activities spread across the country
• Swiss Travel Pass offers free admission to 500 museums 

There are two very cool advantages I would like to cover in more detail. 

Mountain Excursions To Mount Rigi, Stanserhorn, and Stoos 

A really cool plus of getting a Swiss Travel Pass is the included mountain excursions to Mount Rigi, Stanserhorn, and Stoos. All of them are located in central Switzerland, so if you plan to focus on the Zurich & St. Moritz area, this benefit is admittingly as helpful as a single-handed pirate on a sailing boat:) But as a guy growing up near the city of Lucerne, let me tell you, it’s worth it to stop in our beautiful region anyway!

Mount Rigi (the Queen of the Mountains and favorite of Queen Victoria) and Mount Stoos are especially well-known, but both offer plenty of opportunities to avoid crowds.

Stanserhorn is my personal favorite to visit because of the world’s first cable car with a panoramic deck and incredible views, but also due to the emphasis on local ingredients and an authentic experience in the revolving peak restaurant. 

Let’s assume you visit two out of these three mountains included in the pass; in this scenario, a Swiss Travel Pass is definitely worth it for your trip. Without the pass, you will pay roughly 68 CHF for the Stoos excursion and 78 CHF for Rigi alone. 

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Free Admission To 500 Swiss Museums

A Swiss Travel Pass also includes free admission to 500 museums in Switzerland. I mention this separately because it is a unique benefit you won’t get with any other rail pass, so if you are a big cultural fan, it’s definitely something worth considering at least. 

However, a real disadvantage is that you can only use it on days when your Swiss Travel Pass is valid. Unfortunately, trying to use it for free admission on non-travel days in the flex versions won’t work.

Passholders often get confused with this regulation. Since the entrance fee per adult for one museum is usually around 10-30 Swiss francs per person, you have to decide for yourself if it is really smart to use the Swiss Travel Pass only to visit one museum.

Is Swiss Travel Pass Right For You? 4 Real-life Examples 

Let’s examine some real-life example itineraries to better understand whether it is worth purchasing the pass. 

A brief disclaimer before we get started. The examples below are travel itineraries I personally organized for travel journalists and guests from around the world; only the personas are fictional. If you stick to the itinerary type and adjust activities just slightly, the order of the pricing comparison is usually quite similar, BUT that isn’t necessarily true in 100% of the cases. 

At the end of the day, the only objective way to find out if a pass will save you money in your situation is to create a rough travel itinerary like I did in the examples.

Find out how many days in Switzerland you have, which activities your Swiss Travel Pass covers and compare it to the costs of equal single-ride train tickets. 

Example 1 – Jennifer & Mark From Germany

Let’s look at the first example now, Jennifer & Mark visiting from Germany. To make things easier to compare, I calculated the prices for the itinerary per person, assuming they would be traveling in second class. 

Since their itinerary includes four days of travel (three nights and four days), I calculated my comparison using a four-day Standard second-class Swiss Travel Pass. 

	4-day Swiss Travel Pass (2nd Class)	4-day Interrail Global Pass 2nd Class)	Single Tickets Without Discount Card (2nd Class)	Single Tickets With Half-fare Card (2nd Class)	Single Tickets With Half-fare Card (2nd Class) & Added 2-day Tell-Pass
Initial costs for Rail Pass(es)	295 CHF	193 CHF (199 Euro)	–	120 CHF	310 CHF
Estimated Costs Train Ticket Basel Sbb – Frankfurt (return)	150 CHF	–	150 CHF	150 CHF	150 CHF
Train Ticket Basel SBB (first train station in Switzerland) – Luzern	–	–	36 CHF	18 CHF	18 CHF
Visit Gamorama Museum, Lucerne	20 CHF	20 CHF	20 CHF	20 CHF	20 CHF
Queen of the Mountain Roundtrip, incl. boat roundtrip	–	65.50 CHF	131 CHF	65.50 CHF	–
Day trip to Stanserhorn, incl. Train ticket	–	82 CHF	97.60 CHF	49.60 CHF	–
Transfer Lucerne – Zurich	–	–	27 CHF	13.50 CHF	13.50 CHF
Visit the Fifa Football Museum, Zurich	–	26 CHF	26 CHF	26 CHF	26 CHF
Visit WOW museum, Zurich	23 CHF	23 CHF	23 CHF	23 CHF	23 CHF
Transfer Zurich HB – Basel SBB	–	–	36 CHF	18 CHF	18 CHF
Total Costs Sample Itinerary	488 CHF per person	335.50 CHF per person	546.50 CHF per person	563 CHF per person	583 CHF per person

Interestingly enough, in this first example, buying a second-class Swiss Travel Pass is the second cheapest option for Jennifer & Mark after considering the international train tickets from Germany to Switzerland. Without the international train ticket in the calculation, the Swiss Travel Pass would even be the best offer!

 The STP coverage of the Rigi excursion and the Stanserhorn trip helped compensate for the rather high daily costs of the 4-day Swiss Travel Pass. Since only three mountain excursions are included with it, the results might look different in the next example. Jennifer and Mark absolutely made the most of it. Still, this first example actually looks like a pretty good deal. 

The third best option in this example would be to purchase a month-long half-fare card and additional single tickets. They could have saved even more if they had combined the half-fare card with a saver day pass, for example, but I didn’t include it on purpose. 

Saver tickets are cheaper but only valid on a particular Swiss train connection. You need to book the tickets at least 24 hours in advance, so they require some planning and decrease your flexibility a lot. Maybe not exactly what you want on your vacation. 

I also kind of expected the combination of a Swiss half-fare card and Tell Pass (a regional all-inclusive Pass for the Lucerne-Lake Lucerne region) to be the most expensive solution. The initial costs for both rail passes were already quite high, and it doesn’t offer any discount for museums. I don’t want to say that it is a bad offer at all, but for this itinerary, it is definitely not the best fit. However, should you ever want to focus on mountain excursions in central Switzerland, a Tell-Pass is definitely a great asset. 

Example 2 – Jae, Min, Bina, And Duri from South Korea

Let’s look at the example of Jae, Min, Bina, and Duri, for student friends from South Korea on their first Europe trip now. Just as in the previous example, prices are per person (or per group) and in second class. 

Since they are all under the age of 25 and on their first trip to Europe, there are two more potential ticket types and rail pass types we need to consider: The Eurorail Pass and the SBB Youth Day Pass. The last one is a ticket type, which the Swiss railway company implemented especially for groups of young people at a heavily discounted rate (CHF 80 per group and day). What makes it special is that up to four people under the age of 25 years can travel with one ticket. 

	3-day Swiss Travel Pass Youth (2nd class)	15-day Global Eurorail Pass	Single Tickets Without Discount Card	Single tickets With half-fare Card (2nd Class)	Swiss Friends Day Pass (2nd Class)
Initial costs for rail pass(es)	172 CHF	357 CHF ($393)	–	120 CHF	–
Transfer Chiasso (Italy) – Zurich	–	–	75 CHF	37.50 CHF	20 CHF
Entrance to Zoo Zurich	28 CHF	38 CHF*	30 CHF	30 CHF	30 CHF
Dinner in Churchill Train	91.50 CHF	91.50 CHF	91.50 CHF	91.50 CHF	91.50 CHF
Transfer Zurich – Geneva	–	–	92 CHF	46 CHF	20 CHF
Lake cruise day trip in Geneva	–	32 CHF	64 CHF	32 CHF	–
Entrance fee for the Olympic Museum in Lausanne	CHF 14	CHF 20	CHF 20	20 CHF	CHF 20
Transfer Geneva – Basel SBB	–	–	80 CHF	40 CHF	20 CHF
Admission fee Fine Arts Museum, Basel	–	26 CHF	26 CHF	26 CHF	26 CHF
Total Costs Sample Itinerary	305.50 CHF	564.50 CHF	478.50 CHF	443 CHF	227.50 CHF

This example shows that travel in Switzerland is not always the best choice. Because the cost of the Swiss Travel Pass per day is pretty high, it only lands in second place in this instance. On the other hand, this trip includes plenty of long-distance trips (four in three days) which helps to bring the costs down.

The clear winner is the special SBB Youth Day Pass, which includes travel on trains, buses, and boats throughout the country, no different than if you would use a Swiss Travel Pass (to be exact, you can even travel for free until 5 a.m. the next morning). 

It’s easy to purchase a day pass on the Swiss railway website or app or at any ticket machine in the train station. The only problem is that very few foreign people actually know about it!

What’s the moral of the story? The Swiss travel system is complex, and the more you compare and inform yourself, the better your deal will be.

A quick word about the 15-day Eurorail Global Pass. It looks terrible in last place, but the comparison is not completely fair, as I disregarded that you can use it to travel in entire Europe because I didn’t no the additional itinerary. As you see in the other examples, the right Eurorail / Interrail type is usually the cheapest offer. 

Example 3 – Tom from the UK 

Moving on to Tom, a web designer for London, who is heading off on his dream vacation in Switzerland. Because Tom is a train enthusiast, naturally, he also takes the Eurostar & TGV train connection via Paris to Switzerland. 

As he is a Solo traveler and prefers to take his trip in first class, we will compare the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass, the Eurorail Pass, and single tickets with and without half-fare cards with each other. 

	8-day Swiss Travel Pass (1st Class)	10-day Interrail Pass Flex (1st Class)	Single Tickets Without Discount Card	Single tickets With A Half-fare Card	Swiss Day Passes Combined With  Half-fare Card
Initial costs for rail pass(es)	665 CHF	434 CHF (447 Euros)	–	120 CHF	120 CHF
1 Class Ticket London- Basel SBB (return ticket)	Ca. 650 CHF	Ca 150 CHF (for reservation fees)	Ca. 650 CHF	Ca. 650 CHF	Ca. 650 CHF
Transfer Basel SBB – Zermatt	–	–	215 CHF	107.50 CHF	128 CHF
Gornergrat Excursion from Zermatt	57 CHF	114 CHF	114 CHF	57 CHF	114 CHF
Day Excursion Zermatt – Montreux	–	–	260 CHF	128 CHF	128 CHF
Day Trip Zermatt Alpine Crossing	136.50 CHF	218 CHF	218 CHF	136.50 CHF	136.50 CHF
Transfer Zermatt – St. Moritz with Glacier Express	49 CHF (for mandatory seat reservation)	49 CHF (for mandatory seat reservation)	321 CHF	185 CHF	49 CHF (for mandatory seat reservation)
Visit of the Albula Museum	–	15 CHF	15 CHF	15 CHF	15 CHF
Transfer on Bernina Express St. Moritz – Tirano – Lucarno	28 CHF (for mandatory seat reservation)	28 CHF (for mandatory seat reservation)	94 CHF	61 CHF	28 CHF (for mandatory seat reservation)
Visit Falconeria Locarno	26 CHF	28 CHF	28 CHF	28 CHF	28 CHF
Day Trip to botanical gardens on Brisaco Island	10 CHF	37 CHF	37 CHF	28.50 CHF	28.50 CHF
Transfer Lucarno – Basel SBB	–	–	150 CHF	75 CHF	128 CHF
Total Costs Sample Itinerary	Ca. 1621.50 CHF	Ca. 1073 CHF	Ca. 2102 CHF	Ca. 1591 CHF	Ca. 1544.50 CHF

This itinerary is great for proving my point about the Interrail Pass. It is the best offer by far because it includes international train tickets to and from Switzerland as well. I tried to factor this in as well, but due to the varying prices for international tickets, I can only come up with an estimated total price for each ticket type. Also, some of the activities I mentioned have different prices in different seasons, so I went with an itinerary in May 2024. 

Interestingly enough, even if an Interrail Pass seems like an unlikely option, I recommend considering the Interrail One-Country Pass for Switzerland as an alternative. Especially with panoramic trains, it is often a cheaper option than a Swiss Travel Pass but comes with the same benefits. 

For some reason, people often think the price of the Swiss Travel Pass is especially beneficial for those trains, but that’s definitely not the case. In our scenario, even buying single tickets with a half-fare card or day passes for travel days would be slightly cheaper. 

Example 4 – Isabella & Maya From Spain

Moving on now to the last example, Isabella & Maya from Spain. As always, I calculated the prices per person and on a first-class basis this time. I really wanted to include a Flex Pass example too, so traveling on certain days would be covered by the pass, but local excursions and activities come without a discount. Let’s assume Isabella & Maya purchased a 4-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex and see how it compares to an Interrail Pass Flex, single tickets with and without a half-fare card, and day passes with a half-fare card. 

	4-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex (1st Class)	4-day One-Country Interrail Pass (1st Class)	Single Tickets Without A Half-fare card	Single Tickets With A Half-fare Card	Swiss Day Passes Combined With half-fare Card
Initial costs for rail pass(es)	539 CHF	193 CHF	–	120 CHF	120 CHF
Transfer from Geneva Airport to Geneva	5.40 CHF	5.40 CHF	5.40 CHF	3.50 CHF	3.50 CHF
Wine Degustation at Le Cave Genève	45 CHF	45 CHF	45 CHF	45 CHF	45 CHF
Visit of International Red Cross Museum in Genève	15 CHF	15 CHF	15 CHF	15 CHF	15 CHF
Guided City Tour	25 CHF	25 CHF	25 CHF	25 CHF	25 CHF
Transfer Genève – Basel	–	–	163 CHF	68 CHF	128 CHF
River Cruise Basel – Rheinfelden	48 CHF	48 CHF	48 CHF	48 CHF	48 CHF
Tasting Tour Basler Leckerly	25 CHF	25 CHF	25 CHF	25 CHF	25 CHF
Transfer Basel – St. Gallen	–	.	104 CHF	52 CHF	128 CHF
Sausage Degustation	49 CHF	49 CHF	49 CHF	49 CHF	49 CHF
Transfer St. Gallen – Chur	–	–	75 CHF	37.50 CHF	128 CHF
Transfer Chur – Genève Airport	–	–	205 CHF	103.50 CHF	128 CHF
Total Costs Sample Itinerary	751.40 CHF	405.40 CHF	759.40 CHF	591.50 CHF	719 CHF

Once again, an Interrail Pass is the clear winner here, the Swiss Travel Pass is second last in the price ranking. Because the initial price difference between an Interrail Pass and a Swiss Travel Pass is almost 300 CHF per person, not many opportunities to make up for it, it isn’t really a surprise. 

The fact that we tried to save money with a flex pass only valid for the main travel days was actually a disadvantage here because we couldn’t use the discounts for museums, etc. Without those added benefits, Swiss Travel Pass and Interrail Pass are literally the same, just at very different prices. 

In this example, single tickets with a half-fare card are also cheaper, and if you manage to secure some safer tickets and day passes, the price will drop even more. 

What I like about the Swiss Travel Pass  

We are a bit more than halfway through, but I hope you should have a pretty good idea by now whether or not the Swiss Travel Pass is for you. 

Let me share some personal observations about the things I like about Swiss travel vs. other alternatives. 

Great Convenience Factor

Let’s face it: on your vacations, you want things to go as hassle-free and relaxed as possible, right? With a Swiss pass, you know exactly what you will get when you use the pass, and you don’t have to waste a thought about it. The majority of the time, you can enjoy a relaxed train journey with stunning views. 

I also like that the validity is not limited to trains but includes buses, trains, boats, and local public transportation. It makes the pass a little more complete than alternatives like a Eurorail or Interrail Pass. 

Ease Of Use 

With the Swiss Standard Pass, traveling couldn’t be easier, all you do is determine the number of days you need it and buy a Swiss Travel Pass online. You will then get it delivered to your phone or computer and show the QR code to the ticket inspector on request. No need to activate it or anything like that. Because your pass is personalized and unique to you, you will usually need to show an identification card or passport with it. 

With a flex pass, there is an additional step of activating the pass online for the desired validity dates on this website. 

Included Mountain Excursions Come In Handy

If Stanserhorn, Stoos, Rigi, or all three of them are on your bucket list, any way you can actually make up for a big chunk of the costs quickly. For example, for each excursion, you will save this much per person: 

Mount Rigi	Stanserhorn	Stoos
131 CHF per person	82 CHF per person	23 CHF per person

But the discount on other mountain excursions also comes in handy. The point is that mountain excursions are expensive (remember the 218 CHF ticket price for the Zermatt Alpine Crossing?😉), and the more tourists there are, the higher the prices. So we take any discount we can get. But if you keep reading, I will show you a trick to actually get a constant 50% discount on mountain railways instead of 10-30%. 

The Drawbacks Of A Swiss Travel Pass

I believe I already made it clear that I see some critical points about the product, too. My two main criticisms are the high costs compared to some alternatives and the fact that there are significantly cheaper alternatives. 

Price-Performance Ratio Could Be Better

The high prices are definitely a reason not to buy a Swiss Travel Pass, in my opinion. In a normal itinerary, it is often only the second or third cheapest option—and it’s not even close. I think the price difference between a Swiss Travel Pass and an Interrail / Eurorail Pass is often between 30-50%; that’s too much to ignore. 

Depending on the itinerary, you could even combine an Interrail Pass with a Swiss half-far card (great for a 50% discount on most mountain excursions) and still save money. 

At the end of the day, it is your decision which ticket or rail pass is best for you, but if I were you, I would at least compare the prices of both rail passes and then go from there. 

Free Museum Admission Not Really Worth It

Free access to 500 museums across the country sounds great, right? Well, it would, there are only two slight issues: 

1. You can only take advantage of these benefits if you either have a standard STP or a valid day on a flex pass. Since it is so expensive it’s and museum entrance fees range from 10-30 CHF per adult on average, it’s not really worth it to use it for museum visits. 
2. Even if you were to visit three museums with the pass, you would not save more than maybe 100 CHF, and honestly, for most people, the main reason they visit isn’t the museums but the nature and scenery. 

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use it to visit a museum if it fits your schedule, but if I were you, I would make it the main attraction. 

How To Buy The Swiss Travel Pass

Buying a Swiss Travel Pass is very straightforward. You can buy it on the Swiss Railway website, via a third-party party, or at an SBB travel center (available in most major train stations).

My only tip is to do it via an external site like training because the refund conditions are better in case your travel plans change. 

The process is actually pretty easy: 

1) Choose Between Swiss Travel Pass And Swiss Travel Pass Flex

Based on your travel plans, choose whether you prefer a standard pass or a pass with more flexibility. Then hit the “Buy Your Pass” button, and you will be transferred to the Swiss railway website. 

2) Select The Number Of Days

On the Swiss railway site you can then choose the number of days you want for your Swiss Travel Pass. In this example, I will go with a 6-day standard pass. 

3) Enter Passenger Details

In the next window, you choose the first travel date and enter the personal travel information for each participant (full name, date of birth, e-mail, etc.). You can also choose between first- and second-class rail passes. 

The price will automatically update the more details you enter. If a participant of your group is eligible for a Swiss Travel Pass Youth, for example, these changes will be applied automatically after you enter the passenger details. 

4) Complete Payment

After you have checked the personal details on the summary site, it’s time to complete the payment using one of the available methods. After the successful transactions, your e-ticket or confirmation with further instructions will be sent to you immediately. 

Alternatives To The Swiss Travel Pass

Let’s briefly look at the alternatives to a Swiss Travel Pass. There are three main categories to cover. 

Individual Tickets 

Individual tickets cover everything from point-to-point tickets to day passes and safer tickets. Depending on how many tickets you estimate to purchase and the travel distance, you can combine them with a Swiss half-fare card or not. 

If you manage to buy saver passes or tickets (there is limited availability) and combine them, you have the best chances for an unbeatable cheap trip. The downside is that it requires a lot of preparation and planning to pull it off. 

Swiss Half-fare Card

The Swiss half-fare card is an affordable add-on that gives you a 50% discount on all trains, boats, buses, and mountain railways. The monthly half-fare card is specifically designed for visitors and gives great value for only 120 CHF. 

You can purchase it on the Swiss railway website as a guest, and you will get it delivered to your e-mail or phone effortlessly.

Interrail / Eurail Pass 

The Interrail or Eurorail is my favorite alternative to the Swiss Travel Pass. Like the Swiss Travel Pass, it offers unlimited transportation on the entire Swiss railway network (and even in Europe with the Global Pass), including scenic trains. 

Special discounts for young adults and seniors are also available, which are not available with the Swiss Travel Pass. Because the prices are so much lower, it makes up for the disadvantage of being strictly limited to trains, and no other means of transport such as buses or boats are included.

In addition, there is a workaround to that. If you stay at eligible hotels, you will often get free guest cards, which often come with free local public transportation and discounts for activities in the area.

Conclusion: Is The Swiss Travel Pass Worth It?

Alright, so to wrap it all up, the big question is: Is the Swiss Travel Pass actually worth it? Well, if you’re planning to hit up multiple spots and crave the ease of just hopping on trains, buses, and boats without the hassle of buying individual tickets, then yeah, it’s a pretty sweet deal. 

However, if you’re more of a stay-in-one-place type of traveler or going with the absolute cheapest option is important to you, then the Swiss Travel Pass might not be your golden ticket.

But for most, the Swiss Travel Pass’s convenience factor makes it a winner. So, if you’re all about seeing as much as you can and making travel logistics smoother, it’s definitely worth considering.