Last Updated August 2026
Six passes cover Swiss travel: the Swiss Travel Pass, the Half Fare Card and four regional passes. The regional ones cover their own mountains in full where the national pass gives 50%.
One pass, and almost every train, bus and boat in the country stops charging you. That includes city transport in more than 90 towns, so the tram from the station to your hotel is already paid for. It also covers entry to over 500 museums, which is the part nobody remembers until it's raining in Basel. The scenic routes are in there too: the fare on the Glacier Express, the GoldenPass and the rest is covered by the pass itself.
It's sold in 3, 4, 6, 8 and 15 day durations, in first or second class, and as either Continuous or Flexi. Second class runs from $313 (€270) for three days to $615 (€507) for fifteen. To buy one you have to live outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which rules out using it on a work posting in Zug.
Mountains are where the pass stops being simple, because coverage changes from summit to summit.
Free to the summit
50% off the mountain ticket
25% off the last stretch
Nothing off the mountain ticket
Two of these are national and four are regional. The regional ones are the reason a straight price comparison misleads: inside their own area they carry their own mountains in full, where the national pass hands you 50% off the mountain ticket and leaves you at the till.
If you are moving around the country
From US $313 (€270) · 3 to 15 days
If you are staying in one or two places
US $185 (€160) · 30 days
These cover their local mountains outright, where the Swiss Travel Pass only discounts them. Find the one that matches where you are staying.
Lucerne Travel Pass
From US $295 · 3 to 10 days
Pilatus, Titlis, Rigi, Stoos and Stanserhorn are all covered in full, and it costs less than the Swiss Travel Pass. If Lucerne is your base, this usually wins outright.
Jungfrau Travel Pass
From US $259 · 3 to 8 days · April to October
Covers the Jungfrau region outright, but the last stretch up to Jungfraujoch is still charged separately. That is the part that catches people out.
Lake Geneva-Alps Pass
Rochers-de-Naye is covered in full, where the Swiss Travel Pass only halves the top section. Worth a look if you are staying around Montreux.
Buy this as well, not instead
Berner Oberland Pass
From US $207 · 3 to 10 days
The only one here that sits on top of a Swiss Travel Pass rather than replacing it. It adds 25 regional cable cars for a fraction of what they cost one by one.
If you're touring, the national pass is usually the answer and the only real questions left are class and duration. If you're settling in one valley, the regional pass for that valley beats it on the mountains.
The Swiss Travel Pass, by distance. Trains, buses and boats across the country, city transport in over 90 towns and more than 500 museums, all on one ticket, with three mountains thrown in free.
You have to live outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Residency is the only condition attached.
No. Rigi, Stanserhorn and Stoos are covered in full on the Swiss Travel Pass, 24 more give you 50% off the mountain ticket, Jungfraujoch gives 25% on the final leg only, and five give nothing at all.
Never, on any pass. The scenic train fares are covered, but the reservation is a separate charge, from CHF 20 on the GoldenPass to CHF 54 on the Glacier Express.
Three, four, six, eight or fifteen days, in first or second class. Second class starts at $313 (€270) for three days and tops out at $615 (€507) for fifteen.
Inside its own area, often, because the regional passes cover their local mountains in full where the Swiss Travel Pass gives you half off. Cross a region boundary and the national pass pulls ahead again.
If you're moving between regions, the Swiss Travel Pass is the one, and the only decisions left are how many days, which class and whether they run consecutively. If your trip lives in one valley and points upward, price the regional pass for that valley first, because it covers mountains the national pass only discounts.
