What you'll actually get when you buy a Swiss Travel Pass
There's no plastic card, no ticket office queue and no envelope in the post. Your Swiss Travel Pass lands in your inbox as a PDF, and the QR code printed on it is the ticket. Nothing needs collecting, nothing needs stamping, and there's no barrier to scan on the way to the platform.
You can show that QR code on your phone or on a printout, both work equally well. If you're heading somewhere with patchy signal, save the PDF offline or print it. A dead battery in a valley station is a bad place to find you can't open your email.
What to show when an inspector comes down the aisle
Just get on the train and sit down. When the inspector reaches you, show two things:
- The QR code on your pass, on screen or on paper.
- Your passport or ID card.
The passport isn't optional. The name and date of birth printed on your pass have to match the document you hand over, because the pass is personal and non-transferable. Leave your passport in the hotel safe and you're travelling without a valid ticket, however genuine the pass looks.
One more thing worth knowing: the pass is only sold to people who don't live in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
Second class means second class
If you bought a second class pass, first class is off limits, on every train, at every hour, no matter how empty that carriage looks. You'd need to pay for a class upgrade first. It's a common and expensive misunderstanding, so it's worth being clear about which one you bought before you board.
How to activate your pass before your first trip
This depends on which version you've got.
| Continuous pass | Flexi pass |
|---|---|
| Activates automatically on the start date you picked when booking. | You activate each travel day individually, one at a time. |
| Nothing to do on the day, just travel. | Do it at activateyourpass.com before you start travelling that day. |
| Consecutive days, used or not. | Spread your days across a longer window, using them when you like. |
Full walkthrough over on activation if you want the step-by-step.
Whether your pass shows up in the SBB app
That depends on where you bought it. Buy on the railway's own site while signed in and a standard pass turns up in the app; buy as a guest or through a reseller and it won't, and a Flex pass never does. None of it is a fault to fix, because the PDF is a valid ticket entirely on its own. The SBB app is worth having either way for timetables, platform numbers and live delays.
How to get your half-price mountain tickets
Mountain discounts aren't carried in the pass, you buy them. Here's how it goes:
- Travel to the valley station on your pass. The train, bus or boat to the bottom is already covered.
- Go to the counter or ticket machine at the valley station, on the day you're going up.
- Show your pass and buy the mountain ticket. It comes off at half price.
These discounts generally aren't available online, so don't go hunting for them the night before, just turn up and buy at the bottom. The discount applies to the ascent above the valley station, not the journey to reach it. See mountain coverage for which peaks give what.
Seat reservations on panoramic trains
The Glacier Express, Bernina Express and friends all need a seat reservation, and that reservation is never covered by the pass, not at half price, not at all. Book it separately and book it early in summer. Your pass covers the ride itself; the seat is a separate purchase. More on this in what's not included.
How the pass works when you cross the border
Your pass covers the Swiss leg of journeys into Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein, so you're covered as far as the border, then you'll need a ticket for the rest. The one happy exception is the Centovalli Railway between Locarno and Domodossola, which is covered end to end.
Sending your luggage ahead
You can register luggage and have it sent between stations rather than hauling it up escalators. It's CHF 12 an item, and the service needs a valid ticket covering the whole route, which is what your pass is. There's no discount on the fee itself. More on how the service works in luggage transfer.
What it costs, and what happens if plans change
- Price is identical wherever you buy it. Shopping around for a cheaper Swiss Travel Pass is a waste of an evening.
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours before your start date. After that, you're committed.
- Children under 6 travel free.
- Kids aged 6 to 15 travel free on the Swiss Family Card, which is included at no extra cost when travelling with a parent.
