First time to Switzerland - need help understanding Swiss Pass

Luexennauwh53

We will be traveling to Wengen in July 2025. We will be coming from La Spezia, IT, via SBB rail.
My question is, will the Swiss pass work for the inbound route to Wengen, or does it only apply to my travel during my stay in Switzerland? Also for my stay duration, is the Half Swiss Pass more advantageous?

I’m trying to book our tickets but wanted to know the right way to do so.

Danhiel

Hello Luexennauwh53

You mean probably the Swiss Travel Pass. Swiss tickets are valid only from the border station, Domodossola or Chiasso for example. You need a ticket for Italy.

The Swiss Half Fare Card could be cheaper, you can buy for example Half Fare Saver Day Passes in advance, but the price depends of the date of travel:

https://sbb-tickets.cc/en/buying/pages/kontingent/kontingent.xhtml

Please note that such passes are not exchangeable and not refundable, and not valid for mountain excursions, but you can also buy half fare regular or Supersaver tickets with the Swiss Half Fare Card.

Kind regards
Danhiel

Luexennauwh53

Danhiel
Thank you, Danhiel, for the detailed response. A couple of final questions:

Does the Swiss Half Fare Card include my children (would I only be purchasing one for my wife and me?
Does the full Swiss Fare Card include mountain excursions?

Danhiel

Luexennauwh53

Please note that a “Full Swiss Fare Card” doesn’t exist, you have a “Swiss Travel Pass”.

Both offers, Swiss Travel Pass (STP) and Swiss Half Fare Card (SHFC), include a Family Card. Your children will travel free of charge, but don’t forget to indicates their names and dates of birth when you order the STP or SHFC.

With the SHFC you have always 50% discount for the mountain excursions, with the STP sometimes only 25%.

You could also consider the Berner Oberland Pass for mountain excursions, but look carefully at the area of validity and if you have free travel or only discounts:

https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/public-transport/

Krist

When is your trip?

This summer there is again going to be an interruption on the Simplon route, which means that the railways will probably suggest you travel via Zurich. However with a STS you are free to choose any routing in Switzerland so I would suggest you go La - Spezia - Milano - Luzern - Interlaken - Wengen. Still a detour, but a scenic one.