Questions and answers on Swiss Travel System products

In our shop, you can purchase the popular Swiss rail passes Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Travel Pass Flex and the Swiss Half Fare Card. You also have the option of purchasing tickets for popular mountain railways and regional passes conveniently in advance.

Swiss Family Card: The Swiss Family Card is a free family card and is issued to children aged at least 6 and under 16 if one parent purchases a valid Swiss Travel System Pass (incl. Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Travel Pass Flex or Swiss Half Fare Card). The Swiss Family Card allows children to travel free of charge on public transport (boat, bus and train) and mountain railways. Children under the age of 6 are classified as infants and do not require the Swiss Family Card. Important: Children may not travel with the Swiss Family Card without a parent. If you are travelling with a relative such as grandparents or an aunt/uncle, you are not entitled to the free family ticket. Children not accompanied by a parent pay 50% of the adult fare.

Swiss Travel Pass Youth: The Swiss Travel Pass Youth is valid for persons aged 16 to 24 on the first day of travel and offers a 30% discount on the normal adult price. The Swiss Travel Pass Youth entitles you to the same benefits as the Swiss Travel Pass.

You can pay with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PostFinance, Diners Club, Sofort Payment and TWINT.

Due to the length of the carriages and the frequency of the connections, it is not essential to reserve a seat within Switzerland. It also depends on the route, as seats on many regional trains cannot be reserved. Further information on seat reservations on Swiss trains is available from SBB.

Please note that a valid Swiss Travel Pass and Swiss Travel Pass Flex includes travel on Switzerland’s panoramic routes, but a seat reservation is compulsory and subject to availability. For children who wish to have a seat, a seat reservation is also required and the price of a standard seat reservation applies (at any age). However, no additional train ticket is required for children under the age of 6. Seat reservations in panoramic trains can be booked directly via the websites of the respective transport companies.

Glacier Express

Bernina Express</a

Golden Pass Express

Gotthard Panorama Express

Jungfraujoch (between May and August seat reservations are compulsory)

Gornergrat (optional but recommended at weekends and high season)

Pilatus (optional but recommended at weekends and high season)

No. Swiss Travel System rail passes are only valid on the Swiss Travel System network within Switzerland. Separate tickets are required for international arrivals or departures. Please contact SBB directly for further information or to book international tickets.

No, this service is not included in the Swiss Travel Pass / Flex or the Swiss Half Fare Card. SBB offers various luggage services. You can find all the information you need about transporting your luggage here.

If you need help with your pass, especially with activating/deactivating the days on your Swiss Travel Pass Flex, please contact your local SBB station.

If you are having problems with your travel arrangements and wish to complain or demand compensation at a later date, we recommend that you report the incident on site at the station in case the SBB customer service needs to investigate later. We regret that incidents that are not reported immediately cannot be resolved to your satisfaction without the necessary proof.

If you have ordered one of our products with or without mountain excursions, your passes and e-tickets will be issued automatically. Normally, you should receive the booking confirmation by e-mail within 30 minutes. If you have not received the confirmation, please also check your spam folder.

Important: The passes cannot be issued more than 6 months in advance of the start date. Some mountain excursions can only be issued between 2 and 6 months in advance. If you have any questions about your booking or have not received a confirmation, please contact us here.

The Swiss Travel Pass and the Swiss Half Fare Card can be used simply by presenting the printed ticket or by displaying the QR code on your mobile device. As long as the QR code is visible and can be scanned, it is up to you how you wish to use your valid pass. Please keep the links to your pass safe in case you need to access it again.
For Swiss Travel Pass Flex holders, please follow the instructions for activating and using your Swiss Travel Pass Flex.
If you have ordered the Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Travel Pass Flex or Swiss Half Fare Card, please note that this is a tourist pass and cannot be linked to the SBB app.

We regret that we are unable to change the type of pass or the start date as the passes are issued automatically. Therefore, your order must be cancelled and refunded before the start date. Please contact us using the contact form to request a cancellation. A new online booking must be made in our online shop.

If it is a spelling error (up to 2 letters) in a first or last name, this is not a problem. This will not cause any problems with the train guards as long as other details such as the date of birth are correct. If the name or date of birth is completely incorrect, you must request the cancellation of the pass. The pass could be invalidated if the information supplied by the pass holder does not match their documents. Our Cancellation Policy applies to all cancelled bookings.

Passes will only be refunded in full if they are cancelled at least 1 day prior to travel and you have taken out the Flex Cancellation Option. If you have not taken out Flex cancellation Option, cancellation fees will apply. Detailed information can be found in the cancellation policy. Please click here to request a cancellation. After cancellation, it may take up to 5 working days for the refund to be credited to your account.

We regret that Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) do not offer a partial refund if you have decided not to use the pass in full or if you have had to shorten your journey due to illness or injury. Please contact your travel insurance provider directly. Unused passes/tickets cancelled on the day of validity or after the trip will also be refunded manually and a cancellation fee will be charged. SBB requires proof of why the ticket(s) were not used. Please provide all necessary supporting documentation when requesting a refund of your unused passes/tickets if you cancel on or after your passes/tickets effective date.

Yes. Both individual passengers and individual products can be cancelled if a traveller is unable to use their pass or if they need to cancel specific excursions. Please contact us using the contact form to request a cancellation. Our Cancellation Policy applies to all cancelled bookings.