Sorry, I'm not aware of anything other than the passes I wrote about in the first post in this thread. Of those, the three day flexipass at 249 CHF (3 days unlimited travel any time within a month, and half-fare the rest of the month), the one-month half-fare card (99 CHF) or the Lake Geneva regional pass (94 CHF for 2 free days + 3 half-fare days, or 114 CHF for 3 free + 4 half-fare within this region, check the map on the webiste). I'm pretty sure that you can buy the regional pass yourself (from a train station, boat station, or local tourist office) and mail or give it to them when they arrive, I'm not sure about the other two - I'd ask about it at a train station for those.

Thanks again, Chris. I was vaguely aware of the Regional Pass, but didn't realise it covered such a large area! The furthest they're likely to want to go is somewhere like Interlaken, so they could travel to the edge of the regional zone and pick up a ticket for the last leg.

This will do just fine; I'll do them a little gift card with a print-out of the map, and buy them the pass when they come over for their spring/summer visit, to take best advantage of the boats.

Great - another one ticked off the gift list! Thanks for your guidance.

kodokan

If you know the dates that they want to travel then you can go to your local commune and order day travel cards for those dates. Most communes receive between 5 and 10 cards for each day which they sell on a first come first served basis. My commune sells them for CHf 30 each , no need for a half fare card. These are non changeable, non refundable but they can resold if you can't travel on the date.

These are the tickets that you require for visitors

https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/tree.do?key=40

So you know, you can buy vouchers from the SBB for any amount. The price of a 5-day Lake Geneva Regional Pass is 94 CHF, so a voucher for 188 CHF would be basically the same as giving them the tickets. If I recall correctly, you can even get a personal message printed on it, so you could have it say something like "Valid for two 5-Day Regional Passes". You can also get a nice glossy brochure for the passes at the station that includes a synoptic map and some pretty pictures to give along with with the voucher and card. All they would need to do is make a quick exchange at the ticket counter when they arrive in Switzerland, and they'd be set! The vouchers are valid for a long time (something like three years) so there's not need to worry about the recipients having to use them immediately.

Heather

Hi Heather

Brilliant idea! If I can just bother you for a little longer... I've been on the SBB website, and the only thing I can find is about something called 'Reka Rail', which seems to be some system of gift vouchers for travel. Is that the thing I'm looking for?

And (and this will sound really silly) are SBB and all the Goldenpass stuff part of the same group? Again, I can't find links from SBB cross-referencing to the Goldenpass touristy bits, and my French just isn't good enough if it's going to be a complicated conversation at the station! Will they know what I'm talking about..?

Thanks a lot.

kodokan

GoldenPass is part of MOB. Here is their site:

http://www.mob.ch/GPS/main.asp

No. I only found out about SBB vouchers because I was trying to buy a half-price train ticket with an open travel date as part of a present for a colleague. The guy behind the counter told me this wasn't possible, but suggested that I instead buy 'un bon' (i.e.=voucher). This information probably isn't on the website, but I can guarantee you can get them at the station.

They will definitely know what you're talking about! These regional passes are very popular and are available all over the place: train stations, tourist offices and CGN (=boat) ticket counters, even though the managing company is based in Montreux. What you want to ask about is the 'Pass Regional a cinq jours ou sept jours'. Brochure is 'une brochure', and gift voucher is 'bon cadeau'. This should be enough information to get you on your way! (Also, in Morges the tickets agents will probably speak some English anyway if you really get stuck.)

Let me know if you have success with this,

Heather

Thank you so much, Heather, that all sounds very straightforward. I'll pop in some time in the next week and muddle through. (My French is fine for day-to-day stuff, but I find it much easier if both parties in the conversation know what we're talking about and stay 'on message' so I can predict what I'm likely to be hearing. My worst case language situation is when a total stranger telephones me for some entirely unknown reason!)

See you soon.

kodokan

Well, life intervened in the form of a heavy cold and a sudden need for root canal treatment, so I didn't make it into Morges to get the Regional Passes. Which is lucky, because it turned out that my parents are planning to spend two weeks in Switzerland next year, one week exploring some other as yet unknown part, and the other week here indulging the grandchildren.

So instead I've given them the choice of either two monthly Half-Tax cards or one Swiss Flexi Pass, depending on how much they plan to travel about. When they find out about this on Christmas Day, they'll no doubt want to know how the Flexi Pass works... so...

Anyone had a Flexi Pass? Do you have to specify in advance when you buy it which days you're going to travel, or is it more like a card with, say, 4 blank boxes which you just get stamped at a train station one by one, as you take your days out. And what if you need to get a bus to the train station that day..?

Thanks, everyone! It's taking me a while to get this all straight in my head, but it's worth it for such a top present idea for them.

kodokan

I hope that they find this very useful. I haven't used a flexi pass but have considered them in the past. Looking at the booking details, there is no requirement to specify the days for it to be used, only the start date. I guess that it is stamped as you suggest.

http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/ticketverkauf_uk_en.php

In case you were not aware, the flexi pass also allows entry into a wide range of museums etc., discounts on most mountain railways/cable cars and free travel in most urban areas. The museum pass is only valid on the days that the rail pass is used so, presumably, the same will apply for the urban transport.

The synoptic map on the link page above shows the routes that this is valid for. A printed version of this is sent out with the passes.

At present, they are also giving out a 20% discount voucher towards a meal on the train.

Having had a Swiss Pass that expired just before the end of my recent trip to Switzerland, I appreciate the full value of the Pass.

At under CHF30 a day, is represents a massive discount, unless you travel very minimal distances. Some of the savings I benefitted from included:

Museum admissions - Free entry
Cable cars and funicular railways (Some with only 50% saving, others free)
Trains, Trams and buses - Free travel almost everywhere.

Without the Swiss Pass, I would have been severely restricted in my trips, or had to spend a fortune.

It also provides the great freedom, that you can just jump on a train, bus or tram to visit somewhere if the mood takes you.

Deleted - my question was already answered elsewhere in the thread. Doh!

I've updated most of the information in the main post above. Many 2010 prices are not yet available, so not all prices are fully up to date, but the links should direct you to current prices. I also consolidated the info on children's passes.

The two additions were:

1. Info on the (William) Tell Pass for the Luzern/Lucerne Region, which I did not know about before. The cost is 165 CHF for 2 free days plus 5 half-fare days, or 227 CHF for 5 free days and 10 half-fare days. It is only available from April until October. Ticket info. Network map.

2. Info on city passes: In many of the larger cities in Switzerland, if you stay at a hotel in the city then they will give you a pass for the local public transport for the duration of your stay. This is certainly true in Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne, and is probably also true in the other large cities, but I don't have any definite knowledge of those. Ask the hotel you will be staying at to confirm this information. If anyone knows about this for other cities, then please let me know.

Hi Folks , thank you for the great post

i just wonder if someone have TagesKarte day-ticket for 12 October Zurich to geneva ? and he would like to sell it ? or how i can have cheap ticket ?!
i think this will be cheap ticket , if any let me know pls

One month card now (2011) CHF 110, full year card CHF 165. If, like me, you come annually for more than a month you might consider two or three year cards, at CHF 300 and 400 respectively.