Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card: Do the Math

The cheaper product is the one that matches your itinerary, not the one with the larger headline benefit. For an adult nonresident travelling in 2026, a three-day second-class Swiss Travel Pass costs CHF 254, while the one-month Swiss Half Fare Card costs CHF 150 before discounted tickets. Use the worksheet below with the exact trains, boats and mountain journeys you plan to buy.

What each product actually does

SBB’s official visitor-products comparison says the Swiss Travel Pass covers unlimited train, bus and boat travel on 3, 4, 6, 8 or 15 consecutive days, including panoramic trains but excluding required reservations or surcharges. The Swiss Half Fare Card is valid for one month and halves fares on trains, buses, boats, most mountain railways and local transport in more than 90 towns and cities. Short journeys can receive less than a full 50% reduction because of minimum prices.

SBB’s 2026 price table lists the adult second-class three-day Travel Pass at CHF 254, valid prices through 31 December 2026. SBB’s tourist-card help lists the Half Fare Card at CHF 150. Both products are for people resident outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The reusable break-even worksheet

1. List every point-to-point train, bus and boat ticket at its ordinary adult fare.
2. Add each mountain railway or cableway separately; coverage and discount treatment can differ.
3. Add compulsory panoramic-train reservations or surcharges to both columns where they apply.
4. Travel Pass column: start with the pass price, then add reservations, surcharges and any uncovered or partly covered mountain segment.
5. Half Fare column: start with CHF 150, then add the actual discounted fare shown for every journey plus reservations and surcharges.

For a three-day comparison in which every listed fare is exactly halved by the Half Fare Card and fully covered by the Travel Pass, the algebra is CHF 254 versus CHF 150 + half of full fares. The simple break-even is therefore CHF 208 of eligible full fares. Above CHF 208, the Travel Pass is cheaper; below it, the Half Fare Card is cheaper. This shortcut stops working as soon as mountain coverage or minimum fares differ, so use the full two-column method for the final decision.

Three worked itinerary totals

These are worked arithmetic examples, not quoted route prices. Replace CHF 180, 260 or 420 with the sum from SBB’s journey planner for your dates. If a mountain return is CHF 100 with the Half Fare Card but only discounted rather than included with the Travel Pass, enter that real price in each column instead of forcing the simple formula.

Reservations, mountain travel and family maths

A reservation or surcharge does not disappear merely because the underlying train ride is covered. Put the same required charge in both columns unless the booking page explicitly says otherwise. For mountain railways, check the individual operator or SBB itinerary result: the Half Fare Card covers most at half price, while a Travel Pass may include, partly discount or exclude a particular ascent.

SBB says a complimentary Swiss Family Card lets a child aged at least 6 and under 16 travel free when accompanied by a parent holding a valid Swiss Travel System product; children under 6 travel free without the card. Add the child during purchase. For a qualifying parent-and-child trip, calculate the parent first and do not add an invented child rail fare. If the child travels alone or without a parent, use SBB’s applicable child product instead.

Choose the Travel Pass when your covered travel is concentrated into its consecutive days and the full two-column total wins. Choose the Half Fare Card when the trip is longer, travel days are spread out, or the discounted-ticket total stays below the pass. Before departure, compare current Switzerland eSIM plans, but keep tickets and reservation confirmations available offline.