Which Swiss rail pass fits your trip?

It depends on your route, your travel days and your excursions – there is no rule of thumb that fits every trip. The finder prices every option for your journey with exact fares: single and Supersaver tickets, the Swiss Half Fare Card or Half Fare Travelcard, the Saver Day Pass, the Swiss Travel Pass and regional passes such as the Jungfrau Travel Pass or the Berner Oberland Pass. In our sample calculations for trips of four to six days, the Half Fare Card combined with Supersaver tickets often comes out cheapest; the Swiss Travel Pass pays off mainly with many long journeys.

It is worth it if you travel long distances on most days and take excursions it covers – Rigi, Stanserhorn and the boats on Lake Lucerne are free, Pilatus, Gornergrat and Harder Kulm half price. On shorter trips it often costs more than single tickets at saver prices. The finder shows whether it pays off for your route, and for how many days. Only visitors who live outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein can buy it.

Both halve the fares for trains, buses, boats and most mountain railways. The Swiss Half Fare Card is valid for one month and is sold to visitors from abroad; the Half Fare Travelcard (Halbtax) is valid for a year and is sold to residents of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. With either card you also buy Supersaver tickets and the Saver Day Pass at the half-fare price.

Supersaver tickets (Sparbillette) are cheaper tickets for one specific train; they are valid only on that connection and sold in limited numbers. The Saver Day Pass is valid for a whole day in the GA area, so on almost all trains, buses and boats – in 2nd class from CHF 29 with a Half Fare card, from CHF 52 without. Both get cheaper the earlier you book. For every leg the finder uses the cheapest fare sold for the chosen train, a Supersaver ticket whenever there is one.

With the right combination for each day: Supersaver tickets for single journeys, a Saver Day Pass for long travel days – under 25, the Friends Day Pass, on which up to four people travel together for CHF 80 – and the right regional pass in the mountains. The finder puts this combination together for your travel days and shows how much you save compared with single tickets. One example: with the Saver Day Pass the Rigi is free, because it lies within the GA area.

Partly, and it differs from pass to pass. With the Swiss Travel Pass, Rigi and Stanserhorn are free, Pilatus, Gornergrat and Harder Kulm half price, and the Jungfraujoch comes at a special price. With the Berner Oberland Pass, Schynige Platte, Männlichen, Schilthorn and the Brienzer Rothorn are free; with the Jungfrau Travel Pass, Harder Kulm, Grindelwald-First and Schynige Platte. The finder prices excursions at the operator's fare for your travel day and applies only benefits documented in the official tariffs.

The Jungfrau Travel Pass covers the Jungfrau Region including Harder Kulm, Grindelwald-First and Schynige Platte; for the Jungfraujoch you add a discounted connecting ticket. The Berner Oberland Pass reaches further – from Lake Thun and Lake Brienz to the Schilthorn and the Brienzer Rothorn – but gives a smaller discount on the Jungfraujoch. If the Jungfraujoch is your main goal, the Jungfrau Travel Pass is usually cheaper. The finder compares both with Jungfrau Railways' live prices.

Children under 6 travel free. Your own children aged 6 to 15 travel free with the free Swiss Family Card when a parent holds a Swiss Travel Pass or a Swiss Half Fare Card. Residents of Switzerland use the Junior Card instead. The finder applies the Swiss Family Card automatically and suggests the Junior Card as a tip.

For every leg it takes the real fare of the chosen train from the official timetable, for excursions the operator's price on your travel day, and for passes the official tariffs. It applies a pass benefit only when the tariffs document it. If a benefit cannot be priced exactly, it uses the full fare and says so – the savings it shows are never flattered.

Yes. Enter your stops in order, spread the nights and switch on the return to your starting point – or tap one of the popular trips, such as the Jungfrau Region, Lucerne and Central Switzerland or the grand tour of Switzerland. The finder adds the trip's typical excursions and prices every leg on its own.

Directly from Swiss Activities: the rail pass overview has the Swiss Travel Pass, the Half Fare Card, the Saver Day Pass and regional passes, with your tickets delivered instantly.