How to Buy, Activate and Use the Swiss Travel Pass

Let’s get started by taking a look at where you should buy your pass. 

First, you need to decide whether to purchase a regular Swiss Travel Pass (for travel on consecutive days) or a Swiss Travel Pass Flex. The differences are explained in > this article.

Then it’s super simple to purchase a Swiss Travel Pass. I recommend you buy the pass via GetYour Guide, an authorised reseller of Travel Switzerland.

What’s great about using GetYourGuide is that they offer full refunds on many products, including the Swiss Travel Pass, if you cancel up to 24 hours before use. 

Consecutive Day Swiss Travel Pass Prices

Swiss Travel Pass Flex Prices

Once you have made your purchase, when and how is your pass delivered? 

The Swiss Travel Pass (for travel on consecutive days) will be emailed to the address you provided in the booking process, and will come in the form of a PDF attachment which can be downloaded to your mobile device.

I highly recommend printing a paper copy of this as a back-up, though you can simply present the mobile version when using transport in Switzerland. 

While both paper and digital versions of the pass are accepted, your phone could suddenly run out of battery and then you’d have no way of proving you have a pass! 

You should also carry your passport or another form of photo ID each time you travel. 

> Click here to buy your Swiss Travel Pass

If you purchase a Swiss Travel Pass Flex, you will receive a purchase receipt and a voucher by email.

The voucher is NOT valid for travel.

Each day you wish you travel you should activate your pass (see the instructions below). By doing this, you will receive a valid ticket for travel on that date.

> Click here to buy your Swiss Travel Pass Flex.

The Swiss Travel Pass Flex, however, must be activated in advance and before each day that you use the pass. You can do this via Activate Your Pass here.

Your pass should be activated before your first trip, and you’ll need to enter your reference number as well as your full name and date of birth. 

For every travel date you activate, a valid ticket will be generated. This e-ticket can then be seen at activateyourpass.com. You can show this e-ticket to the ticket inspector on your phone or tablet, or use a printed copy. 

What if your plans change along the way? 

If you have already activated a travel date that you want to change, the Swiss Travel Pass allows you to change these as much as you want to until the start of each validity period.

The validity period commences at 23:59. Once the clock hits midnight, you can no longer change or deactivate this particular ticket. 

For example, if you have activated your Swiss Travel Pass Flex to be used on 17 July and you no longer wish to use your pass that day, you can change the date of travel until 23:59 on 16 July.

So now let’s cover how to use the Swiss Travel Pass Flex or consecutive-days pass. 

When travelling with a Swiss Travel Pass – either consecutive days or Flex, you simply board the train and sit wherever you wish in the correct carriage for your class of travel. 

The only exception to this is when travelling on the Bernina Express or Glacier Express, which we cover below.

When requested by the ticket inspector, simply present your Swiss Travel Pass.  You may also be asked to present some photo ID, such as your passport to verify that you are the pass holder.

The Bernina Express and Glacier Express, two of Switzerland’s most famous premium panoramic trains, are the only Swiss trains on which reserving a seat is compulsory.

The actual ticket price of the journey on these trains is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass but seat reservation fees are compulsory and should be purchased online well in advance of your travel date.

Seat reservations for the Bernina Express can be purchased here and Glacier Express seat reservations can be purchased here.

On all other panoramic trains* – Luzern – Interlaken Express, GoldenPass Line and Gotthard Panorama Express – seat reservations are not required. Simply board the train and sit anywhere in the correct carriage for your class of your travel.

*Note that the Gotthard Panorama Express only offers 1st class train travel. If you hold a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Travel Pass Flex you must pay a class upgrade for this journey.

Additionally there is a compulsory supplement of CHF 16 for each passenger that travels on the Gotthard Panorama Express. > Purchase class upgrades and the compulsory supplement here.

Don’t forget that Swiss Travel Pass holders can also use boats, buses and some mountain transport services. Even when this isn’t the case, you may qualify for a generous discount as a pass holder. 

When boarding boats and buses, simply show your Swiss Travel Pass when you enter.  For free (where applicable) or discounted travel on cable cars, funiculars and mountain railways, present your pass at the ticket counter.

Selected museums also allow pass holders to enter for free. Just show your Pass at the ticket counter.

When travelling to an area beyond that covered by the pass – such as into another country – you’ll need to buy a ticket for that sector. This will apply, for example, to journeys into France, Italy, Germany or Austria. 

International tickets are generally not available for purchase on the Swiss Railways website or app so we recommend buying them from the railway of the country concerned.

The Swiss Travel Pass covers travel as far as the major rail border points of Basel and Le Chatelard-Frontiere on the French border, Chiasso on the Italian border, Konstanz on the border with Germany and St. Margrethen on the Austrian border.

Some postal bus services within Liechtenstein and Austria are also covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.

You can view a map of the Area of Validity of the Swiss Travel Pass > here.

Is there a Swiss Travel Pass app? No, there isn’t.  

Many travellers notice a reference to the SwissPass on the SBB Mobile app however this refers to a digital travel account for residents only. 

A SwissPass account is for Swiss citizens only, not tourists, and is a separate product that uses a chip and pin card.

The Swiss Travel Pass doesn’t have to be added to an app. All you need is to be able to show the ticket inspector a paper or digital copy, and photo ID if requested.

The excellent SBB Mobile app (which we explain here) can be used for checking timetables but it is not necessary (or possible) to connect your Swiss Travel Pass to the app.

Another app that is useful is the Swiss Travel Guide app which has an integrated map and timetable and points out more than 500 Swiss highlights.