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Swiss Alps Tours › Swiss Travel PassUpdated 2026-09-26

Swiss Travel Pass for the Swiss Alps: What It Covers on the Mountains

Hours, prices and access verified by the Swiss Alps Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.

A Swiss Travel Pass gets you to the foot of the mountains for free. It does not get you to the top for free. On the big summits it takes half off, and on a guided Swiss Alps ticket prices it changes nothing at all. Here is what each pass covers, peak by peak, and when a tour works out better.

What the Swiss Travel Pass is

The Swiss Travel Pass gives you unlimited travel on trains, buses and boats across Switzerland for 3, 4, 6, 8 or 15 consecutive days. It covers public transport in more than 90 towns and cities, and the panorama trains, though seat reservations and supplements are extra. A Flex version lets you choose your travel days within one month.

Consecutive daysAdult, 2nd classYouth 16-24, 2nd class
3 daysCHF 254CHF 179
4 daysCHF 309CHF 218
6 daysCHF 399CHF 282
8 daysCHF 439CHF 311
15 daysCHF 499CHF 356

Prices are for second class, from the Swiss Travel System's reseller table for 2026. First class costs more. Children under 6 travel free, and children under 16 travel free with a parent on the Swiss Family Card.

Summit by summit: free, half price or included

This is the part most people get wrong. On the Rigi, the Stanserhorn and Stoos the pass is a free ticket. On other mountain railways it gives up to 50% off, and that includes the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn and Titlis.

MountainOfficial fareWith a Swiss Travel Pass
JungfraujochFrom CHF 129.60 return50% off, plus the seat reservation
SchilthornSet by the Schilthorn cableway50% off
TitlisCHF 102 return from Engelberg50% off
Grindelwald FirstFrom CHF 38Check at the counter
Rigi, Stanserhorn, StoosTheir own faresFree

So with a pass, the Jungfraujoch still costs you half its fare, plus the CHF 10 Eiger Express seat reservation from 1 May to 31 October. Titlis costs about CHF 51 from Engelberg. For First, ask at the counter before you ride.

The regional pass and the Half Fare Card

If you are staying in the Jungfrau region, look at the Jungfrau Travel Pass. It covers the region's trains and lifts, including First, the boats on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, Schynige Platte and Harder Kulm. The Jungfraujoch is not included: you buy a connecting ticket from CHF 63, or CHF 89 from 1 May to 31 October 2026. Children aged 6 to 15 pay CHF 30 for any length.

DaysAdultAdult, reducedChild 6-15
3 daysCHF 210CHF 165CHF 30
4 daysCHF 235CHF 180CHF 30
5 daysCHF 270CHF 210CHF 30
6 daysCHF 290CHF 225CHF 30
8 daysCHF 330CHF 255CHF 30

The Swiss Half Fare Card is simpler. It costs CHF 150 and is valid for one month, and it lets you buy tickets at half price or less. It works for a slower trip with a few long train rides.

Pass or tour: the arithmetic

A pass never lowers a tour fare, because the operators sell the tours. The question is whether you want to plan the day yourself. Look at the numbers side by side.

PlanWhat you payWhat it buys
Jungfraujoch with a passHalf the official fare, plus CHF 10 seat reservationThe ride only; you plan the day
Jungfraujoch tour from InterlakenFrom $313 a personLifts, reserved seats and a guide
Titlis with a passCHF 51, half of CHF 102, plus the train to EngelbergThe ride only
Titlis day from ZurichFrom $199 a personCoach, cable cars, Ice Flyer and a guide

The tour costs more than the ride. It buys the reserved seat, the timing and a guide. If you already hold a pass and like to plan, ride yourself. If you do not, or you have one day, the tour is the simpler buy.

Want the summit fare and the seat reservation done?

The Jungfraujoch day from Interlaken carries the Eiger Express, the cogwheel train, reserved seats and a guide.

Check availabilityCompare every tour

Who can buy it, and how to use it

The Swiss Travel Pass is for visitors. You can only buy one if you live outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein. You can buy it up to 11 months ahead, online at SBB or at a staffed ticket counter, and show it in the SBB Mobile app.

With the Flex version, the mountain discount only works on a day you have activated. So if you plan a summit on a day off the trains, you pay full fare up the mountain. Between 1 October and 15 December 2026, the pass also takes up to half off selected luggage services, so you can send your bags ahead.

Who needs no pass

If you come for one guided day from Zurich, Lucerne or Milan, skip the pass. The coach and the lifts are in the fare, or the lifts are extra whatever you hold. The same goes for the paragliding and e-bike days, which start on the Höheweg in Interlaken. A pass pays off when you ride trains on most days of your trip.

Pass questions

Does the Swiss Travel Pass cover the Jungfraujoch?
Not in full. It takes 50% off the mountain railway to the Jungfraujoch, and you still pay the CHF 10 seat reservation from May to October.
How much is the Swiss Travel Pass in 2026?
In second class, an adult pass costs CHF 254 for three consecutive days and CHF 499 for fifteen. Youth passes for ages 16 to 24 cost less.
Does a pass reduce the price of a guided tour?
No. Tour operators set their own fares, and a pass does not change them. A pass only helps when you ride the trains and lifts yourself.
Do children need a Swiss Travel Pass?
Children under 6 travel free. Children under 16 travel free with a parent who holds a pass, on the Swiss Family Card.
Is the Swiss Half Fare Card worth it?
It costs CHF 150 for one month and halves most fares. It pays off if you would spend more than CHF 300 on trains and lifts in that month.

Where these facts come from

Tours with the mountain trains in the fare

Next: see train times on getting there, read the official fares on the visitor guide, or compare every tour on Swiss Alps Tours.