Today is the day we flew out of Switzerland and concluded our trip to the Central European country. Our flight is scheduled for the afternoon, which means that we do not have to leave for the airport early today. We used the remaining hours we had in Switzerland doing some last-minute shopping in the supermarkets near our hotel. During our conversation with the Malaysian Lady in Zurich two days ago, we were advised to check out the supermarkets, as the chocolates there are definitely made in Switzerland and will not be available anywhere else outside of the country. We did find some “treasures” in the two supermarkets that we visited that are near our hotel. After shopping, we headed back to the hotel to pack our purchases into our luggage and then to the airport. Geneva Airport is very accessible from the Geneva city centre. Unlike other cities, where the airport costs at least $10, the 6-minute train ride with very regular train intervals (about 6 to 10 minutes apart) costs only CHF2. And the best thing is that the cost of our train ride to the airport is also covered under the hotel-provided Geneva Transport Card.
After checking into our flight, we spent the rest of the time relaxing in the lounge. As we did not make any big purchases in Switzerland, we skipped the tax refund part.
Takeaways from our Switzerland Trip
Free Local Transport
Almost all of the cities (except Zurich) we’ve been to on our trip give visitors a complimentary guest card, which grants us free transport within the city that includes trains, trams, buses and even boat rides that saved us money. In order for us to obtain these guest cards, we had to stay in the city for at least one night. Some hotels emailed us the registration link before our arrival, while others will issue these digital guest cards upon check-in. In our experience, we were granted free local transport from the train station to the hotel using the hotel booking for cities which only issue guest cards on arrival. Always check the city’s tourism site to see if there are any guest cards that are given to guests staying overnight.
Swiss Travel Pass Vs Half-Fare Card
The age-old question of the Swiss Travel Pass or Half-Fare Card plagued us when we were planning the trip. We eventually went for the Half-Fare Card for this trip, as we would save more using the Half-Fare card. In order for the Swiss Travel Pass to make sense for us, we had to take intercity trains every day, and we had to like visiting museums in each city. As our trip only requires us to move to a different city every two to three days (except for Bern), having a Swiss Travel Pass (even with the Flex option) worked out to be more expensive. Moreover, we are not museum goers; the inclusion of museums in the Swiss Travel Pass matters little to us. Moreover, the local transport that the Swiss Travel Pass includes is also covered by the local guest cards or the Regional Passes that we have obtained, making getting the pass less attractive to us. I would advise doing the sum and seeing which makes more sense cost-wise before deciding which pass to get.
Regional Travel Passes
Regional Travel Passes can be of exceptional value for money, and there are some passes that offer discounts with our Half-Fare Card. It is advised to look at your itinerary and see if these regional passes cover the places you are visiting. There are at least two regional passes that cover the Jungfrau region. We opted for the Bernese Oberland Pass as it covers a wider area and also our train ride from Lucerne to Interlaken via the Luzern-Interlaken Express. We considered this pass as we wanted to go up to Schilthorn, which is only starting to be covered by this pass since 2025, increasing the value of the pass. Having said that, the Bernese Oberland Pass does not cover the Junfraujoch. However, the pass covers train rides from Interlaken to Grindelwald Terminal, which saved us CHF 6 each way. Like the Half-Fare Card, the Bernese Oberland Pass gave us discounts on the tickets to Jungfraujoch. However, the discount is smaller compared to our Half-Fare Card.
We also bought the Tell Pass that covers all transports, including the cable car rides to the three mountains: Mt Rigi, Mt Pilates and Mt Titlis near Lucerne. Using this Tell Pass gave us great savings compared to getting the individual tickets to these mountains and the train rides (even with our Half-Fare Card). We also made use of this pass to access Mt Stoos on the Stoosbahn and cruises around Lake Luzern. Unlike the Bernese Oberland Pass, the Half-Fare Card does not give us a discount on the Tell Pass.
Glacier Express
As mentioned in my post on Glacier Express, booking only the seat reservation on the Glacier Express and buying the ticket on the SBB website ended up saving us more. The total cost of a First Class ticket on the Glacier Express is cheaper when booked using this method than a Second Class ticket when booked on the Glacier Express website. Moreover, the separate train ride ticket we have gotten from the SBB website is a day saver ticket, meaning it covers all train rides to all places in Switzerland for the day, perfect for us as we took another train for Zurich from St. Moritz almost immediately after our Glacier Express, saving us another CHF 30 per pax. We also found the three-course meal on the Glacier Express offered exceptional value. At CHF 49 per pax, we were given a full and great quality meal (I reckon it is cheaper than most restaurants in Switzerland). However, do bring your own water, which can be purchased from supermarkets at a lower price compared to the onboard price. A small bottle of mineral water on the Glacier Express costs CHF 7.
Free City Walks
During the course of my planning, I stumbled upon this website, Free Walks Switzerland (click here for their website), that offers free city tours in English and German for the major cities in Switzerland, which would otherwise cost at least CHF 25 per person. The only cost of these walks is a voluntary tip to the guide at the end of the tour. The company organises regular city tour schedules even in winter. Dates are released on the 20th of the preceding month. These Free City tours gave us great insights into the cities we are visiting and a context for the sights we are seeing, and saved us the time to plan what to see in each city. Unfortunately, we did not make use of these Free services as they usually take place between 10 am and 11 am, clashing with our schedules. But at least there are these options available to visitors.