Tickets? SBB Pass? Flex Pass? Help!

TrainNovice206

My family of 4 (two children under 10) are traveling to Geneva and then to Zermatt (round trip). We are also planning on visiting the Matterhorn Alpine crossing. With the Matterhorn Alpine crossing, there is an SBB discount but there are many options for train tickets which is confusing. Any advice would be appreciated.

RolandP

Hello TrainNovice206

When is this trip going to happen?

Kind regards,
Roland

TrainNovice206

Thanks for the reply. We are planning on visiting in early April.

RolandP

Hello TrainNovice206

Sorry for the delayed reply.

Will the round trip include an overnight at Zermatt? It would be quite a long trip if all is going to happen in one day.

I have a hard time to give you a reasonable advice on the ticket question as I do not know for how long you will stay in Switzerland and what your other trips will include.

For a simple return trip (Geneva-Zermatt-Geneva), I would say, buy the Saver Day Pass for each adult/day, and the Junior Card for each child. The latter costs CHF 30 per child, is valid one year, and the child travels for free while accompanied by at least one parent with a valid ticket. For tourists, the Junior Card is available at the SBB travel office only. The Junior Card is also recognised by some of the lift operators in Zermatt (check with them on-site).

https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/day-passes/saver-day-pass.html

If you stay longer in Switzerland / Zermatt, in addition to the tickets, the Swiss Half Card would be very beneficial for the parents. It would also come with the complimentary Swiss Family Card which is the equivalent of the Junior Card yet free of charge.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-halffare-card.html
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/planning/transport-accommodation/tickets-public-transport/swiss-family-card/

As you are mentioning the Matterhorn Alpine crossing: beware that this mountain experience is currently closed due to unplanned maintenance. As I recently read in a newspaper, the operator expects the reopening by end of March 2024 but is not yet confirmed. By all means, avoid purchasing mountain excursion tickets in advance if you want to avoid the often cumbersome ticket refund process.

Please let us know if you have got more queries. We might be able to give you a more distinct advice once we know all details about your travel plans.

Kind regards,
Roland

TrainNovice206

Roland,

Thank you so much for the detailed response. Some additional trip info for you:

Arrive in Geneva on 4/8 for
Leave Geneva for Zermatt on 4/9
Leave Zermatt returning to Geneva on 4/13. Head to Geneva airport.

We will try to do some spring skiing and hope to get over to Cervinia. Really appreciate the heads up regarding the Matterhorn Alpine crossing. Definitely not in a rush to secure tickets until we can verify its opening back in April.

Nate