Advice on train ticket purchase

GS-Scooter

Next month, my wife and I will be in Geneva for a couple of weeks, with a visit to Zurich (Sep 21-22) and then returning to Geneva. Based on what I see on the website I would purchase 2x SuperSaver tickets for each direction - is this correct? Are there any other discounts I should take into account?

As far as seat reservations: If we are interested in reserving restaurant seats for the journey, would we just take our overnight bags to the table?

RolandP

Hello GS-Scooter

Welcome to the SBB Community.
We are a customer support forum run by volunteers.

When you say, you will be in Geneva for a couple of weeks, is the trip to Zurich the only one you will do? There would be better offers than a Supersaver ticket if you will do more trips than just this one. Can you give more information on your plans?

Supersaver tickets are fine for the outbound travel but not so for the inbound unless you can make sure you will meet the departure time as given on the ticket. Supersaver ticket are valid for one single connection; if you fail to be at the station on time, it is lost and no longer valid. It is also not a good choice for sightseeing as it will not leave you any flexibility, for example a short-term decision like returning earlier or later.

If you can’t or you are unsure if you can meet the departure time, you better purchase a Saver Day Pass or a Point-to-point ticket, both are flex tickets and valid on any connection on the day of validity.

Do you allow a personal advice since you are going to stay here for a couple of weeks? Keep in mind that we Swiss do love niceties. Politeness is key. For example, approaching a local to ask a question / for advice without greeting the person first is considered a rude behaviour, in particular in the French speaking Switzerland. 😄

Kind regards,
Roland

RedBaron

GS-Scooter
Regarding your bags in the dining car question: Depends on the size of those bags.
While of course everyone would take smaller (hand)bags with their valuables to the restaurant, large bags/cases would usually remain in the regular coach. Just check out the available space around the restaurant table before deciding.
Note that luggage theft is very unlikely in IC trains, which do feature restaurant coaches at all: Rare stops (so running away with a suitcase is tricky), expensive tickets and tighter, almost guaranteed ticket controls.

GS-Scooter

RolandP Hi Roland - thank you very much for your thorough response and for your advice! 🙂

The small trip to Zurich I mentioned will be the only one from Geneva. For the rest of the time, we will be in Geneva.

GS-Scooter

RedBaron Thank you for the information.

Are the restaurant seat reservations for a specific time or can they be used anytime during the journey?

RedBaron

GS-Scooter
I haven‘t ever reserved any seat in any Swiss train during the last half century. But according to the how-to instructions, it looks like dining car seats are handled the same way as regular seats (entire journey on same train).