Advice for overall cheapest tickets for 3 journeys.

Mandriel

Hello everyone, I’ll be visiting Switzerland on a months time with my family, and I need some advice on which tickets I should get, since we have decided to travel around by train instead of leasing a car.

We have plans for the following three journeys:
Basel EuroAirport, Ankunft to St-Ursanne
Single journey Basel, Bahnhof SBB,Delémont. Fri, 07.08.2026 dep 16:37

St-Ursanne to Locarno
Single journey Delémont,Basel SBB,Bellinzona. Sun, 09.08.2026 dep 9:50 (with the plans to go to Spruga afterwards with the bus, just haven’t decided whether we will take a couple of hours in Locarno first)

Spruga to Milano Centrale
via Locarno, Lugano. Sa, 15.08.2026. Departure: 08:24

I can’t figure out whether it is worth it to buy the “halfprice”-card for me and my wife or not. All help is appreciated. 🙂

Best,
Oliver.

Danhiel

Hello Mandriel

It would be a good idea to buy Half Fare Cards because your kids will travel free of charge with the included Family Card. Don’t forget to add their names when you order the cards (only for the 2 kids aged 9 and 6).

Otherwise, you can find the prices for the two adults with Half Fare for every journey by searching the timetables. You may have following discounts:

Supersaver Tickets: You can travel only with the selected trains, not refundable
Supersaver Tickets Flex: You can travel only with the selected trains, 75% refundable before departure
Saver Day Pass: Full flexibility, not refundable
Point-to-point Tickets: valid for one journey between the two stations with every train, refundable until the day before departure. It is not necessary to buy such tickets in advance, the price is always the same.

Don’t buy Supersaver Tickets from the airport, only point-to-point tickets (I don’t think that Saver Day Passes are cheaper). Supersaver Tickets would be no more valid if your flight is delayed.

Half Fare and Family Cards are not valid in Italy, you have to buy regular tickets. If you travel with a regional train RE80, you can buy tickets Spurga - Milano for the adults, with Half Fare in Switzerland, and Chiasso - Milano for the kids. Note that these tickets are only valid for 4 hours.

Kind regards
Danhiel

RolandP

Hi Mandriel

Just keep in mind that St-Ursanne to Locarno means a long train journey for your kids.

You should plan some activities for your kids too, since you are visiting a country that is a paradise for familiy activities.

And to complete my friend Danhiel’s answer, sibce you are looking for the cheapest offer: Supersaver class upgrade ticket is not a valid ticket on its own.

Kind regards,
Roland

Mandriel

I forgot to add that we are 5 persons - 2 adults, and 3 kids aged 9, 6 and 2.

Mandriel

Thank you both for taking the time to answer.

RolandP - Is Supersaver tickets not valid on their own?

Tafunge25

Mandriel Is Supersaver tickets not valid on their own?

I’ll allow myself to answer despite not being my colleague @RolandP :
Supersaver’s tickets are indeed valid on their own. But they are sometimes confused with supersaver class upgrades. Those combine with an existing 2nd class ticket to turn it into a 1st class ticket.
Supersaver’s tickets are valid standalone.
Also be careful whether or not you are allowed the half fare discound (Half fare for children strictly below 16 years old and for people holding a Swiss Half Fare Card)

Mandriel

Hi again.

Thanks for your help. We ended up buying 1 half fare and add the kids to that, and then let the other adult travel full price. That seemed the cheapest option for our needs.

I have stumbled into an issue when buying the tickets from Spruga to Milano the page produces an error whem I’m adding the 2-year old as a passenger. See attachements - Who should I contact?

Danhiel

Hi Mandriel

A 2-year old child don’t need a ticket, it is not necessary to add their name as passenger.

Kind regards
Danhiel

Mandriel

Hi Danhiel

Thanks again. Was unsure whether that also was the rule in Italy, so just wanted to make sure I had everything in order. 🙂