Swiss Saver Day Pass from CHF 29: Prices, Validity and How to Get It

The Swiss Saver Day Pass gives you a whole day of unlimited travel on trains, buses, boats and city transport across Switzerland from CHF 52 (about US$63), or from CHF 29 if you also hold a Half Fare Card. It is the cheapest ticket in the country for long travel days, such as the transfer from Zermatt to Zurich Airport, which costs CHF 134 at full fare. The catch: it is sold in price levels and the low prices sell out, it is tied to one date and it cannot be refunded. When we checked in October 2026, a few days ahead the pass for that Zermatt day already cost CHF 106, and for a Zurich Airport to Interlaken day CHF 79, two francs more than the single ticket. So the rule is simple: buy it early, up to six months ahead, and only for days where your full fares are clearly higher. Below you find the 2026 prices, where it is valid (including the Rigi), four real examples, how it combines with the Half Fare Card and how to buy it as a visitor. All other passes are compared in our Swiss rail pass guide.

How the Saver Day Pass works

The Saver Day Pass, in German Spartageskarte, is a one-day ticket for the whole Swiss public transport network that SBB sells in limited contingents at falling prices: the earlier you book, the cheaper it is. You choose the date and class when you buy it, and on that day you ride anything that the GA travelcard covers, from early morning until 5 am the next day.

Three rules matter more than anything else. First, it is date-bound: you cannot move it to another day if it rains. Second, it is not refundable; SBB only refunds within 30 minutes of the purchase if you bought while logged in, Swiss Activities says non-refundable and non-changeable. Third, it is personal; your name and date of birth are on it, and you may be asked for ID.

You do not need a Swiss travelcard to buy it. Visitors can buy it in the SBB Mobile app, on sbb.ch or from resellers such as Swiss Activities, which sells it as a mobile ticket. If you also have a Swiss Half Fare Card, you get the reduced version from CHF 29.

Prices 2026 and price levels

In 2026 the Saver Day Pass starts at CHF 52 in second class and CHF 88 in first class, and at CHF 29 and CHF 49 with a Half Fare Card. These are the lowest levels; SBB publishes no maximum price, and the price rises as each contingent sells out.

How high it goes: MySwissAlps, which sells Saver Day Passes, lists the full-fare version at a minimum of CHF 52, an average of CHF 86 and a maximum of CHF 119 in second class (as of May 2026). Our own checks on October 18, 2026 fit that picture: CHF 79 for a Wednesday ten days later, CHF 106 for a day four days later. Whether the Saver Day Pass prices change with the fare increase of December 13, 2026, SBB had not announced in October 2026; the fixed Day Pass for Half Fare holders goes up from CHF 78 to CHF 81.

Where it is valid, and where not

The Saver Day Pass is valid wherever the Swiss GA travelcard is valid: almost all trains, PostBuses, boats on the big lakes and city transport, plus the Rigi and Stanserhorn. Most other mountain railways are not included, and you buy them separately, at half price if you have a Half Fare Card.

• Included: SBB and private railways, the PostBus, trams and buses in the cities, the boats on lakes such as Lake Brienz, Lake Thun and Lake Lucerne.
• Bernese Oberland: the trains to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen and Wengen and the way up to Mürren are included, according to Swiss Activities, so you can ride to the foot of the big mountains and buy the mountain ticket there.
• Mountains included: Rigi and Stanserhorn.
• Not included: Harder Kulm, Schynige Platte, Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald First and the Schilthorn above Mürren, according to Swiss Activities.
• Seat reservations on panoramic trains such as the Glacier Express are extra.

That makes the Saver Day Pass a transport ticket, not a mountain ticket. For a summit day it covers the way to the valley station, and the summit itself costs extra.

PDF · 18 pages

Free PDF guide

Planning the Bernese Oberland? Don't go without this.

Our free guide, made from our own week there: the 11 places really worth your time, a ready-made 3-day route, and the pass trick that cuts the Schilthorn from CHF 115 to CHF 45.70.

• The 11 best places on one hand-drawn map, all within an hour of Interlaken
• A 3-day route that puts the Schilthorn on your clearest morning
• The ticket mistake that costs many visitors over CHF 100
• When to reach the famous Iseltwald pier before the crowds
• Every link with a QR code: use it on your phone or print it

Your free Bernese Oberland Guide

Website

Your email address

Yes, send me the free guide

Yes, I would like to receive the Swiss Detours newsletter with travel tips and offers by email. I can unsubscribe at any time. Details in the privacy policy.

100% free · PDF straight to your inbox · Unsubscribe in one click

Four real examples

The Saver Day Pass pays off on any day where your full-fare tickets cost more than the price level you get. On long transfer days and on lake and Rigi days that is often the case; on short local days it rarely is.

The train fares are SBB full fares from the online timetable for October 2026; the Saver Day Pass prices of CHF 106 and CHF 79 are what SBB offered us on October 18, 2026 for October 22 and October 28. The Lucerne prices are Swiss Activities prices in October 2026: from CHF 31 for the boat from Lucerne to Vitznau and CHF 84 for the Rigi day pass; we count the boat only once, so the real saving is likely higher. The Rigi day shows the Saver Day Pass at its best, because boat and mountain are both inside the GA area.

A day in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, by contrast, is a poor case: Interlaken Ost to Stechelberg and back costs CHF 24.80, so even the cheapest Saver Day Pass does not pay off, and the Schilthorn above Mürren costs extra either way.

With or without the Half Fare Card?

With a Half Fare Card the Saver Day Pass starts at CHF 29 instead of CHF 52, a saving of CHF 23 per day at the lowest level. If the Saver Day Passes are your only tickets, the card alone pays off only from about seven of them; together with half-price mountain railways and boats it pays off much sooner.

• Only a few long travel days, no big mountains: buy Saver Day Passes without the card. Three at the lowest level cost CHF 156, with the card CHF 237 (CHF 150 plus 3 x CHF 29).
• Long travel days plus mountains: the card halves the Schilthorn (CHF 57.50 instead of CHF 115), the Rothorn, First and most other summits. Three Saver Day Passes plus the Jungfraujoch, or plus two summits like the Schilthorn and the Rothorn, already make the card worth it.
• Many travel days: compare with the Swiss Travel Pass; see the next section.

Swiss Activities says the reduced Saver Day Pass is sold to holders of the Half Fare Card or the Swiss Half Fare Card, the visitor version for CHF 150. You must travel with the card; a reduced pass without a valid card is one of the few cases where resellers allow a refund minus a fee. Everything about the card is in our Swiss Half Fare Card guide.

Saver Day Pass or Swiss Travel Pass?

For trips with only a few long travel days, early Saver Day Passes are cheaper than any Swiss Travel Pass. For trips where you travel on most days, the pass or the Half Fare Card win, because Saver Day Passes for every day would add up and lose their low levels.

The last row is our estimate: CHF 79 and CHF 106 are prices we saw, for the Interlaken to Zermatt day we assumed the average level of CHF 86 that MySwissAlps reports. Even then the Saver Day Passes are slightly cheaper than the Flex pass, but the advantage almost disappears. That is why the Flex pass is a reasonable alternative if you cannot fix your dates early; our guide Swiss Travel Pass Flex or consecutive compares the cases. Whether the Swiss Travel Pass pays off at all for your route is in is the Swiss Travel Pass worth it.

In the Bernese Oberland, where we spent our week, a regional pass like the Bernese Oberland Pass is the better choice for a stay without a car, because it also covers the Schilthorn and the Rothorn, which the Saver Day Pass does not.

How to get the low prices

The cheapest levels go to those who book early: the sale opens six months before the travel day, and each level is a limited contingent. As soon as your dates are fixed, book the Saver Day Passes for your long travel days.

1. Fix the long days first: arrival, the big transfers and departure. Those are the days where a Saver Day Pass saves most.
2. Check the price in the SBB app or at Swiss Activities and compare it with the full fare of that day. Only buy when the Saver Day Pass is clearly cheaper.
3. Book as early as possible, up to six months ahead. A few days before travel the low levels are often gone, as our checks showed.
4. Do not book weather days: a Saver Day Pass for a summit day is lost money if the mountain is in clouds. Keep mountain days flexible.
5. Check upgrades: with a Half Fare Card, a second-class Saver Day Pass plus a one-day class upgrade can cost less than a first-class Saver Day Pass, according to SBB.

How visitors buy it

As a visitor you buy the Saver Day Pass online in the SBB Mobile app, on sbb.ch or from a reseller such as Swiss Activities; SBB sells it only online and only in advance, not on the day of travel. You need the date, the class, your name and date of birth, and, for the reduced price, a Half Fare Card valid on that day.

• SBB app or sbb.ch: no login is needed to buy; with a login you can get a free refund within 30 minutes of the purchase.
• Swiss Activities: mobile ticket in English, shown in the app on the travel day; non-refundable and non-changeable.

If you arrive at Zurich Airport, a Saver Day Pass for the arrival day covers the train to the mountains and the last bus; our guide from Zurich Airport to Interlaken shows the connections.

Children, families and dogs

Children from 6 to 15 need their own ticket with a full-fare Saver Day Pass; the children’s day pass costs CHF 19. They only travel free with the free Swiss Family Card if a parent holds a Half Fare Card, according to MySwissAlps. Children under 6 always travel free.

For a family that means: with two Half Fare Cards for the parents, the children ride free on every Saver Day Pass day and on every other ticket. Without the cards, each child costs CHF 19 per travel day. On a trip with four long travel days that is CHF 76 per child, which already covers half of a Half Fare Card.

Dogs are not covered by the Saver Day Pass. A dog taller than about 30 cm needs its own ticket; the SBB dog day pass costs CHF 25, CHF 27 from December 13, 2026. We travelled with our dog Miley by car, so we did not need one; our guide to the Bernese Oberland with a dog has the details.

Our verdict

Buy Saver Day Passes for the two to four long travel days of your trip as soon as your dates are fixed, and only where the price you get is clearly below the full fares of that day. Skip them for short local days, for weather-dependent summit days and when you would rather keep every day flexible.

1. Two weeks with three long transfers? Saver Day Passes booked early, ideally from CHF 52.
2. Transfers plus big mountains? Add the Half Fare Card and get the Saver Day Passes from CHF 29.
3. Travelling almost every day? Check the Swiss Travel Pass and the Half Fare Card instead.
4. A week in one region without a car? A regional pass, in the Bernese Oberland the Bernese Oberland Pass.

We did not need a Saver Day Pass on our trip by car. If we flew in for two weeks, we would book the arrival and departure days as Saver Day Passes the day the flights are confirmed.

FAQ: Saver Day Pass

How much is the Saver Day Pass in 2026?

From CHF 52 in second class and from CHF 88 in first class; with a Half Fare Card from CHF 29 and CHF 49. The price rises as the cheaper contingents sell out.

Can tourists buy the Saver Day Pass?

Yes. You do not need a Swiss travelcard. Buy it in the SBB app, on sbb.ch or from resellers such as Swiss Activities, up to six months and at least one day ahead.

Does the Swiss Half Fare Card give the CHF 29 price?

Yes. The reduced Saver Day Pass is sold to holders of the Half Fare Card and of the Swiss Half Fare Card for visitors, as long as the cheapest level is available.

Is the Rigi included in the Saver Day Pass?

Yes, the Rigi and the Stanserhorn are included. Most other mountain railways, such as the Jungfraujoch, First or the Schilthorn above Mürren, are not.

Can I cancel a Saver Day Pass?

Generally no. SBB refunds only within 30 minutes of the purchase if you bought while logged in; Swiss Activities sells it as non-refundable.

Is the Saver Day Pass valid on the train from Zurich Airport?

Yes. It covers all SBB trains including Zurich Airport. For the trip to Interlaken it pays off if you get a price below the CHF 77 single fare.

Check Saver Day Pass prices →

Before you book, mark your long travel days and compare each with its full fare. All passes side by side are in our Swiss rail pass comparison, more planning help in good to know before you go, and more trips start on the Swiss Detours home page.