Are you under 25 and living in Switzerland? Then this post is for you – and I genuinely wish someone had told me about these two passes when I first moved here.
If you travel often, whether it’s going out in the evening, commuting to another city, or just taking the train to go hiking on weekends – the GA Night and the Half-Fare card are two of the best investments you can make as a student in Switzerland.
I’ll give you a personal example: I live in Lucerne but I work in Zurich. These two passes are quite literally saving my wallet every single month. And the frustrating part? I didn’t know about them when I first arrived. When I went to Bürgenstock, I didn’t have either of them yet, and I paid CHF 60 for the trip. With a Half-Fare card, that would have been CHF 30. Lesson learned the expensive way.
The Half-Fare Card
The Half-Fare card does exactly what it sounds like, it gives you 50% off all public transport in Switzerland. Trains, buses, boats, trams, most mountain railways.
For young people between 16 and 25, it costs CHF 120 for the first year and CHF 100 from the second year onwards, which, if you travel even occasionally, pays for itself extremely quickly.
Think about it this way: a one-way ticket from Lucerne to Zurich without any pass costs around CHF 27. With the Half-Fare card, that’s CHF 13.50. If you make that journey just 9 times in a year, the card has already paid for itself.
When I went to Rigi, I paid nothing to get to Vitznau (our starting point for the hike) and nothing for the boat back from Weggis to Lucerne. All covered by a combination of the two passes.
The GA Night
The GA Night is specifically for under 25s and it’s one of the best deals in Switzerland. For just CHF 99 per year, you get unlimited free travel on SBB trains, most private railways, PostBuses and many other public transport services – but only at night.
Here’s when it’s valid:
- Weekdays: from 7pm to 5am
- Weekends and public holidays: from 7pm to 7am
So if you go out in the evening, commute after work, or come back from a day trip in the late afternoon, this pass covers you completely.
One important thing to know: it does not renew automatically, so make sure you set a reminder before it expires.
What about having both?
That’s actually the sweet spot. With both the GA Night and the Half-Fare card, you cover almost all your travel needs:
- Daytime journeys → Half price with the Half-Fare card
- Evening journeys → Free with the GA Night
This way you are always covered!
Where to buy them
Both are available on the SwissPass, you can order them online at swisspass.ch or buy them at any SBB ticket counter. They’re loaded onto a physical card which gets mailed to your Swiss address.
Speaking of trips that are even better with these passes
If you’re looking for inspiration on where to go, here are two posts from the blog that are directly relevant:
• How to hike Rigi from Vitznau — the scenic route – I paid nothing for transport thanks to these passes. You can too.
• How to spend a perfect day at Bürgenstock for CHF 60 – imagine doing this for CHF 30 instead.
Did you already know about these passes? Or is this the first time you’re hearing about them?
I’d love to know! Drop a comment below, and if you know someone who just moved to Switzerland and is paying full price for every train ticket, do them a favour and send them this.
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