Zurich or Geneva to Zermatt, Zurich to Interlaken: what the train really costs

Prices last checked: 27 October 2026 · Prices read in the SBB ticket shop on 27 Oct 2026 for three travel dates · adult, 2nd class, one way

Short answer: The flexible ticket from Zurich to Zermatt costs CHF 130 (CHF 136 from 13 December 2026). Booked a few weeks ahead, the cheapest ticket we found was a Saver Day Pass for CHF 61, 47% of the flexible fare. That Saver Day Pass also covered all other trains that day. Geneva to Zermatt was the same story (CHF 61 instead of CHF 102). Zurich to Interlaken saves less: CHF 47.20 at best instead of CHF 73, and on one date nothing beat the flexible ticket. With a Half Fare Card the gap shrinks: on Geneva–Zermatt the flexible ticket (CHF 51) cost only CHF 2 more than the Saver Day Pass.

The fares in our other guides are SBB's flexible point-to-point tickets: same price every day, valid on any train. SBB also sells two kinds of discounted tickets with a limited number per train or day, and their prices change with demand. To see what they really save on Switzerland's three longest tourist transfers, we priced each route in the SBB ticket shop for three dates and two departure times. Each table shows what the shop offered.

The three ticket types the SBB shop offers

Point-to-point ticket (flexible): any train on the route that day, valid until 5 am the next morning.
Supersaver ticket and Supersaver Ticket Flex: "only valid for the selected connection", so you are tied to one train. Since 1 June 2026, a Supersaver Ticket Flex can be refunded for 25% of its price until the start of its validity (Alliance SwissPass).
Saver Day Pass: all public transport in the GA Travelcard area for one day, until 5 am the next morning. "No refunds." The Half Fare version "requires a Half Fare Travelcard"; SBB says the Swiss Half Fare Card for visitors (CHF 150, one month) gets the reduced price on Supersaver tickets and Saver Day Passes too.

Zurich HB → Zermatt

SBB ticket shop, queried 27 Oct 2026, searches for 07:00 and 13:00 departures. Adult, 2nd class, one way. "Not offered" means the shop did not list that ticket for our search. Prices change with demand and will differ for your date.
Travel date	Flexible ticket	Saver Day Pass	Cheapest train-bound ticket we saw
Tue 17 Nov 2026	CHF 130 CHF 65 with Half Fare	CHF 61 CHF 49 with Half Fare	Supersaver Flex CHF 98.80 (13:02–16:17) CHF 51.80 with Half Fare
Sat 5 Dec 2026	CHF 130 CHF 65 with Half Fare	CHF 79 CHF 49 with Half Fare	Supersaver CHF 78.20 (13:02–16:17) CHF 42.60 with Half Fare
Mon 21 Dec 2026	CHF 136 CHF 68 with Half Fare	CHF 61 CHF 44 with Half Fare	Supersaver Flex CHF 103.20 (13:02–16:14) CHF 53.60 with Half Fare

Geneva → Zermatt

SBB ticket shop, queried 27 Oct 2026, searches for 07:00 and 13:00 departures. Adult, 2nd class, one way. "Not offered" means the shop did not list that ticket for our search. Prices change with demand and will differ for your date.
Travel date	Flexible ticket	Saver Day Pass	Cheapest train-bound ticket we saw
Tue 17 Nov 2026	CHF 102 CHF 51 with Half Fare	CHF 61 CHF 49 with Half Fare	Supersaver Flex CHF 82.20 (13:05–16:50) none offered with Half Fare
Sat 5 Dec 2026	CHF 102 CHF 51 with Half Fare	CHF 79 CHF 49 with Half Fare	Supersaver CHF 74.40 (07:08–11:17) CHF 38.60 with Half Fare
Mon 21 Dec 2026	CHF 107 CHF 53.50 with Half Fare	CHF 61 CHF 44 with Half Fare	Supersaver Flex CHF 87.60 (07:05–10:47) CHF 45.20 with Half Fare

Zurich HB → Interlaken Ost

SBB ticket shop, queried 27 Oct 2026, searches for 07:00 and 13:00 departures. Adult, 2nd class, one way. "Not offered" means the shop did not list that ticket for our search. Prices change with demand and will differ for your date.
Travel date	Flexible ticket	Saver Day Pass	Cheapest train-bound ticket we saw
Tue 17 Nov 2026	CHF 73 CHF 36.50 with Half Fare	CHF 61 not offered with Half Fare	none offered none offered with Half Fare
Sat 5 Dec 2026	CHF 73 CHF 36.50 with Half Fare	CHF 79 CHF 49 with Half Fare	none offered none offered with Half Fare
Mon 21 Dec 2026	CHF 76 CHF 38 with Half Fare	CHF 61 CHF 44 with Half Fare	Supersaver CHF 47.20 (07:02–08:59) CHF 26.40 with Half Fare

What the numbers show

Zermatt from Zurich or Geneva: the Saver Day Pass is the one to look for. On two of our three dates it was CHF 61 on both routes, against flexible fares of CHF 130 and CHF 102. Train-bound Supersaver tickets beat the day pass on only one date, a Saturday, when the day pass cost CHF 79.
With a Half Fare Card, the gap shrinks. Geneva → Zermatt: flexible CHF 51 vs Saver Day Pass CHF 49. For CHF 2 more, the flexible ticket lets you take any train. Zurich → Zermatt: CHF 65 vs CHF 49.
Zurich → Interlaken: the flexible fare (CHF 73) is close to the Saver Day Pass price, so the CHF 79 day pass on 5 December saved nothing and no Supersaver was offered. On 17 November the shop preselected the CHF 73 flexible ticket even though the CHF 61 Saver Day Pass was listed below it. Look at every offer before you pay.
Prices rise on 13 December 2026. Flexible fares on our 21 December date were CHF 136 (+CHF 6) Zurich–Zermatt, CHF 107 (+CHF 5) Geneva–Zermatt and CHF 76 (+CHF 3) Zurich–Interlaken. This is the national fare rise for the December 2026 timetable change, agreed with the Price Supervisor at 3.6% on average across all tickets. On these three routes it works out at 4–5%.
A Saver Day Pass is a whole day of travel. On the way to Zermatt you can stop off in Bern, Lausanne or Montreux on the same pass at no extra cost.

Saver tickets or a pass?

A Swiss Travel Pass Flex 3 days costs CHF 289, or CHF 96.33 per travel day. If a Saver Day Pass for your transfer is clearly below that, buy it and keep your Flex days for days that would cost more. If your trip is just there and back, two Saver Day Passes at CHF 61 (CHF 122) cost less than the Half Fare Card on its own (CHF 150). The Half Fare Card pays off once you add mountain railways and other trips that month. To test your own plan, enter it in the calculator and set your Saver Day Pass price there. For Zermatt itself (the Täsch shuttle, Gornergrat), see the Zermatt guide. For arrival day from the airport, see Zurich Airport by train.

Journey times

From the SBB timetable for Tuesday 15 December 2026, morning departures:

Zurich HB → Zermatt: 3 h 12 min to 3 h 15 min, one or two changes (the route runs via Bern and the Lötschberg to Visp, where you change for Zermatt).
Geneva → Zermatt: 3 h 42 min to 3 h 50 min, one change, via Lausanne and Visp.
Zurich HB → Interlaken Ost: 1 h 57 min direct on the 09:02, or 1 h 54 min to 2 h 24 min with one or two changes.

How to check your own date

Search your route and date on sbb.ch or in the SBB Mobile app, then go to the ticket step.
Set "full price" or "Half Fare Travelcard" (with a Swiss Half Fare Card, choose the Half Fare option).
Compare all the offers listed under the ticket choice. The shop shows the others as "+ CHF" or "− CHF" relative to the one selected, and it does not always preselect the cheapest.
Check again a few days later: Supersaver tickets and Saver Day Passes are limited and their prices change.

Sources

Every price and rule above was checked against these official pages on 2026-10-27. If something has changed, the operator's page is right and we are wrong. Please tell us.