A real insider tip for mountaineering families in Switzerland

When we first travelled through Switzerland as a family, we had no idea there was a fare that is practically a gift for parents with children. We had planned several big mountain tours, took trains, post buses and cable cars – including the trip up to the Jungfraujoch, where even a reduced ticket costs as much as the entire annual price of the Junior Card. Yet nobody – absolutely nobody – pointed this out to us.

No railway employee, no ticket seller at the valley station, no Swiss hiker in the queue. Even though it was obvious that we were travelling as a family, we never received this information. Honestly, it would have been very kind if someone had told us this small, golden insider tip.

Only later, while researching online, did I stumble across the Junior Card by accident. And from that moment on, everything changed.

The Junior Card – the unassuming wonder

With the Junior Card (CHF 30 per year), children and teenagers from 6 to 15 travel for a whole year for free, as long as they are accompanied by a parent or authorised adult with a valid ticket.

This means:

• All train journeys free for the child

• All bus and post bus journeys free

• All boat trips free

• And best of all: almost all mountain cable cars are included
  – from simple chairlifts to major high-alpine cable cars like the one to the Jungfraujoch, normally one of the most expensive cable cars in Europe.

For us, this meant that Tim travelled completely free of charge for two years – from age 14 to 16 throughout Switzerland. Every train, every bus, every cable car, every valley and every mountain starting point: 0 francs.

Why nobody told us at the beginning

Looking back, it is almost absurd: we spent hundreds of francs on cable cars at first, even though the “secret recipe” was right in front of us. Yet we never heard about it.

Maybe it is so common in Switzerland that people don’t think about it. Maybe it is so obvious that no one assumes tourists don’t know. But for us – a mountain-loving family from abroad – the Junior Card was like a hidden door into a parallel, much cheaper Swiss universe.

An unbeatable combination: Half Fare for parents + Junior Card for the child

As a father, I used the Half Fare card – the Swiss equivalent of the Swiss Half Fare Card. With it, adults get around 50% off:

• trains

• post buses

• boats

• most mountain cable cars

This combination makes a family trip massively cheaper.
The truth is: a single mountain ride at full price can already justify the entire Half Fare investment.

And for the child, the whole thing costs: CHF 30 per year.
Or put differently: around one fifth of the price of a single Jungfraujoch ticket.

What this means for your mountain trips

During those two years, we went:

• several times to the Jungfraujoch

• several times to the Breithorn, Strahlhorn, Rimpfischhorn, Allalinhorn

• to various valley stations of alpine classics (Saas Fee, Zinal, …)

• through the Bernese Oberland, Zermatt, Valais

• by trains, buses, gondolas, funiculars, small private railways …

… and Tim did not pay a single time.

It was not only cheaper, but also incredibly relaxing: no driving, no searching for parking, no narrow mountain roads, no traffic jams. Connections are perfectly timed, and it’s environmentally friendly too.

Why I recommend this tip to every mountaineering family

This little red Junior Card is probably the most valuable card a family can own in Switzerland – especially if you love the mountains.

It’s inexpensive, simple, and literally opens up the entire Swiss public transport network.

For us, it was – in hindsight – the best price-performance ratio of all our trips to Switzerland.

Here are the links:

• Half Fare Card for adults (older than 15)
• Junior Card for children aged 6 to 15 (first purchase at the station)
• Tip: For the Swiss Cards, you can upload digital photos (upload link provided).