European rail passes and child fare conditions

Child Ages & Policies by Rail Pass

Who travels free, who needs their own pass, and how to add a child when you book

Each rail pass defines "child" differently — the free-travel age cutoff, whether a child needs their own pass or card, and whether they must be accompanied by a parent all vary by product. Use the tabs below to check the rules for the pass you're booking.

  • Eurail Pass
  • Swiss Travel Pass
  • Swiss Half Fare Card
  • Berner Oberland Pass
  • Jungfrau Travel Pass
  • Luzern Travel Pass

Eurail Pass

Best for: multi-country rail travel across Europe (non-European residents)

  • Under 4: Travels free with no pass needed and no guaranteed seat — the child may need to sit on a parent's lap or share a seat on crowded trains. A free Child Pass is only needed if you want to book a seat reservation for them.
  • Ages 4–11: Travel free with a free Child Pass, as long as they're accompanied by at least one Adult, Youth, or Senior pass holder (doesn't have to be a family member). Up to 2 free Child Passes are allowed per paying Adult/Youth/Senior pass; a third child in the group needs a paid Youth Pass instead.
  • Does a free child need their own pass? Yes — children aged 4–11 need their own separate Child Pass (linked to the same trip/order as the accompanying adult's pass) so it can be shown on inspection, even though it costs nothing.
  • Accompaniment: Children on a free Child Pass must be continuously accompanied by their Adult (18+), Youth, or Senior pass holder. Eurail doesn't publish a separate unaccompanied-minor policy beyond this — that's generally down to the individual train operator.
  • Youth Pass (12–27): Travellers aged 12 up to 27 (on the trip start date) qualify for the Youth Pass, priced up to 25% below the adult fare in both 1st and 2nd class.
  • Seat reservations: Not required on every train, but mandatory-reservation trains (many high-speed and night trains) require a paid seat reservation for a child too — this isn't included in the free Child Pass, and a small Eurail booking fee applies per reservation.
  • Adding a child at purchase: Child Passes are added in the same order as the adult pass (up to 2 per adult); they can also be added afterward through the Eurail account or customer support.

Swiss Travel Pass

Best for: unlimited Swiss trains, buses and boats, plus discounts on mountain excursions

  • Under 6: Always travels free, with or without an accompanying adult — no card needed.
  • Ages 6 up to their 16th birthday: Travel free via the Swiss Family Card, when accompanied by at least one parent holding a valid Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Half Fare Card, or other valid Swiss ticket.
  • Swiss Family Card: A free companion document (not a separate pass) issued per child — simply request or add it when the parent buys their Swiss Travel Pass, or ask for it at any Swiss public-transport point of sale. It also unlocks free or discounted mountain-excursion and museum admission for the child; it's best carried together with the child's ID.
  • Unaccompanied children: A child under 16 travelling without a qualifying parent isn't covered by the free Family Card and instead gets a 50% discount on Swiss Travel Pass fares. From age 16, they need to buy their own regular pass.
  • Grandparents & other non-parent adults: The free Family Card benefit applies only to parents/legal guardians, not grandparents or other relatives. A separate Swiss domestic product (sometimes called a "Co-Travellers Card" or "Grandchild Travel Card," roughly CHF 30, purchased in Switzerland) lets a non-parent bring a 6–16-year-old for free instead.
  • Youth discount: Separate from the child policy — travellers up to their 25th birthday get 30% off adult Swiss Travel Pass fares, on any duration, in either class.

Swiss Half Fare Card

Best for: 50% off point-to-point Swiss train, bus and boat tickets

  • Under 6: Always travels free, accompanied or not — no ticket or card required.
  • Ages 6 up to their 16th birthday: Not free by default. To travel free alongside a parent, the child needs either the free Swiss Family Card (the visitor/tourist product, valid for parents holding a Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass) or, for Swiss residents, a Junior Travelcard (CHF 30/year, with a 3rd or further child free).
  • Does the child need their own Half Fare Card? No — accompanied free travel is covered by the Family Card or Junior Travelcard, not by the child holding a Half Fare Card. A child's own 50% discount only becomes relevant if they're travelling unaccompanied, in which case they pay half fare rather than needing to buy a card.
  • Visitor card vs. resident Halbtax: The visitor-focused Swiss Half Fare Card (CHF 150, 1-month validity, e-ticket) uses the same child mechanism as the resident "Halbtax" — a complimentary Swiss Family Card for children aged 6–16 travelling with the cardholder parent. There's no difference in child policy between the two.
  • Family Card eligibility: The Swiss Family Card applies to children of parents holding either a Swiss Travel Pass or a Swiss Half Fare Card, free of charge either way.

Berner Oberland Pass

Best for: unlimited regional travel in the Bernese Oberland (Interlaken, Jungfrau region, Lake Thun/Brienz)

  • Under 6: Travels free, no ticket needed.
  • Ages 6 up to their 16th birthday: Not free by default. Families without a qualifying family card need to buy a dedicated "Berner Oberland Pass Child," a flat CHF 30 regardless of the adult pass's duration (3–10 days) or class — valid only when the child is accompanied by an adult or youth holding a valid Berner Oberland Pass.
  • Already have a Swiss Family Card? If the family holds a valid Swiss Family Card, Junior Travelcard, or Children's Co-Travelcard, accompanied children under 16 travel free on the Berner Oberland Pass and don't need to buy the separate CHF 30 child pass.
  • Unaccompanied children: The discounted child pass is explicitly invalid without an accompanying adult or youth pass holder — there's no separate published fare for a child travelling alone on this pass.
  • Youth (16–24): Pay a reduced youth fare automatically — no Half Fare Card needed — rather than a child concession.
  • How this relates to the wider Swiss system: This pass piggybacks on the same Swiss Travel System family-card mechanism used nationwide (same free-under-6 threshold, same "accompanied child" concept), with its own CHF 30 child-pass fallback for families who don't already hold a qualifying family card. Sources vary slightly on the exact upper age (just under 16 vs. "under 16") — treat this as a minor wording difference rather than a policy conflict.

Jungfrau Travel Pass

Best for: unlimited travel in the Jungfrau region (Interlaken, Grindelwald, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, Männlichen, First)

  • Under 6: Travels free, no ticket needed.
  • Ages 6–15: Not free, and — unlike the Swiss Travel Pass — the Swiss Family Card, Junior Travelcard and Children's Co-Travelcard cannot be combined with the Jungfrau Travel Pass (or the Unlimited Jungfrau Summer Pass, or ski passes). Every child aged 6–15 needs their own Jungfrau Travel Pass, sold at a flat CHF 30, regardless of the adult pass's duration (3–8 days).
  • Unaccompanied children: Not explicitly addressed in official materials. Since the child pass is a standard purchasable product rather than a free-rider benefit tied to an adult, a child likely needs their own pass regardless of accompaniment — treat this as inferred rather than officially confirmed.
  • Youth bracket: None published — pricing only distinguishes Adult, a reduced Adult rate (for Half Fare Card holders), and Child (6–15). There's no separate 16–24 youth tier.
  • How this differs from the wider Swiss system: This is a notable exception to the usual Swiss Travel System family policy. Nationally, children 6–15 travel free with a parent via the Swiss Family Card or Junior Travelcard — but the Jungfrau Travel Pass explicitly excludes that benefit, per its own official FAQ, so budget for the CHF 30 child pass rather than assuming free family travel here.

Luzern Travel Pass

Best for: unlimited travel around Lucerne and Lake Lucerne, including Mount Pilatus, Rigi and Titlis

  • Name note: This pass was previously sold as the "Tell-Pass" and is now officially the Lucerne Travel Pass, sold via Switzerland Tourism, SBB, and the dedicated Lucerne Travel Pass site.
  • Under 6: Travels free, no pass needed.
  • Ages 6–15: Not free. As with the Jungfrau Travel Pass, the Swiss Family Card and Junior Travelcard cannot be used as a substitute here — a child needs their own discounted Lucerne Travel Pass, sold at a flat CHF 30 regardless of the pass duration (3/4/5/10 days), when accompanying an adult with a valid pass.
  • Unaccompanied children: Not separately addressed in official materials; the reasonable assumption is that a child travelling alone would still need their own child-rate pass.
  • Youth bracket: None published — the child rate covers ages 6–15, and the adult rate applies from age 16.
  • How this differs from the wider Swiss system: Like the Jungfrau Travel Pass, this diverges from the Swiss Travel Pass and Berner Oberland Pass, both of which let children ride free with a parent via the Swiss Family Card. Confirmed by more than one independent source, not just inferred — don't assume Family Card compatibility on this pass.

Child age brackets, free-travel eligibility and family-card rules are set by each pass provider and can change — always check the provider's current official terms before booking. Content compiled from official sources (Eurail, Swiss Travel System / MySwitzerland, SBB, Berner Oberland Pass, Jungfrau Railways, Lucerne Travel Pass) as of August 2026.

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