Pass breakeven, SAC hiking scale, MWST refund, alpine weather windows, cheese ratios, Sunday shopping rules — all in plain English, with the caveats spelled out.
Hardcoded prices & schedules use 2026 reference data and are intended as decision support, not as a substitute for the operator's official site. Every tool page tells you where to verify.
Most travel sites recycle the same five checklists. Every tool here was built because someone asked a question that the official pages answer in 1,200 words of German, or that no page answers at all.
Not just inputs and outputs — each tool tells you what a "good" answer looks like, what's a trap, and when to ignore the number.
T1–T6 SAC scale, MWST after Global Blue, Alpaufzug by valley, German/French/Italian/Romansh language friction — none of it is generic "Europe".
No popup ads, no autoplay video, no fake "download" buttons. Ads (when shown) sit naturally beside content, not next to the submit button.
Tap a category to jump.
How many CHF 120 ticket purchases before the 199 CHF Half Fare Card pays back.
TransportBuild a real itinerary; we run STP, Flex, Saver vs SuperSaver per leg.
TransportOvernight cost/time matrix for Zürich → Milan / Barcelona / Berlin.
Mountain / TransportJungfrau / Titlis / Pilatus / Matterhorn — seasonal price matrix + combo passes.
TransportIs CH's 40 CHF worse than Austria (€9.90) or Slovenia (€16)? Real cost/km.
TransportZVV (Zürich), BLT (Basel), Bern, Geneva — which zones for hotel + day trips.
TransportTwo scenic trains, totally different cost-vs-experience math.
Global Blue / Planet / Travel Easy — what you actually pocket per CHF 100.
MoneyWhich notes/coins to break for parking, lockers, mountain huts.
Culture / MoneyCH service charge is built in — when to add, when not to.
MoneyUBS / PostFinance / Raiffeisen vs airport ATMs vs Revolut.
MoneyWhich rural areas, alpine huts & markets still need physical CHF.
MoneyPer-city per-night, with the "included in Airbnb?" toggle.
What "T3 yellow-white" actually means, with a can-I-do-this quiz.
MountainWhen SAC huts open reservations for July vs September + lead times.
MountainJungfraujoch (3454m), Matterhorn (3883m), Gornergrat — your sleep altitude matters.
MountainBest months for your target altitude + activity (climb vs hike vs bike).
MountainMulti-day SAC tour — what to pack, what the hut already gives you.
MountainUp one lift, hike ridge, down another lift — which combo saves the most.
MountainSkill check + per-glacier rule (Aletsch, Pers, Morteratsch).
Cheese type, wine, kirsch, garlic, nutmeg — grams per person.
FoodWhich for raclette, fondue, cheese plate, raclette grill, gratin.
FoodMigros vs Coop vs Denner vs Aldi vs Lidl — basket cost.
FoodService, MWST, "coperto" — what is and isn't already in the price.
FoodValais / Vaud / Ticino / Graubünden by what you actually like to drink.
FoodLindt vs Sprüngli vs Läderach vs Cailler vs Favarger — taste + price.
Züridütsch vs Bärndütsch vs Baseldytsch vs Luzerner — keyword spotter.
CultureWhere Migros/Coop open Sunday — most cantons they don't.
CultureGeneva is Paris-adjacent. Appenzell is not. Where the rules differ.
CultureDu/Sie/tu/ti + Bärndütsch + Züridütsch + Baseldytsch + Romansh.
PracticalLong-stay rental scams specific to CH — deposit, key cash, "homegate".
When cows go up / come down by valley — with roadside etiquette.
SeasonalUnspunnen, Fête des Vignerons, Basel Fasnacht, ESAF — what, where, when.
SeasonalVerbier vs Zermatt vs St. Moritz for Dec vs April snow.
Transport / SeasonalLucerne / Geneva / Zürich — multi-hop tickets, last boat back.
A solo project by an independent traveller who got tired of opening seven tabs to answer one question — "is the Half Fare Card worth it for my actual itinerary?". Every tool here was built because someone, somewhere, was asking the same question in a Reddit thread with no real answer.
What this site is for. Helping independent travellers plan a Switzerland trip with realistic numbers. Passes, hut bookings, MWST refunds, cheese ratios, canton-by-canton etiquette — the kind of things the official sites do answer but bury under three layers of PDF.
What it is not. Not affiliated with SBB, Jungfrau Railways, SAC, Migros or any other operator referenced. Not a booking engine. Not a source of professional financial, medical, or legal advice. For altitude sickness, consult a doctor before you travel. For tax refund eligibility, the customs office's website is the authoritative source.
Limitations you should know up front.
Built with plain HTML, Tailwind CSS (CDN), Font Awesome icons and inline JavaScript. No build step, no analytics, no third-party trackers.
Short version. This site does not collect personal data, does not require an account, and does not set tracking cookies of its own. If Google AdSense is enabled on some pages, those pages load Google's advertising cookies after you click "Accept" on the EEA/UK consent banner that appears at the top.
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All information on Swiss Compass Toolkit is provided in good faith for general guidance only. It is not professional advice — financial, medical, legal, mountaineering or otherwise — and should not be relied on as a substitute for the official source.
Prices, schedules, lift opening hours and tax rules change frequently. The figures shown here are 2026 reference data and were checked against operator websites at time of publication, but they may be out of date by the time you read this. Before paying for a pass, climbing a route, or applying for any tax refund, confirm the current rules with the relevant operator or authority:
Mountain activities in particular carry inherent risk. Even "easy" SAC T2 hikes have resulted in fatal accidents. The author and publisher of this site accept no liability for any loss or injury arising from use of this information.
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