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Hi,
Me and my wife have 8 days trip in Switzerland this September, our route is:
1. Zurich – Lucerne, Mt. Pilatus – Interlaken (using Golden Panoramic Train)
2. Interlaken – Grindelwald – Jungfraujoch – Gimmelwald – Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken
3. Interlaken – Lausanne via Zweisimmen (using Golden Panoramic Train)
4. Lausanne – Montreux – Tasch – Zermatt
5. Zermatt – Gornergrat – Zermatt
6. Zermatt – St.Moritz (using Glacier Express)
7. St.Moritz – Tirano – St.Moritz
8. St.Moritz – Zurich
Question:
1. Based on our itinerary, which one is better/cheaper, using Swiss Travel Pass 8 days or buy the ticket on the spot?
2. Can we buy Swiss Travel Pass in Zurich Airport or in Zurich Train Station?
3. Is there any route that we have to do seat reservation in advance?
4. How long it will take from Lucerne to Alpnachstad by boat, Cogwheel train to Mt.Pilatus then back to Lucerne via Fräkmüntegg and Kriens?
5. Is it possible to do our itinerary on day 2 (Interlaken – Grindelwald – Jungfraujoch – Gimmelwald – Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken) in one day? or we have to skip 1 or 2 place?
6. Which one is the best option for our train route : Interlaken – Zweisimmen – Lausanne OR Interlaken – Zweisimmen – Montreux – Lausanne?
Thank You.
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Hi Travelover and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Lets look at your questions:
- Almost definitely the Swiss Travel Pass is your best option.
- You can buy it at either location but the most convenient option is to buy the Swiss Travel Pass online. This way you can have it emailed to you to print at home (and have an electronic back-up as well).
- No, but we do recommend making seat reservations on the Golden pass route between Zweisimmen and Montreux as it gets very busy in the summer.
- You can read about the trip to Mt. Pilatus here and plan out this and all trips in Switzerland on the Swiss railways timetable here.
- It depends on how much time you are thinking of spending at each village. I would leave out Gimmelwald if anything.
- If you want to be on the Golden Pass route, and travel on the panoramic train you will need to travel to Montreux first.
Cheers,
LucasHi Travelover,
>> Interlaken – Grindelwald – Jungfraujoch – Gimmelwald – Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken
As Lucas suggested, including Gimmelwald in this day might be a bit much, as it is on the other side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley from the rest of your trip.
The route would be Interlaken – Grindelwald – Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraujoch – Kleine Scheidegg – Wengen – Lauterbrunnen (all by train). At Lauterbrunnen you would catch a bus to Stechelberg, then a cable car to Gimmelwald.
To get back to Interlaken, you could return to Lauterbrunnen from Gimmelwald the way you came, or go up to Mürren in the cable car from Gimmelwald, walk through Mürren to the railway station (about 20 minutes), get the train to Grütschalp and the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen.
You would want to use the Swiss Timetable to check how long all this would take before deciding to do it.
If you want to stop off somewhere on the way back to Interlaken, instead of Gimmelwald I would suggest Wengen (which you will go through anyway). Wengen is a picturesque traditional alpine village with stunning views into the Lauterbrunnen Valley (see attached photo, for example).
>> St.Moritz – Tirano – St.Moritz
If you do this trip on regional trains, reservations are not required, but if you take the Bernina Express, reservations are compulsory, and can be made here:
http://www.rhb.ch/en/tickets-travelcards/bernina-express-booking/bernina-express
Tirano does not have a lot to offer. You could consider taking the official Bernina Express train from St Moritz to Tirano at 9:30, which would get you to Tirano at 12:00, then leaving Tirano at 13:00 on a regional train. You might be interested in stopping off at Alp Grüm, or even going up to the Diavolezza Glacier on the way back to St Moritz.
The Diavolezza cable car is not included in the Swiss Travel Pass, but as you are staying 2 nights in St Moritz in September, you might be eligible for the “Mountain Railways Included” card if your hotel participates in this arrangement. With that card, the Diavolezza cable car is free. There is more information, and a list of participating hotels, here:
http://www.engadin.stmoritz.c h/sommer/en/bergbahnen -inclusive/
>> St.Moritz – Zurich
There is an alternative scenic route to Zürich, which would avoid backtracking along the sector between Chur and St Moritz (and is a bit quicker). To get this route in the timetable, you can put “via Klosters Platz” in your timetable search. Connections departing St Moritz at 47 minutes past the even-numbered hours from 8:47 to 16:47 might be most convenient, as they require only one change of trains (at Landquart).
If you would like to see some photos taken along this route, please see my post of Feb 28, 2017 – 4:36 on the following page.
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/chur-to-st-moritz-via-davos
Alpenrose
Hi Lucas,
Thank you for your helpful reply.
1. It seems i have to get Gimmelwald off the list 🙂
2. Ok, Golden Pass route to Montreux is too tempting to miss, and also we can have dinner in Vevey before heading to Lausanne.
Thanks & Regards,
Ted
Hi Alpenrose,
Thank you for your complete information…
1. Visiting Wengen seems like a great idea instead of Gimmelwald.
2. Thanks for your suggestion to visitingAlp Grüm and the Diavolezza Glacier, I will consider it.
3. Get back to Zurich from St.Moritz via Klosters Platz look like another great idea 🙂
Thanks again.
Regards,
Ted
Hi Ted,
>> Visiting Wengen seems like a great idea instead of Gimmelwald.
I’m sure you will love Wengen! If you want to go to the spot where the photo attached to my previous post was taken, it is about a 5-10-minute walk from Wengen station. Here are the directions:
From the station, head left up the main street lined with shops and hotels (Dorfstrasse), past the Hotel Silberhorn on the right, Männlichen cable car on the right, Hotel Bernerhof on the left, and uphill a bit past the Hotel Schönegg on the right and a chemist on the left. At the top of the hill, you will see a path on the left leading to the Swiss Protestant Church, where there is a lookout and seats. I have attached a map.
Alpenrose (my profile photo was also taken in Wengen)
Hi Alpenrose,
Wooww… many thanks for the directions, surely i will go there… love it!.
Ted
Hi Lucas and Alpenrose…
Could you please help me?
I already buy 8 days Swiss Travel Pass but I don’t understand how to make a seat reservation for Golden Pass Panoramic train, Glacier Express and Bernina Express.
I have searched the reservation menu in the SBB website but still confuse how to make the seat reservation.
Do I have to login first? Do I have to pay for seat reservation?
Thanks,
Ted
Hi Ted,
Here are links to the sites where you can make your reservations for panoramic trains:
Golden Pass
Glacier Express
shop.glacierexpress.ch /gex_en
Bernina Express
http://www.rhb.ch/en/tickets-travelcards/bernina-express-booking/bernina-express
Alpenrose
Hi Alpen rose,
Thanks for your reply.
I already have a Swiss Travel Pass (8 days)… for a seat reservation on GoldenPass, Glacier Express and Bernina Express, what charges should I pay again? Only seat reservation charges or with the ticket as well?
Ted
Hi Ted,
You would just need to pay for the seat reservations. Your ticket is the Swiss Travel Pass.
Lucas
Hi Lucas,
Thanks for your information.
Btw, do I need to make a reservation to all panoramic train or just on the Golden Pass route?
If I don’t have a seat reservation, can I get on the train using Swiss Travel Pass?
Ted
All panoramic trains have mandatory seat reservations except the Golden Pass (it is optional but highly recommended in the summer).
Your Swiss Travel Pass covers your ticket on the train but you must buy a seat reservation as well (on those specific panoramic trains). Many of these trains do sell out so make sure you make reservations before you go.
If you don’t want to pay for a reservation you can take regional trains on the same route as the panoramic trains – they, like all other Swiss trains, don’t need to be reserved.
Lucas
Hi again Lucas,
Thanks for your helpful information.
I already make a reservation on Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz, but I didn’t get any confirmation (by email or anything) from them, do they have my reservation in their computer system?
And one more thing, the valid Swiss Pass ticket is it like in the attachment?
Thank you.
Ted
Attachments:
Hi Ted,
You should have received a confirmation. If it’s not in your Junk mail folder, then you’d best get in touch with the company you purchased from.
Yes, the attachment shows a valid Swiss Travel Pass. Just print that and take along your passport, and you’ll be ready to travel. Enjoy it!
Thanks Arno!
I have checked my junk mail folder and no confirmation from them. I just send them an email asking for the confirmation receipt.
again, thanks.
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