Calling Arno/Anika! Please suggest pass for itiner

  • gotoswiss
    Participant
    4 posts
    15 July 2014 at 20:43:18 #806518

    Hi Arno/moderators,

    First, I like to thank you for creating such a great platform for sharing info on swiss tourism. Its like a tripadvisor specific to swiss 🙂

    I am planning on the below itineray: Could you please suggest a good rail pass or card for me? Also please suggest if the itinerary is OK or too aggresive;

    Thanks a lot for helping out!

    12th August Tuesday
    Arrive Zurich by air at 4:40 PM; Later, Zurich to Lucerne by train; Night stay in Lucerne

    13th Wednesday
    Visit Lucerne & Around: Mt Titlis
    Night Stay in Lucerne

    14th Thursday
    Visit Lucerne & Around: Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi, Lion Monument, Lake Lucerne, do Paragliding
    Travel to Chur by train
    Night stay in Chur

    15th Friday
    Visit Chur & around (not much I guess)
    Travel form Chur to Zermatt on Glacier Express
    Visit matterhorn and around
    Night stay in Zermatt

    16th Saturday
    Travel to Interlaken by train
    Visit Two lakes, Jungfrau, harder klum, UNESCO BIOSPHÄRE ENTLEBUCH,
    Night stay near Interlaken (Wengen)

    17th Sunday
    Visit Berne by train and come back to interlaken (can skip if its too much time taking)
    Travel to Montreux/Lausanne (Golden Pass Line)
    Visit Montreux/Lausanne: chateau de chillon, Wine Tours, lavaux

    18th Monday
    Travel to Geneva by train and come back to Montreux/Lausanne
    Visit CERN labs

    19th Tuesday

    Go to geneva, flight leaves at 11:45 AM

    So the travel would be:

    12/8 Zurich to Lucerne
    13/8 Lucerne to Mt Titlis
    14/8 Lucerne to Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi, Lion Monument, Lake Lucerne
    Lucerne to Chur by train
    15/8 Chur to Zermatt on Glacier Express (must go on this train!)
    16/8 Zermatt to Interlaken
    Interlaken to Jungfrau
    17/8 Interlaken to Berne and back (can skip bern if its too much travel)
    Interlaken to to Montreux/Lausanne (Golden Pass Line or any train in the route)
    18/8 Montreux to Geneva and come back
    19/8 Go to geneva, flight leaves at 11:45 AM

    Plus all local visits on buses.

    Thanks!!

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    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 July 2014 at 10:16:40 #840657

    Hi gotoswiss!

    Thanks for signing up with us. And thanks for your compliments; it’s good to hear that the site is useful 🙂

    You’re traveling a lot, so an 8-day Swiss Pass is a perfect fit. See here for how it works, what’s included, where to buy. Make sure to take advantage of this promotion, as that will save you money: all you need to do is buy a $25 baggage voucher, and that will get you a $75 discount on the pass. Net savings are $50. The voucher comes in handy for one of your longer travels, as the bag will be transported for you.

    If you want to see a lot of Switzerland in a relatively short time, then the basic outlines of your itinerary are perfect. You have planned too much per day though.

    The paragliding on the 14th, for example, will take a lot of time (I guess half a day, but please check with the company organizing this). There’s no way you can fit in all the other things on your list. The key is to combine things smartly: if you plan to do the paragliding from Mount Rigi, then you can travel to/from Mount Rigi by boat and see the lake, and travel up there by cogwheel train and see the views (be sure to go all the way up to Rigi Kulm). See the Rigi page for details. The train and boat are free with a Swiss Pass.

    On the 15th, the Glacier Express will take most of the day. If you take the latest one at 12:27 PM, you’ll have some time to explore Chur in the morning but no time to go up to a viewing point after arrival in Zermatt at 6 PM. You can also travel by the regular local trains instead of the Glacier Express. The route and views are the same, and you’ll be more flexible as you don’t have to book seats in advance. You can just take the first train that suits you. Also you save CHF 33 per person on reservations. See here for details.

    My general advice would be to stick to your plan, but check the timetable for traveling times to get an idea about what fits in one day. Then keep your list of to do’s as a wish list, and decide what to do on the day, also based on the weather. Most things don’t need to be booked in advance (except the paragliding and CERN I guess), so you can be pretty flexible. The Golden Pass line does not require seat reservations either.

    Have fun!

    gotoswiss
    Participant
    4 posts
    16 July 2014 at 18:08:09 #840658

    Thanks for the feedback Arno!

    I will definitely put those things on the wishlist and decide on the day depending on available time and weather.

    I have made an appointment at the CERN already. So thats taken care of!

    Do you recommend 2nd class Swiss Pass for 8 Days or 1st class for the places we are visiting (crowd on train and seats availability for viewing scenery)?

    Annika
    Moderator
    7094 posts
    17 July 2014 at 6:01:35 #840659

    Hi gotoswiss,

    Well, 1st class is more convenient (see here), but I would not say it is a necessity. If you can afford it, then do it and enjoy the ride even more. You are indeed traveling in high season, so some trains may be busy, typically more so in 2nd class.

    Kind regards,

    Annika

    gotoswiss
    Participant
    4 posts
    17 July 2014 at 19:25:53 #840660

    OK, will think about the class..

    can you advice on any vineyard tours near lausanne-vevey-montreux area for halfday on monday morning? will go to geneva in the afternoon..

    Annika
    Moderator
    7094 posts
    18 July 2014 at 16:13:14 #840661

    Hi gotoswiss,

    The region you want to visit is called the Lavaux, and you find suggestions on the Montreux – Vevey tourism website.

    gotoswiss
    Participant
    4 posts
    18 July 2014 at 17:48:06 #840662

    That helps! Thanks a lot Annika 🙂

  • The thread ‘Calling Arno/Anika! Please suggest pass for itiner’ is closed to new replies.

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