[Removed user]

16 August 2013 at 8:35:43 #806163

Hi everyone,
First of all, thanks to the entire community for the wonderful tips and advice. I and my wife are planning a 5 day trip in Switzerland in Mid Sep this year and post lot of research and feedback, have come out with following itinerary with 1 night,2 days in Lucerne and 4 nights,3 days in Wengen
Day 1 – Arrive in geneva Airport – Early morning. Take Half Fare Pass at Geneva station and take train to Lucerne. Spend evening checking out local villages, Boating on lake etc.
Need advice on which route to take. Guess there is a scenic route option from Interlaken onwards. Also which part is covered in Half Fare pass
Day 2 – Go early morning to Mt Pilatus. Was thinking of taking a Golden Round Trip (Steamer to Alpnachstad, then cogwheel train upto Pilatus and taking panoramic cable car down to kriens, Lucerne). Post Pilatus, take train and go to Wengen via Interlaken….Spend some time in Sunstar, since its wednesday night and then to hotel.
All was fine, till we decided to add Para gliding into our itinerary and i have read good reviews about doing it from top of Mt Pilatus.

Need advice on
1. Which is the best spot to do paragliding (Pilatus or Lucerne or Interlaken or Wengen or Grindelward)
2. We are on budget, so are there any deals like 2 for 1 or some discount coupons basis Rail pass etc or some suggestions on which option to take – With or without Thermal, which companies offer the cheapest and the best etc…
3. If we decide to do Paragliding from top of Pilatus, which part from Golden route should we omit – Steamer, cogwheel train or cable car
4. Is Golden route covered in Half fare pass
5. Any advice on route from Lucerne to Interlaken. – Is there any scenic route to be taken and validity on Half fare pass

Day 3,4,5 – Spend in Wengen and go to Schilthorn, Trummelbach Waterfall, Grindalwald, do some hikes etc depending on weather
Day 6 – Early morning, leave for Venice. Have made my ticket bookings from Domodossola onwards.
Need confirmation that train journey from Wengen till Domodossola is covered under Half fare pass
P.S. – Have decide to skip Jungfray and rather do Schilthorn (we are on budget 🙂 )
Sorry for the long post and asking so many questions…..
Cheers
Jain

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[Annika]

17 August 2013 at 11:16:28 #839220

Welcome Jain! First of all, all routes you mention are covered by the Swiss Half Fare Card. You can download the validity map from the Swiss Half Fare Card page and review details there.

As for your further questions:
1./3. Interlaken has quite some paragliding companies. Take-offs often take place at Beatenberg or Schynige Platte. It’s easy to incorporate this in your travel plans on day 3, 4 or 5. Moreover, you’ll be able to make the enitre round trip to the Pilatus without having to skip part of it. If you decide to make a flight down from the Pilatus, I suggest you get up using the cogwheel train from Alpnachstad. In all, this is more spectacular than the gondolas between Pilatus and Kriens.

2. The Swiss Half Fare Card indeed seems to be the best choice for your travels. There are no special deals currently. You make look into the supersaver tickets offered by the SBB and see if cheaper options are available than the 50% discounted tickets you can buy with your Swiss Half Fare Card. Prices can be checked through the timetable.

5. You can best take the Golden Pass route via Brienz, Meiringen and the Brünig Pass from Interlaken to Lucerne. If you want to travel in a special scenic train, you’ll have to make seat reservations and pay a surcharge. Regular trains that don’t require reservation run on this route too.

[Removed user]

29 August 2013 at 5:32:33 #839221

Thanks Annika for your valuable inputs
Basis your Inputs, have thought about following itinerary –
Day 1 – Arrive in Geneva. Buy Half fare card and take normal route to Lucerne.
Day 2 – Trip to Mt Pilatus. Go using steamer to Alpnachstad, then cogwheel train upto Pilatus. Take run time call on coming via Paragliding or hike down or through Gondola. Only question is, does any of these needs to be booked in advance ???
Day 3,4,5 – Wengen etc

On paragliding, my question was, Are there any discounts/deals etc on Paragliding basis any of the Swiss cards (Half fare etc) ???. All the sites, you mention along with research gives normal fare options for Paragliding (both Lucerne as well as Interlaken) and no discounts/deals etc. Any guidance on deals/discounts on Paragliding will be really worth for us

~
Jain

[Annika]

30 August 2013 at 3:36:20 #839222

Hello Jain. No, you don’t have to book such trips in advance, except for the paragliding. And as far as I know, there are indeed no pass discounts for paragliding and other adventure sports. Sports companies may provide their own deals and discounts, apart from rail passes, but you can only tell by checking their websites and contacting them.

[Removed user]

2 September 2013 at 11:54:19 #839223

Thanks Annika for the information 🙂

~
Jain