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We are planning to visit Switzerland in Oct and will be there for 12 days. Based on our planned itinerary, we were thinking that perhaps the Swiss Flexi saver card for 6 days would be the best option. I have chosen 6 days option since there are 6 longer distance traveling based on our current itinerary. Would highly appreciate if someone could help me out on the followings:
1. We have two shorter distance traveling namely Zurich Airport to Luzern (upon arrival) and Luzern to Bern (two ways). Zurich airport to Luzern will be our first train ride during this trip. I intend to use the 1st free travel day of the pass on day 3 in Switzerland but we have to travel to Luzern first and since it is a short distance, we do not intent to “use” our pass. If we were to buy the pass on the first day of our arrival, would we be entitled to discounted ticket (half fare rate?) for our tickets from Zurich airport to Luzern without validating (starting date) the pass until day 3 when we actually start our journey to Zermatt via Andermatt (Glacier Express – I hope I am correct on this)? Similarly, if we can use our Swiss Flexi saver pass to purchase discounted ticket for a return tickets (Luzern to Bern) on day 2?
2. During our stay in Montreux, we intend to make a return day trip to Lausanne and Geneva. We saw some suggestions to try the ferry ride from Montreux to Lausanne which apparently is very scenic. We were thinking of taking the ferry to Lausanne and later proceed to Geneva by train (and return to Montreux by train in the evening). Can we use the pass as one free day travel? Would there be any additional cost for the boat ride?
3. In Interlaken, we intend to visit Jungfraujoch, provided we have good weather. We understand that we would only get 25% discount on part of the journey to Jungfraujoch with the pass as opposed to 50% using half fare pass. Am I right?
Thank you so much!
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Welcome to MySwissAlps, Askswiss! Let’s take a look at your questions:
1. The Swiss Flexi Pass doesn’t offer any discounts before the first free travel day. So you can’t use your pass to purchase half fare tickets on day 1 and 2 if you validate it on day 3. It’s explained here. So you should either buy full fare separate tickets for day 1 (CHF 28 per person, 2nd class) and 2 (CHF 74 per person, 2nd class) or start off with a free travel day right away. Which option is best, depends on your further plans. You can also consider a 15 day Swiss Saver Pass instead. The price difference as compared to a 6 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass is smaller than the total amount you’d spend on regular tickets on day 1 and 2. Moreover, the Swiss Saver Pass offers much more convenience. And as this pass allows free traveling on all days of your stay, the benefits will turn out to be even larger.
2. The Swiss Saver Flexi Pass (on a free travel day) and the Swiss Pass offer free traveling between Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva. Boats over Lake Geneva are included. You can travel as much as you want on a free travel day.
3. The trip to the Jungfraujoch is free up to Wengen/Grindelwald (with a Swiss Flexi Pass on a free travel day, with a Swiss Pass on all days). Between Wengen/Grindelwald and the Jungfraujoch a 25% discount applies. You can best check the Swiss Flexi Pass validity map and the Swiss Pass validity map to see where the passes are valid. The Swiss Half Fare Card indeed provides a 50% discount on the entire trip (without free traveling up to Grindelwald/Wengen).
I hope this helps you decide!
To be honest, I have been to Switzerland many times but mainly on business and leisure trips was always organized. I like Switzerland very much and never had any problem but planning it on my own trip is kind of different until I saw your website which I found very useful and to get your respond within such a short time is unbelievable. And the answer is so clear and helpful. I am sure of a great stay in CH again and thank you so much.
That’s great to hear! There’s more planning help here if you like: http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself
Enjoy your stay!
Dear Annika,
Thanks again for your help the last time. I have made some changes to my itinerary and would like to travel from Luzern to Zermatt on 23 Oct 2014. I have checked the SBB timetable and apparently there is only one Glacier Express on that day which departs from Andermatt at 14.08.
The train connection as per the timetable shown is Luzern (12.18) – Arth-Goldau (12.44/12.53) – Göschenen (13.48/13.53) – Andermatt (14.03/14.08) – Zermatt (17.00). My primary concern is the connecting time in particular at Göschenen and Andermatt station which is only 5 minutes. Would that be sufficient considering we have luggages? Is there other routes to travel from Luzern to Zermatt with part of the journey on Glacier Express? Thank you so much.
Hello Askswiss,
There’s indeed just one Glacier Express in low season. The transfer times at the stations are sufficient, but of course there’s no time to dawdle. You can take one train earlier if you don’t feel comfortable with that. Or, you can forget about the Glacier Express and take any other train on that same route, giving you much more flexibility. Please see our Glacier Express pages for more information.
Dear Arno & Annika,
Thanks a lot for all the info. It has been very informative and useful in our planning. Our initial plan was to travel from Zermatt to Montreux where we will be staying for two nights and explore Montreux on the first day and on the second day, we planned to cover Lausanne and Geneva and return to Montreux late in the evening. I came across interesting information on Sion which apparently is very historical and interesting. With limited time available, I was hoping if you can give me your personal opinion on Sion vs Lausanne. We are not really “museum or art gallery people” so to speak but whenever we travel we enjoy visiting historical places, old town, watching people, interacting whenever possible and try to have a better understanding of the place/town. Appreciate your opinion in order for us to make up our mind which of course I can understand is an individual preference. Thank you so much. We were hoping of making the most during our 12 days stay in Switzerland as memorable as we can! And let’s hope the weather is on our side too (especially visit to Jungfraujoch). Checked today, apparently it has been raining in most places… Cheers! You guys have been great. Keep it up.
Hi Askswiss,
The center of Sion is indeed very pretty. I’m not sure how much there’s to do in October. It’s probably more lively if you go on a Friday because of the market, but you can best have a look at the town website: siontourisme.ch.
Listed from most interesting to “least” interesting, based on your preferences:
- Montreux
- Sion
- Lausanne
But indeed, it’s personal, and I must say I don’t know Lausanne that well. It’s quite a large city, and I think the other two smaller ones are more interesting for tourists.
I hope you have a great stay! Perhaps you can post a trip report afterwards, that would be great.
Dear Arno,
Thank you so much again. There is so much insight on each city and most likely we will visit Sion instead of Lausanne especially so as we are leaving Zermatt on Friday. I will definitely leave some notes/comments upon our return. Thank you again and keep up the good work!
Dear Arno/Annika,
Greetings from Malaysia!!
On our way to Montreux, we broke our journey at Sion and we glad we did. The old town is relatively small and easy to cover as it is quite flat. The main attraction is the market which they have every Friday and it is very “local” and we were probably the only two Asian there, I think. Most people do not speak English (but friendly). Had raclette and local white wine from the street vendor. Very nice.
We walked up to Basilique de Valère and Chateau de Tourbillon and we had a very nice view of Sion. In my opinion, for those that have limited time, I would suggest that they only do Valère as it is easier to go up there (about 30 mins on foot from old town) as Tourbillon is basically a ruined which I believe is undergoing restoration now.
It was difficult to gauge the old town as the market took the “center stage” the day we were there. But from what I observed, it should be a nice place to stroll along the narrow street, enjoy drinks at the sidewalk cafe and equally important, I think there are not that many tourists. We highly recommend Sion as a stopover or even a day trip for those going or staying in Montreux or Lausanne. It’s a smaller town but it has a lot of character.
Thanks again to myswissalps for all the advice and recommendation. We spend 10 nights in Switzerland and the weather has been very kind to us especially in Gornergrat and Jungfraujoch. Bought an 8 day Swiss Pass and traveling was seamless on various transports. Met up with many nice people during our journey starting with a nice greeting at the passport control (with a nice welcoming smile). My only slight disappointment is our journey with Glacier Express from Andermatt to Zermatt. I have taken the journey once but from Chur to Zermatt and I believe we must have missed some very scenic view which must be before Andermatt. Thank you Switzerland. We enjoyed our trip very much and definitely will come back soon. Keep up the good work and you guys are the best!
Warm regards, Annabelle
Hi Annabelle,
Thanks for reporting back here. I’m glad to hear you liked Sion and the rest of your stay so much, that’s great! Regarding the Glacier Express: you may have remembered the train climbing the Oberalp Pass, and passing the Rhine gorge, which are both between Chur and Andermatt. The entire route is described in detail here. If you have the chance to come back some time your could consider doing the whole journey from St. Moritz to Chur, and/or the Bernina Express.
By the way, if you post your report in the Trip Reports forum you may win a hotel voucher!
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