Visiting Switzerland for 5 days in December

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    15 October 2016 at 18:20:10 #810232

    Hi,

    I will be visiting Switzerland for 5 days during December 7-11 2016.

    Here is my itinerary.

    Day 1- Reached Zurich at about 7pm. I am planning to go to the Zurich HB, and visit the Christmas market near the city area. I will stay one night there.

    Day 2 – Travel to Zermatt from Zurich. From the web, it seems, it takes ~3.5 hours. Will stay a night there.

    Day 3 – Travel to Bern from Zermatt. Will visiting Bern museum, old town, city hall, christmas market. Stay for two nights here.

    Day 4 – Planning to visit Thun in the morning. Then, to Interlake. Then to Lucernen –> Bern

    Day 5 – From Bern, travel to Geneva. Take take my flight to Venice from Geneva.

    Should I consider going Lucerne as a round trip? Btw, do I need to book any train in advance? I am planning to get a Swisis Travel Pass. Should I buy it when I reached Zurich? It seems that if I get a travel pass for 4 days, I should start using it on the second day, since the pass is day count, not per 24 hours count. Can someone tell that I need to pay extra for the above itenenar?

    Thanks

    Wai LIm

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    Removed user
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    16 October 2016 at 5:15:29 #856560

    Hi… I feel all these places are very near to each other. Pls chk once online. Once u spend ur first night in Zurich u can start with ur Swiss pass cos that makes ur all Travelling free. Then u can chose the desitination as ur base for stay and can go to any place from there n come back in the night to ur base place. Think about this. Secondly you don’t have to buy any train tickets as with Swiss pass train journeys are free. Thirdly from lucerne it’s easier to do mt titlis. , mt pilates , mt rigis but if you are planning to skip then u can skip lucerne too…not much to do in the city as such.

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    16 October 2016 at 5:17:02 #856561

    Also chk during winters with 4 days Swiss pass sometimes 1 day is free.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 October 2016 at 6:58:54 #856562

    Welcome to MySwissAlps Wai Lim!

    I would probably visit Zermatt for one more night as the weather is critical there. With one extra night you increase the chances of seeing the views. You can skip Interlaken as a town to visit but the route via Interlaken you planned is wonderful (Golden Pass route).

    You can use a 4-day Swiss Travel Pass for day 2 to 5. Please see here for how to buy it and print it at home.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 October 2016 at 7:00:03 #856563

    Hi Kirts,

    Thanks for your useful comments! Please do not use the text talk/abbreviations in the forum as it’s hard to read for many people. Please see the forum rules. Thanks!

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    16 October 2016 at 9:53:35 #856564

    Hi,

    Thanks for the great comment. It helps.

    The route I planned which are close by is due to shorter sun light during winter. I heard the sun will come out at 8am but, goes down around 4pm?

    For the itenanary on day 4, I am now thinking to go Schilthorn via Murren. Anyway, I hoped to explore the places around wengen, murren, grinderwald or interlaken. I am not so much into Jungfraujoh, since there could be bad weather, and even I am in the train, it will be mostly in the tunnel. Can I get an advice, which area other than Jungfrajoch best for winter exploration?

    Also, I am from Malaysia. I read that the Swiss Travel Pass could be bought and printed at home. My question is that, am I just showing the A4 paper to the officer when go into the train? If for some reason, my paper just get wet, or teared off, how I can get a replacement?

    Thanks,

    pwilliam28

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 October 2016 at 10:12:46 #856565

    Hi pwilliam28,

    Sunset is around 4:30 PM in mid December. Jungfraujoch is wonderful if the weather is good. It’s not so much about the ride up there, although you will have some impressive views during the two stops in the tunnel. It’s about the views on top. Schilthorn is wonderful as well, and just the ride to Kleine Scheidegg without going to Jungfraujoch too. This one day trip might be inspirational.

    Yes, the Swiss Travel Pass can be printed at home through http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick “Online Ticket” from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the pass (no delivery fees) within 1-3 business days. Indeed you only need to show your printout to the train staff, and your passport if requested. This is much more convenient than buying a physical pass: it saves times, and the issues with lost or damaged passes no longer exist. You can simply print multiple copies, or have your hotel print an extra one in case something happens. That’s easy as you will always have the PDF document at hand, which can be stored on your phone, online, etc. If you buy a physical pass you would not have all these options.

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    16 October 2016 at 10:59:49 #856566

    Hi Arno and Kirts,

    Good advice indeed. I never thought that I can print and save it to phone as backup. Look like I should purchase now. By the way, Kirtz mentioned that there could be 5 days offer for a 4 days pass. Shall I wait?

    I am comparing Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn. If there a way I can check the weather for Schilthorn? Will the weather in Jungfraujoch represents Schilthorn?

    Pwilliam28

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 October 2016 at 14:12:02 #856567

    Hi Pwilliam28,

    The 5 day offer only applies to a few retailers, see here. You can always find the latest promotions on the Swiss Travel Pass page. It’s not relevant for you though as you only need a 4-day pass for day 2 to 5. You only need a ticket to the town center on day 1, and the rest can be done on foot.

    There’s a good weather forecast here, and you can check their webcams last minute. The general weather pattern will be the same in both places, but one can still be covered in clouds while the other isn’t. So keeping an eye on that before you go is important.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    16 October 2016 at 14:27:43 #856568

    Hi Kirts –

    Everyone has their own opinion, but I really enjoy the city of Luzern… certainly I can spend a day there happily. Depends on your interests, I suspect.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

    Add the lake, maybe the Rigi or Pilatus, and you’ve got two or three days, easily.

    Slowpoke

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