Visiting swizz in end of sept and oct first week

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    7 September 2010 at 14:28:15 #804001

    Hello,
    We{me and my wife} are planning a trip to Swizterland by 29/09 to 3/10/2010. We are now in Oristano, sardinia italy . We have few questions:
    1.how to Travel { we r planning Flight from Cagliari to Milan and then train} Please suggest if have other good and cheaper option.
    2.Where all we shlould visit in Swizz.
    we r planning following cities please advise which are the best one. Can we make any of these cities as base city and travel to all places from there.Interlaken,Jungfrau,Geneva,Zurich,St Moritz,Zermatt,Lucerne
    3.Is Swiss pass valid for Glacier Express. And how much it will cost.
    4.Does Eurail global pass include swiss pass?
    5.Please suggest some good budgeted hotels.
    6.Is this a good time to travel switzerland and what would be the sunset timings during this period?

    thanks in advance.

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    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    8 September 2010 at 13:52:29 #831819

    Hello deepakjain, and welcome the forum. As for your questions:

    1) You can search for train routes from Milan to Switzerland by entering Milano as your departure station and the first Swiss town of your trip in the online timetable. If you have a valid Swiss rail pass (I’ll get to this in question 3 and 4), the Swiss part of your trip will be for free. So from the Italian/Swiss border station on, your Swiss Pass will serve as your ticket. This means that you’ll have to purchase tickets for the trip from Milan to the Swiss border station, and that you can travel with your Swiss rail pass once you’ve entered Switzerland. This border station will be (depending on the exact connection you’ll pick) either Chiasso or Domodossola. As this is an international trip, you should arrange for seat reservations. If you possess a Eurail Global Pass, you won’t have to pay for the Italian part of the trip either. In that case you’ll only have to make seat reservations.

    2) Nearly all Swiss towns are beautiful, or at least located beautifully. It’s very hard to choose and your choice will depend on personal preferences. If visiting the Alps is your main priority, I’d suggest that you stay in (or near) Interlaken, St. Moritz, Zermatt, and maybe Lucerne. Geneva and Zurich are both a bit further away from the Alps, although they’re great for a city visit. The Jungfraujoch, by the way, is not a town but a spectacular viewing point in the Bernese Alps, which can be reached by a mountain train. It’s do-able to pick one location as your base, but this would require you to make long train trips if you want to visit all towns/regions you mention. It’s also worth considering to pick only two bases and regions to explore a bit more thoroughly. This will definitely end up in a more relaxed travel scheme. In that case, Interlaken and either Zermatt or St. Moritz would be my favourites. Again, you can plan your trips by using the online timetable. This will give a good impression of travelling times, and you’ll be able to find out what appeals to you most. Take a look at the Bernese Oberland, Wallis and Graubünden sections (in the menu on the left of this site) as well. One last tip: one of the most central bases in Switzerland is Spiez. I’ts close to the Bernese Alps and gives direct access to a quick train connection which will get you to the southern side of the Alps. It’s on the scenic train route to Geneva as well and it’s located along the shores of lake Thun.

    3) Yes, if you have a Swiss Pass, the Glacier Express trip is for free. You only have to pay a small additional reservation fee.

    4) No, the Eurail Global Pass and the Swiss Pass are different passes. The Eurail Global Pass allows free travel on the main rail networks in many European countries. The Swiss Pass is meant for Switzerland only, but covers a lot more than the Eurail Global Pass does. So for extensive Swiss travel, my advice would be to purchase an 8 day Swiss Saver Pass. If the trip from Milan to Switzerland is the only Italian rail trip you’ll be making, it wouldn’t be cost effective to use a Euraill Global Pass.

    5) Low-budget hotels in many towns can be found through the hotel page.

    6) Generally, September and October are nice months for a visit. No guarantees for good weather are available though. Weather circumstances can range from warm and sunny to cold, rainy autumn skies. This table on sun rise and sun set times will give an impression of the amount of day light in this period.

    Good luck on your further preparations!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    8 September 2010 at 16:23:22 #831820

    Thank a lot for the info. Now i am planning as under:
    Day1: Reach St Moritz and explore st mortiz or nearby places.
    Day2: Take Glacier express and travel to zermatt.
    Day3 and 4: Travel to Lucerne and explore lucerne.
    Day5: Trave to Montreux and back to Milan.
    Please guide as whether it would be too much of travelling and tight schedule. Which place you suggest to cut time or spend more time. Thanking you in advance.

    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    9 September 2010 at 12:59:24 #831821

    Hi deepakjain. If you don’t mind having to travel (almost) each day, this is a fine schedule. It could become a bit more efficient by starting in Zermatt instead of St. Moritz, as this is closer to the Swiss-Italian border. So you could first spend some time in Zermatt, and then travel on to St. Moritz by Glacier Express. You could then head on to Lucerne and end up in Montreux. If you have enough time, please consider making this trip through the beautiful Golden Pass route via Spiez, Zweisimmen and Gstaad.

    If you’d like to travel less, my advice would be to skip Montreux, beautiful as it may be, and spend a bit more time on exploring Lucerne (or Interlaken) and its surroundings. The region south of Lucerne and Interlaken is famous for its impressive Alps. You could easily travel back to the Italian border from Lucerne or Interlaken on the last day, using the quick train connection between Spiez and Visp/Brig. But again, it all depends on personal preferences. It would be best to take your time and do a bit of research on each of the towns and regions you’re interested in, to find out which of them definitely have to be part of your round trip.

    I hope this gets you started!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    15 September 2010 at 15:58:38 #831822

    Hi Annika,
    Thanks for your reply, Sorry but there is some change in plan and now i am pretty more clear of the dates.
    I am reaching Geneva on 25th morning 9.30 . So i think i cannot cut geneva from the list. Now i am planning to go to Interlaken by evening.
    I would like to have a itinery for Geneva and the way to interlaken. Please advice.
    In Interlaken we are staying for 2 nites and will cover the lucerne and Jungfrau.
    So 27th eve we will travel to Zermatt. { please provide information on things to do in zermatt and near by place}
    28th we will leave for St Moritz by Glacier express and stay there overnite.
    Now we have a early morning flight (10.00a.m) from Milan Malpensa. And we searched and found that there are some buses from Swizz boarder to malpensa and take about 2 hrs.
    So please advice that on 29th where and what we should see so we can be staying near the bus departure city and catch that early morning by 6.ooa.m
    And your advice for all the other plan of my trip is always welcome and awaited.
    If you can provide where to find most viewiable sites or places or things to do for all cities which i mention and near by places from there.
    thnks in advance
    with your help hoping a good trip in Swizz
    thnks
    Deepak

    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    16 September 2010 at 4:41:39 #831823

    Hi Deepak. You can plan your trips with the Swiss timetable. Please enter ‘Geneva’ as your departure station and ‘Interlaken Ost’ as your arrival station to check which connections are possible. If you have enough time, you may consider travelling from Geneva to Interlaken using the Golden Pass panoramic train, via Montreux and Zweisimmen.

    Tips for day trips in Zermatt are listed here. Some nice examples are Gornergrat, Sunnegga and Klein Matterhorn.

    If you only have a few hours left in St. Moritz on September 29, and if your flight leaves that early, there’s not much you can do. You would have to take your time to get to the Swiss border and arrive in time for your flight. The total trip from St. Moritz to Milan will take about 4 hours (please refer to the timetable), so you may have to leave even before 6 am. In case you plan to change your travel schedule and spend some more time in St. Moritz: this list of day trips will help you out. I’d recommend to visit one of the beautiful viewing points, such as Muottas Muragl, Corvatsch, Piz Nair or Diavolezza.

    I hope this helps. Good luck!

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