11 days Zurich, Bern, Zermatt, Lucerne in summer
Maureen is planning an 11-day summer trip in Switzerland, starting in Zurich and visiting Bern, Zermatt, Interlaken, and Lucerne. She is unsure about which train pass to get and is looking for advice, especially on scenic train routes and the Swiss Travel Pass options.
- Consider getting the Swiss Travel Pass for convenience and flexibility during your trip.
- For a scenic route from Bern to Zermatt, take the Regio Lotschberger to Brig and then switch to the Zermatt train.
- The Regio Lotschberger route is longer but more scenic; it takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to Brig, plus around 1 hour 15 minutes to Zermatt.
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Hello,
I am traveling with the following itinerary in the summer and not sure which train pass to get. Arriving in Zurich and traveling by train to Bern for 1 night. Then departing for Zermatt for three consecutive nights. Then travleing onto Interlacken for four nights, then travling to Lucern for three nights, then traveling back to Zurich airport. I will be in Switzerland for 11 days. I would also like to take a scenic train from either Bern to Zermatt, or Lucerne to Zurich if there is one. Any assistance would greatly be appreciated, tks
Maureen
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Hi Maureen,
Based on your plan, if you’re looking for convenience and flexibility, you might want to consider getting the Swiss Travel Pass. Options to purchase the STP online are available here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/price
Other railpass options are explained in detail here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses. You can use this quick guide to choose the best railpass based on your itinerary.
If you prefer to take the scenic route from Bern to Zermatt, I recommend going via Kandersteg on the Regio Lotschberger train. From Zurich to Lucerne, one scenic route option is to take the Voralpen Express to Arth-Goldau or Rapperswil and take a connecting train to Zurich from either of these destinations.
Hope this gives you some helpful ideas for your trip.
Regards,
Anna
HI Anna,
Thank you for the quick reply, I am giving serious thought to the Swiss Travel Pass Flex as I won’t be travling everyday, so thank you for the links.
I did look up the Regio Lotschberger train but unfortunately it doesn’t stop in Zermatt but thank you though much appreciate the advice….
Hi Maureen55,
yes, it is true that the RegioExpress Lötschberger route do not incluedes Zermatt. From Brig you should take a train further to Zermatt. I believe Anna understood it like that and the reason is that this way you can see much more. If you travel via the Lötschberg-Basistunnel you won’t see much. This is the reason why we usually recommend the longer but more scenic train trip via Kandersteg and Brig.
More about the RegioExpress Lötschberger route: http://www.myswissalps.com/lotschberger/gettingthere
Swiss Travel Pass Flex is a great option if you travel a lot but you do not travel every day.
Take care,
Ildiko
Ahhh ok I will look to the train from Brig thank you
Put simply, there are two direct ways to travel from Bern to Zermatt. One of them (the high speed base tunnel route) has only existed since 2007 , hence that fact that the ‘scenic’ route is the one over the old mountain route built in 1913 by the BLS, hence the name of the railway company Bern – Loetschberg – Simplon (BLS)
The Brig – Visp – Zermatt railway (nowadays called the MGB) meets the old mountain route at Brig and the new base tunnel route at Visp, hence the two travel options.
My screen shot shows the two routes (the wiggly line marked by orange arrows is the old mountain route. The straight base tunnel route is marked by purple arrows, the yellow arrows show from Bern and to Zermatt.
So to sum up to go the scenic route from Bern take the Regio Express Lotschberger all the way to Brig (and ignore any SBB inter city trains heading for Visp or Brig) and connect there with the Brig – Zermatt train
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1960man wow thank you very.much for your advice I truly.appreciate your time and your map and explanation. Very.kind I will look into this thank you…
Here’s a picture I took on a lovely sunny day last October (2021) of a RegioExpress Lötschberger between Bern and Frutigen.
The RegioExpress Lötschberger departs Bern at xx.39 past each hour (eg 09.39) and gets to Brig just under 2 hours later
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1960man Thank you for this additional information do you know how long the train takes from Brig to Zermatt by any chance?
Hi Maureen,
Sorry I wasn’t clear with my suggestion in my earlier post but 1960man explained it clearly.
So just to reiterate, the Regio Lotschberger will take you from Bern to Brig via Kandersteg and over the mountains instead of through a tunnel so you’ll see a lot more. But this means the trip also takes a bit longer (about 1 hr 45 mins). In Brig you change to a connecting train to Zermatt (this takes about 1 hr 15 mins). Please use the SBB timetable to plan your journey.
Regards,
Anna
Thank you very much Anna, Ia m going to take the Regio, have been watching youtube videos looks like a very nice train ride. I am now wondering which train to take from Zermatt to Interlacken?
That means you are going to travel Spiez – Zermatt in both directions, therefore you can use the same train both ways or you can use the Inter city train through the base tunnel one way. I suggest you use the quicker route on the day that you want to ‘get there’ sooner
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