Scenic train rides for 4 days Switzerland in Dec
A traveler named JGG630 is planning a trip to Zurich from November 30 to December 3 and wants to find scenic train options despite many trains being out of service in December. They are considering visiting Lucerne, Rhine Falls, Grindelwald, and Interlaken and are looking for advice on which scenic trains are available and itinerary suggestions.
- Take the Golden Pass route from Lucerne to Interlaken for beautiful scenery.
- For flexibility in your trip, consider getting the Swiss Travel Pass, which allows travel across various regions based on weather conditions.
- Check the timetable for train connections and mountain excursions to ensure availability during your visit.
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In following the forum, I noticed that Glacier Express and some of the cogwheel trains do not operate in December. We will be traveling Nov 30 through Dec 3 to Zurich and would like to take scenic train if possible through Switzerland. Which ones operate first week of December? Any suggestions for itinerary? I was thinking Lucerne, Rhine Falls, Grindenwald, Interlaken.
Thank you.
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Hello JGG630 and welcome to MySwissAlps,
With such a short stay and an itinerary including “Lucerne, Rhine Falls, Grindenwald, Interlaken” you can rule out any of the major panoramic trains.
Your best bet would be just to enjoy the Luzern to Interlaken leg of the Golden Pass route (http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass).
Based on your personal itinerary you should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math. The spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” page for all available passes. Be sure to check those pages for each pass you are considering. Study the map AND read all the text on those pages to fully understand what is covered by the respective pass.
Hello JGG630,
I agree with Rockoyster that the “labelled” panoramic trains might not be worth considering for your itinerary, however, the Goldenpass route and also the are around Grindelwald and Interlaken, the Jungfrau Region, have fantastic scenery and you practically only travel by train (or cable car), so you have lots of non-labelled, very panoramic train rides.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwald
– http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken
– http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion
– http://www.myswissalps.com/berneseoberland (the larger area)Make sure you check all the tabs.
For ideas about what to do and see in the Lucerne area as well as input about the Rhine Falls see these links:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne
– http://www.myswissalps.com/rhinefallsTo get an idea of timings needed for your itinerary I recommend using the timetable in the following link, a fantastic tool for any journey, so read first how it works: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. And here’s a sample itinerary for winter: http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself/sampleitineraries/scenictrainswinter.
Happy planning and get back to us anytime.
Best,
Steph
We are spending 12 days train journeys thru Switzerland in January from 14-28 is there somewhere i can find which cog, cable or trains ARE NOT RUNNING in January, our route is St Moritz-Tirano, St Morits-Zermatt, Zermatt-Interlaken, Chur to St Moritz, also to Jungfrau and Matterhorn, Ice Palace i thought all these would be running in January,
Just about everything will be running. You will be well in to the main winter high season.
Certainly all trains and cable cars will be operating.
The only cogwheel railways I can think of that won’t be operating are Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm and Schynigge Platte.
There may be others.
If you search for destinations on this site and then look at the “route” tab you will find operating dates for most mountain excursion. They may not yet be updated for 2020 as next years timetables are not yet published.
You can also google any mountain and get information on what’s operating from the official operator’s website.
Hello Tonyw,
As Rockoyster says you should be fine.
Another way to find out if a certain transportation is running is by checking for connections on the respective date on the timetable. If you find a connection, there is one, if the transportation is closed, you’ll get an error message.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metableBest,
Steph
Would the winter Tell Pass get me everywhere I have planned on itinerary except Zermatt?
On the itinerary I asked about above.
Thank you
No. Tell Pass coverage is confined to Central Switzerland only ie the regions around Luzern. Have a look at the map at http://www.myswissalps.com/te llpasswinter/validity.
Its will be of no use to you for St Moritz or anywhere in the Jungfrau Region beyond Interlaken and certainly not for Zermatt.
So no Grindewald, no Zermatt but Rhine Falls? Tiltus or Pilatus or Golden Pass?
I’ve looked at the map but not able to locate any major cities. Would Bern be included?
No. Bern is in the Bernese Oberland NOT Central Switzerland.
Titlis and Pilatus are covered and so is the Golden Pass Luzern to Interlaken.
This is a little confusing as you have superimposed a different itinerary on top of the one that started this thread. That’s what comes of “hi-jacking” threads.
ps Luzern may feel aggrieved by your “no major cities”. 😉
Thank you but if you will notice I started this thread. So I didn’t hijack anything. I understand Lucerne is major City but The Tell Pass is for Lucerne area so I meant any other major cities that aren’t part of the map. Thanks for your responses.
Oops. Someone else did the hi-jacking. Humble apologies.
Hi JGG630! So are you looking for city visits, even though they’re not part of the Tell-Pass Winter validity area? In that case you could consider Zurich (http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich) and Bern (http://www.myswissalps.com/be rn). The ride Lucerne-Bern via Langnau and Trubschachen in the Emmental is well worth it! Those trips aren’t fully covered (up to Zug/Baar when heading for Zurich and up to Langnau when heading for Bern) so you’d have to get additional tickets for parts of these routes: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/switzerland.
Annika I am wanting to see scenery and visit a mountain top. Was hoping to ride cogwheel train while in Switzerland. Also if we visit Christmas markets that would not be a problem. I’m trying not to exhaust us but was really hoping to see the Matterhorn, if possible. I’m guessing scenery would be handled on a trip to Zermatt from Zurich. Mountain tops could be done in Zermatt or Lucerne area.
With weather at beginning of December would you wait until you arrive to determine if Tell Pass or Swiss Travel Pass? If weather bad most likely won’t get to Zermatt.
Hi JCGG630. There are certainly options for cogwheel rides during your stay, e.g. to Rigi (http://www.myswissalps.com/ri gi), Jungfraujoch (http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch) and Gornergrat (http://www.myswissalps.com/go rnergrat). It just depends on where you base yourself and what day trip durations you prefer. A day trip to Zermatt can certainly work from Interlaken or a nearby town, but from Lucerne it would take too long in my opinion. You can use the SBB timetable at http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable to plan your trips and see what you’re comfortable with.
The Tell-Pass Winter makes most sense if you’re sure you’ll restrict yourself to the Lake Lucerne area. If you want to have more flexibility, which is an important advantage in case of weather issues, the Swiss Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass) is a better option as it allows you to move to any region in which weather looks more promising. Generally, it’s easier to buy your pass online in advance. I think you should create a tentative itinerary first, deciding on your base town(s), and then pick the appropriate rail pass that suits your plans.
We will be based in Zurich.
Hi JCGG630,
You now have all the links to start planning, am I right? From Zurich, the Lake Lucerne area makes sense for day trips to the Alps: http://www.myswissalps.com/la kelucerne.
I agree. Can I assume it will cover our trip from Zurich to Lucerne each day. I know the map is the train station vs town so I apologize
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