Day trip on the Glacier Express from Lucerne
Pam is excited to spend 4 nights in Lucerne this January and is looking for a scenic day trip option. She's considering traveling from Lucerne to Andermatt and then taking the Glacier Express to Chur, but seeks advice on whether this is the best choice with her 1st class Swiss Travel Pass or if there are better alternatives for a great scenery experience.
- Consider taking regular trains instead of the Glacier Express for comfort and better value from your Swiss Travel Pass.
- Plan your trip around the weather to enjoy stops with spectacular views, like Naetschen or Oberalp Pass.
- Check the schedule for the best connections, especially if considering Glacier Express service times.
AI-generated summary-
Hi! We’re excited to be heading to Lucerne for 4 nights (3 full days)in January. Would anybody recommend a day train trip from Lucerne to Andermatt. From there taking the glacier express to Chur and then train back to Lucerne? (it should take around 8 hours if I calculated correctly). We have a 1st class 4 day Swiss pass. If not, can you suggest another day train trip from Lucerne with great scenery. Trying to get good value from my pass.
thanks, Pam
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Yes, that’s a good day trip if you want to get good value out of your Pass.
However, I recommend you do the trip on regular trains, not the Glacier Express. From your statement it seems you are staying in Luzern, therefore you will only be carrying day packs. In that case it is cheaper and easier to use the regular trains. The carriages are just as comfortable and you get the same views without having to pay extra. It would also allow you to get off at intermediate stations in you wish, and carry on on the next train.
For example if the weather is clear and sunny the views at Naetschen (above Andermatt), or OberalpPass summit would be spectacular – worth stopping for an hour (remember that the Swiss timetable works on a ‘regular clockface’ principle so a journey pattern usually repeats at the same times each hour. You would have to juggle your times and decide about which bits you want to be in daylight of course.
The best starting train would be the fast Treno Gottardo IR train from Luzern at 07.18 or 09.18
Example journey starting at 09.18:
Luzern 09.18
Goeschenen 10.50 / 10.54
Andermatt 11.06 / 11.28
Disentis Muster 12.39 / 12.44
Chur 14.02 / 14.16
Thalwil 15.39 / 15.45
Luzern 16.25
Hi Pam,
Yes, a day trip on the Glacier Express from Lucerne via Andermatt is doable. But as you mentioned it will be a long journey and you need to plan your connections carefully as there is only 1 Glacier Express service from Zermatt to Chur running in January. The Glacier Express train leaves Andermatt at 11.54 am. Further details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/gettingthere
Other scenic trips you can take from Lucerne are the Golden Pass to Interlaken Ost and Montreux or the Voralpen Express to St Gallen.
Regards,
Anna
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