Finalizing 6 night itinerary in Switzerland
A traveler named Uallin is planning a trip to Switzerland in late February, with an itinerary that includes Interlaken, Zermatt, Zurich, and Lucerne. They seek advice on staying in Zurich versus Lucerne for their last nights, especially regarding train connections to Zurich Airport for their 10:30 am flight.
- Consider staying in Lucerne instead of Zurich for better access to scenic views and a more relaxed experience.
- The Swiss Travel Pass covers several scenic routes, including those from Zermatt to Lucerne, but check the timetable for train changes.
- Aim to arrive at Zurich Airport by 8:30 am, and taking the 6:10 am train from Lucerne is a safer option to avoid stress.
AI-generated summary-
Hi! Would like to get some feedback on our rather finalized itinerary for late Feb with our Swiss Travel Passes.
27 Feb– Arrive Interlaken from Colmar about 10am– Schilthorn, Murren & Wengen. 1 night based in Interlaken.
28 Feb– Morning Grindelwald. After lunch train to Zermatt for 2 nights.
2 March– After lunch, train to Zurich for 3 nights. ETA 5-6pm.
3 March– Zurich in the morning. After lunch head to Lucerne till night.
4 March– Mt Titlis, Engelberg.
5 March– Travel home.
TIA for any help.
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Hi Uallin,
Thanks for sharing your itinerary. Are you heading back to Colmar from Lucerne?
I wouldn’t stay in Zurich for 3 nights if the purpose of your trip is enjoying the Swiss landscape and mountains. I would even be tempted to skip Zurich and spend more time in the Interlaken and Lucerne area: 2 nights Interlaken (or even better, Wengen), 2 nights Zermatt and 2 nights Lucerne.
Hi Chantal,
Our itinerary is unfortunately restricted to our Zermatt accommodation which can’t be changed. We’re flying off from Zurich and we also wanted to reduce changing hotels so thought it might be better if we’re based on Zurich.
Ah, ok. You could still consider visiting Lucerne before Zurich. Have you considered a scenic train ride from Zermatt? The Golden Pass for example? From Zermatt you’ll have to take the train to Montreux where the Golden Pass will bring you to Lucerne.
Thanks Chantal. Do you think it would be better if we are based in Lucerne for 3 nights instead of at Zurich? Would Lucerne be too far to get to the airport? Our flight out Zurich is 10.30am and we each have a large suitcase. Although many have said there isn’t much in Zurich but since it is a major city we still would like to spend half a day there. The Golden Pass Scenic train sounds interesting. How’s the scenery in early March? I checked out the link but am rather confused by the route from Zermatt to Lucerne/ Zurich. Is that covered by the Travel Pass? Thanks again!
To follow the entire Golden Pass Line from Montreux to Lucerne is a long train ride – over 8 hours. See attached for route.
A more realistic route would be Zermatt – Brig – Kandersteg – Spiez – Interlaken Ost – Lucerne which cover a fair bit of the Golden Pass route and takes 6h 20m or so. You will be doubling up on the Spiez to Interlaken section as you have already covered that on your way to Zermatt.
Or Zermatt – Brig – Kandersteg – Spiez – Bern – Lucerne which takes around 5h 20m.
The fastest route is Zermatt – Visp – Bern – Lucerne which will get you there in around 3h 15m to 3h 45m.
All the routes above (which are in descending order of scenic-ness) are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.
What ever you do make sure you go at least one way between Spiez and Zermatt via Kandersteg. It is a very scenic ride through the mountains. The fast more direct route Spiez to Zermatt via Visp goes through along tunnel. Not much to see there.
Stay in Lucerne rather than Zurich but probably stay in Zurich on your final night given you have a 10:30am flight.
Attachments:
Thanks Rockoyster. Route 2 sounds good. Do we have to change trains at Brig then Kandersteg etc as per your attachment? How do we go abt it from Zermatt? I had seen a pic of Golden Pass Train. Do we take that? Is it different on timetable?
Hi Uallin,
You’d best check the timetable at http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable, and search for each section separately. So first to Brig, then to Spiez via Kandersteg, then to Lucerne via Bern or Interlaken. The timetable has all the details. Be sure to read the instructions before using it.
You wil change trains at Brig, Bern, possibly Spiez but not Kandersteg. Different departure times will have different connections and train changes. The one with the least connections takes 5:48 see attached.Pick the time that suits you best. Search timetable for Zermatt to Lucerne via Kandersteg if following route 2 above. That route does not follow Golden Pass line.
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Thanks Arno n Rockoyster. I’ll check out the said routes.
We’re now considering staying the last 3 nights in Lucerne instead of Zurich. Our main concern is the possibility of missing our 10.30am flight since it is quite a distance from Zurich airport. If we take the 6.35am train, there’s a change at Zurich station. Is Platform 10 to 33 far from each other? TIA 🙂
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>> We’re now considering staying the last 3 nights in Lucerne instead of Zurich … If we take the 6.35am train, there’s a change at Zurich station. Is Platform 10 to 33 far from each other?
Platform 10 is at street level, and you need to go down in a lift or on an escalator to get to Platform 33, which is underground.
The standard connection time is 8 minutes. This might be a bit tight if you are unfamiliar with Zürich Hauptbahnhof (main station), especially as you will be changing trains in peak hour, when the station will be packed with commuters.
By what time do you want to be at the airport? There is a direct service from Luzern to Zürich Flughafen (airport) at 7:10, which gets you to the airport at 8:13, just over 2 hours before your flight. That should be adequate.
If you prefer to get there earlier than that, you could give yourself a longer transfer time at Zürich Hauptbahnhof by using advanced search and changing the transfer time to 10 or 20 minutes.
There is a plan of Zürich Hauptbahnhof here:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/railway-stations/shopville-zuerich-main-station.html
Alpenrose
Thanks Alpenrose666. 8 min does seem rather tight to navigate around a big station during peak hours with luggage. We’re hesitant to take the 7.10am direct train to airport as we’ll be in trouble if we miss that train for some reason. Perhaps you can help clarify our doubts. Is Luzern station and the 7.10am train to airport both very busy since it is peak hour? What are the chances we can’t board the train? Is it possible to have more direct train departures nearer to date? Is airport immigration fast?
If possible, we prefer to reach the airport 7.30am, 3hrs before our 10.30am flight, since Zurich is a major airport and we’re unfamiliar with it. We almost missed our flight last year in Seoul even with arriving 2.5hrs before flight time as there were long queues at every step of the way. Or perhaps we should take the 6.10am train? If we miss the 7.07am connection at Zurich, there’s still the 7.33am connection..
Thanks again!
Hi Uallin,
Under “More on MySwissAlps” on this page: http://www.myswissalps.com/ai rports/zurich there’s a link to Zurich airport’s terminal plans if that helps.
You will always be able to get on the train. There won’t be any more direct trains nearer to your travel date. I’m like you, for long haul flights I prefer to be 3 hours before departure time at the airport. I rather have a coffee at the airport than being stressed on the train. I would take the 6.10 am train. And to your point, should you miss your connection at Zurich you can always catch the next one and still have plenty of time.
Thanks for the reassurance, Chantal. Yes. I rather have a leisurely breakfast and sleep on the plane than risk missing the flight! I think we will go with the 6.10am train 🙂
That sounds like a good plan!
If you are taking a 10:30 am flight out, you should be at the Zurich Airport at 8:30.
We just did that earlier this month and we were glad that we got to the airport early.
We took the train from Zermatt the previous day and spent the afternoon and evening sightseeing around Zurich.
We had luggage (snowboards, large suitcases that had to be checked in at the airport) that takes time. I don’t know how many of you are travelling together, but we had to get a special van, arranged by the hotel to get us from the Zurich hotel to the airport.
Sounds like a great trip!
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