[Anonymous]

28 April 2017 at 9:49:43 #811583

Hi,

Do hotels in Lucerne, Zurich and Lauterbrunnen region offer a free travel card with hotel stay? Something on the lines of the Riviera Card in the Montreux region….

If they do, is there a minimum duration of stay required?

Thanks

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[Arno]

Reply 1 of 6 • 28 April 2017 at 12:31:06 #862367

Hi Shilpa,

Some towns/regions indeed offer a free card but the options are quite different. The Riviera Card in the Montreux region happens to be one of the best in Switzerland. Zurich does not offer a card. You can buy a ZurichCARD for traveling, museums and more, or various other local travel passes. Lucerne offers a free card, but not for traveling. It gets you reductions on entrance fees. The card in Lauterbrunnen is similar to the one in Lucerne I think (no transport), but I don’t have many details about that one.

A one-night hotel stay is sufficient, I haven’t heard of exceptions to that rule.

In general, the local cards do not offer added value to Swiss Travel Pass holders, as it already includes free traveling and also free entrance to most museums. They can be valuable for Swiss Half Fare Card holders or if you don’t have any other passes and just make trips in a limited area.

[User]

Reply 2 of 6 • 28 April 2017 at 17:31:42 #862368

Hi Arno,

We had STP when in St. Moritz last summer but were given an Engadine Pass by the hotel which was a useful addition as it gave us free travel on many mountain trips that the STP only gave discounts on, saving us quite a lot of extra money. We used the STP to travel from Zurich Airport to St. Moritz and from there by Glacier Express to Brig as well as a few occasions not covered by local pass so it was worth having both passes since the Engadine one was free!

Maggie

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 28 April 2017 at 17:32:00 #862369

Thanks Arno.

As we would be using the Swiss travel pass, I suppose the local cards will not add much value.

regards

Shilpa

[Arno]

Reply 4 of 6 • 28 April 2017 at 17:39:06 #862370

Hi Maggie,

Yes, the card in St. Moritz is a good one too, also because the Swiss Travel Pass (weirdly) does not offer many cableway discounts in that area unlike many other areas.

[Arno]

Reply 5 of 6 • 28 April 2017 at 17:42:02 #862371

Hi Shilpa,

Yes, if you have the Swiss Travel Pass you will have good coverage in those areas. The local cards might occasionally include a museum or activity not included in the Swiss Travel Pass. But the Swiss Travel Pass will cover your transportation.

[User]

Reply 6 of 6 • 29 April 2017 at 15:58:48 #862372

Hi Arno

Yes we discovered STP gave no discount on Piz Nair or Diavolezza but both were free with Engadine card. I have been looking at the card the hotel will provide and there seem to be lots of offers for all sorts of things – discounts in cafes for example and even a horse-drawn carriage ride! That could be fun!

Maggie