Lucerne Visitors Card and mountain question
A traveler is gearing up for a family reunion in Switzerland, arriving in Zurich and traveling to Luzern, Murren, Zermatt, and back to Zurich over 10 days. They have questions about using their visitor card for train travel and currency exchange options available at the airport.
- The visitor card from your hotel in Luzern is only valid within Luzern's Zone 10, which won't cover trips to Bern or Zurich.
- Using an international fee-free debit card at ATMs can provide better currency exchange rates than airport exchangers.
- You can exchange money at Zurich Airport or SBB ticket counters, and you can use larger CHF notes for small purchases.
AI-generated summary-
Good afternoon,
This is it! I am leaving in a couple of days and if all goes well I will arrive Zurich this Friday @ noon. In addition to half-fare card I will also be using Saver Day Pass for my outbound journey from Zermatt to Zurich on the last day of this trip. This is a special trip [family reunion] with my siblings. There are seven of us [6 adults & one child] and our flights arrive the same time [more or less]. I am so excited!!! 🙂
Anyway – below is a recap of our itinerary:
Luzern [May 17 through 20th] staying @ Allmend Comfort Apartment
Old town, Lake Luzern
Chapel Bridge/Lion Monument
The wall/Glacier Garden/Reuss River
Day trip to Bern
***Can’t decide which mountain to pick [Mount Rigi/Pilatus or Titlis] we’re all interested in snow tubing
Murren [May 20th through 24th] staying @ Edelweiss Hotel
Explore Wengen, Grindelwald, Birg, Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen [falls] – is this doable to explore in one day?
Zermatt [ May 24 through 26]
Gornergrat
Klein Matterhorn Cable car
Zurich [one night]
Last minute questions/clarification:
The hotel in Luzern has sent me visitor card for train travel within zone 10 [excluding boat trips]. Can someone tell me what are the areas in zone 10? Can I use this card for my train travel to Bern, Zurich or Interlaken?
Also, can i buy CHF at Zurich airport and if so, what currency denomination do you think i should purchase [$10’s, 20’s or 50’s ?]
I know I will be contacting you again for any last minute inquiries that i may have when i arrive at your beautiful country.
Thank you kindly!
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“The hotel in Luzern has sent me visitor card for train travel within zone 10 [excluding boat trips]. Can someone tell me what are the areas in zone 10? Can I use this card for my train travel to Bern, Zurich or Interlaken?”
No, accommodation visitor cards are always very localised. This is no exception. Luzern Zone 10 is basically the city centre and a few suburbs. It covers a short journey on a couple of railways out of Luzern (eg to Meggen and Horw) but won’t get you out to anywhere else significant.
http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/travel
In addition, most visitor cards make a lot of how many ‘discounts and special deals’ they offer. In my experience these seldom amount to very much ( eg a ‘free coffee’ – but only if you have already spent lots on a 3-course meal!) . The Swiss never give much away for ‘nothing’…
in effect anything that costs much money to provide will not been discounted very much
…indeed you can already see this with the statement ‘excluding boat trips’!
I get money out of an ATM with an international fee free debit card.
I don’t think money exchangers at the airport are going to give you a great rate, but they are convenient.
Hello Teodora,
Nice to hear you’re nearly here already, hope you’re excited! 🙂
You can exchange money at Zurich Airport, for sure. Also, most SBB ticketing counters also offer currency exchange.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ai rports/zurichThere’s no need to have any specific denomination of your cash, large notes like CHF 100.- can usually be used without problem, even to purchase something small.
Have a safe journey and welcome!
Steph
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