[Anonymous]

19 June 2019 at 19:45:33 #822362

Hello, I have a 12 hour layover in Zurich and I really would love to see the Alps (or any nature for that matter!). My flight’s arrival is 6:15am and my flight’s departure is 6:00pm. This will be taking place in mid July and I’ve never been to Switzerland before. I’ve been looking around all the forums and info provided here and am a little overwhelmed by all of the options. Essentially any further clarification/ help is greatly appreciated!

I’d love to go to Lucerne and have read that it only takes about an hour to get there and back. At Lucerne, I am hoping to see Mt. Rigi. Taking that into consideration, in addition to wanting to be back at the Zurich airport with two hours to check in, will 7 hours be enough time to do this? I’d also love to see the Lake Lucerne, especially if I can add that to the round trip, however that’s not as much of a priority. How much time does the majestic round trip vs the classic round trip take time wise? Is there an even faster round trip that I should be considering instead? Also, is it fairly easy to get from the Luzern platform I’ll be arriving at from Zurich to the base of Mt. Rigi? I tried looking at the timetable provided to see how the transportation would work, however I don’t think I’m fully understanding it at the moment.

Lastly, if Lucerne and Mt. Rigi is too much to tackle, what do you think about taking a train straight from the Zurich airport to Interlaken? I know it takes 2+ hours to get there but, if there’s not much else to it in terms of getting to the mountains from there, maybe that would be easier than Lucerne and Mt. Rigi?

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[User]

Reply 1 of 8 • 19 June 2019 at 23:56:02 #915623

You can easily do this in half a day (6 hours)

Route:

Zurich Flughafen to Luzern (inter city train)

Luzern station platform to Luzern boat landing stage (very close, an easy few minutes walk) –

SGV Vierwaldstättersee (aka Lake Luzern) boat Luzern to Vitznau

Vitznau – Rigi Bahn (red train) Vitznau to Rigi Kulm

Rigi Bahn (ARB – blue train) Rigi Kulm to Arth Goldau

Arth Goldau to Zurich (trains)

To choose your specific itinerary use http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable.

choose the ‘advanced search’ and input from Zurich Flughafen to Zurich Flughafen and remove transport type ‘bus’ (in order to make sure it shows you the boat segment of the trip) and add three ‘vias’ in this order: Luzern, Vitznau, Rigi Kulm

if you leave Zurich Flughafen at 07.45 or before you should get to Luzern in time for the 09.12 paddle steamer (the best type of boat to ride on )

[Arno]

Reply 2 of 8 • 20 June 2019 at 6:29:17 #915624

Welcome to MySwissAlps Rose322!

I prefer 1960man’s suggestion, and an alternative is a trip to Mount Pilatus: http://www.myswissalps.com/pi latus.

I would avoid Interlaken as there’s not much to see in the town itself, you would have to travel farther to actually be in the mountains.

http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken

[User]

Reply 3 of 8 • 30 June 2019 at 23:28:42 #915625

Thank you! That was extremely helpful. I put 7:15 as the start date and it appears I can be back at the Zurich Flughafen platform by 13:42 if all goes well. I’ve since looked at all the travel pass options and believe point to point tickets might be my best bet, though please correct me if you think otherwise, given I’m only in Switzerland for the layover unfortunately. I’ve read that it’s worth considering buying your passes beforehand in order to skip the queue etc. However, I’m having a hard time figuring out how I am able to specifically buy my tickets online for this trip. Whenever I put my itinerary into the search, the option to purchase is crossed out. Would I have to go through the timetable and buy each ticket individually? Or maybe I should be buying as I go in person?

[User]

Reply 4 of 8 • 30 June 2019 at 23:32:07 #915626

I appreciate the alternative trip and will definitely take your word on avoiding Interlaken! I’ll go with 1960man’s suggestion and hopefully all will go well. Would you say it’s relatively easy to figure out your way with transportation in Switzerland alone? I’m fairly nervous I’ll miss a train or something and will not be able to get back to the airport in time.

[User]

Reply 5 of 8 • 1 July 2019 at 11:00:27 #915627

Hello Rose322,

I agree that 1960man’s suggestion is the best to cover real Swiss scenery and NOT get into a rush time-wise, as you would not be able to enjoy if you’re permanently worried.

As for the ticket you might want to look at a Saver Day Pass, which might not offer a lot of saving but will prevent you from having to buy individual tickets in advance, which of course you can.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/switzerland

Best,
Steph

[User]

Reply 6 of 8 • 5 July 2019 at 0:20:13 #915628

Thank you Steph! The saver’s pass seems like a great option, though I’m looking at the weather for next weekend and it seems like rain as of right now. I’m a little hesitant to buy the pass if I won’t be able to even enjoy the mountains. Do you have any advice on how to go about this with the weather and all? I wanted to buy ahead but not if there’s not a guarantee that it’ll be nice out.

Also, would you say it’s relatively easy to figure out your way with transportation in Switzerland alone? I’m fairly nervous I’ll miss a train or something and will not be able to get back to the airport in time, assuming I’ll be able to do the suggested route above.

[Peterli]

Reply 7 of 8 • 5 July 2019 at 4:50:30 #915629

I wouldn’t worry one bit about being late to get back to the airport. You found yourself back there at 13h42, and since trains run frequently from Arth Goldau to Zürich, even if you missed one you could catch the next one, no problem.

The only thing you should really worry about is the weather !

[Annika]

Reply 8 of 8 • 5 July 2019 at 17:44:25 #915630

Hi Rose322,

Will you be traveling this weekend (July 6-7) or next weekend (July 13-14)? Forecasts for July 13-14 aren’t reliable yet, so if that’s what you’re concerned about, there’s really no reason to worry yet. You’d best start looking at forecasts about 3 days ahead of time, and even then things can change quickly.

As for the Saver Day Pass: if you’re unsure about weather and your plans, you can decide on the spot and buy it at the Zurich Airport railway station. In case you create a back-up plan for bad weather that also includes quite some train traveling, the Saver Day Pass may still save you some money, but you’ll have to calculate whether that holds true for your finalized plans: myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass .