[Anonymous]

10 June 2017 at 16:25:51 #812208

Hello fellow travellers,

I will be travelling with my wife to Switzerland from Mannheim, Germany in July for 4 days. My tentative itineraries look like the following :

DAY 0 (14/07/07): Start at 21:50 by Bus from Mannheim to Zurich. Reach Zurich by 3:25 am(15/07).

DAY 1 (15/07/07): Reach Zurich at 03:25. Buy Swiss Travel Pass. Start for Lucerne from Zurich at 5:35 and reach at 6:25. Check in at hotel in Lucerne. Local sightseeing in Lucerne. Mt. Pilatus, Wooden Bridge, Evening Boat ride.

DAY 2 (16/07/07): Take Golden Pass route train from Lucerne to Montreux. Come back to Lucerne on the same day at night. Stay at Lucerne.

DAY 3 (17/07/07): Take train to Interlaken, Visit Grindelward and Jungfrau region. Back to Lucerne at night. Stay at Lucerne.

DAY 4 (18/07/07): Visit to Mount titlis

21:00 train from Lucerne to Basel.

23:00 train from Basel to Frankfurt.

For this itinerary, I have the following queries.

1. On Day 1, for local sightseeing, please advise other places.

2. Will the Swiss Pass cover the Day 2 Golden Pass travel ? Will the coming back journey be also covered by Swiss Pass? Where do I get details of trains for Golden pass travel back and forth from Lucerne. Can I also do local sightseeing on that day in Montreux? Where can I roam around in Montreux?

3. From Interlaken, whether Grindelward will be best to travel or should I travel somewhere else? I assume travel upto Interlaken/Gridelward will be covered by Swiss pass. How much will be the extra cost for mountain visit in Jungfrau.

4. Also, please let me know which all places I should avoid if rain forecast is there and what all alternate places I can travel on those days?

5. Can I get decent hotels in Lucerne within 100 euro?

6. My budget is around 1500 euro including stay/travel/food for 2. We do not wish to spend much on food. Can I cover this itinerary with this budget?

Your help will be hugely appreciated.

Regards,

Subhankar

💡 Save time and get daily forum questions & answers by e-mail

[User]

Reply 1 of 3 • 11 June 2017 at 10:12:37 #864889

HI Subhankar and welcome to MySwissAlps!

First off, I congratulate you on your 03:25 arrival in Zurich! I hope you sleep well on buses! 🙂

1. For a list of things to do in and around Luzern click here. Depending on how tired you are you could go up to one of the mountains nearby like Mt. Pilatus
2. Yes, the Swiss Travel Pass covers your train on the Golden Pass route. You can search for train timetables here. The Panoramic trains operate between Zweisimmen and Montreux only and are listed on the timetable as MOB Panoramic (modern train) and MOB Belle Epoque (heritage train).
3. The Swiss Travel Pass will cover you 100% as far as Grindelwald or Wengen. The trip from either town to Jungfraujoch will be about 140chf with your 25% discount (round-trip).
4. For cloudy and rainy days you probably want to avoid any mountain trips (poor visibility). Larger towns like Interlaken and Luzern have more things to do inside (museums etc.)
5. Most hotels in Switzerland will start around 100 to 120 chf (in Euro it would be about 10% less). You can see a list of hotels we recommend for every budget in Luzern here.
6. Yes, I think so. We also have a page on how to save money in Switzerland here. I find the best way to save money here is to buy food at local grocery stores like Migros or Coop – restaurants are quite expensive

Lucas

[User]

Reply 2 of 3 • 22 June 2017 at 3:16:09 #864890

Hi Lucas,

Thank you for your reply. One more question, if I reach at 3:30 am in Zurich, can I buy the swiss travel pass there itself at that time or will it be too early?

Regards,

Subhankar

[User]

Reply 3 of 3 • 22 June 2017 at 5:29:13 #864891

HI Subhankar,

Oh, it’s much too early for the office to be open – it is 08:00 I believe – click here for hours. Make sure you enter “Zürich HB” in the search box.

It would be best for you to buy the Swiss Travel Pass online here. This way it can be emailed to you for printing at home – by far the most convenient option.

Lucas