2.5 days in Lucerne in November: which mountain excursions?
Sandy and a travel friend will spend 2.5 days in Lucerne from November 7 to 9. They are looking for tips on visiting Mt Rigi, Mt Pilatus, and Titlis, hoping to combine trips on different days and explore the area’s attractions.
- Check the Swiss Timetable to plan your travel times effectively.
- For your trip, Mt Rigi and Mt Pilatus are accessible, but Titlis will be closed for maintenance.
- You can visit Stanserhorn instead of Titlis as it's operational during your visit.
- Use webcams to check weather conditions on the mountain before your trip.
- You can explore on your own without needing guided tours.
AI-generated summary-
Dear Alphonso,
Dear Alponso,
We are in Lucerne and did a lovely tour of Rigi yesterday and would like to know whether to do Pilatus and Stanserhorn next or Pilatus and Kulm. Please advise.
thanks
sandy
Hello Sandy
Great that you are having such a wonderful time. You have certainly been lucky with the weather.
In your most recent reply, you refer to ‘Kulm’. There is no mountain called ‘Kulm’. ‘Kulm’ is the German word for ‘summit’. So every mountain has a ‘Kulm’.
Today (Saturday 9th) you could try and combine both Pilatus and Stanserhorn. Trains to Alpnachstad (for Pilatus) run every 30 minutes. Trains to Stans (for Stanserhorn) run every 30 minutes. Both train lines stop at a village called Hergiswil. (Study the map.)
(Note the forecasts are suggesting that the weather will deteriorate on 12th. That may well influence what you do on 11th! Study carefully what Alpenrose has said in her most recent reply dated 7 November.)
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Roger,
Can we do these things when the weather turns bad? I thinks 11th and 12th may be rainy. We do want to see Jungfraujoch. Our saver pass is for 11th. What do you suggest we do if weather is bad?
Thanks,
Sandy
Hi Sandy.
KEEP MONITORING THE WEATHER FORECASTS FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS.
Currently, the weather forecast for Jungfraujoch is Very Good for tomorrow Sunday, Good for Monday 11th, but POOR for the 12th.
Recheck the weather forecast early tomorrow morning. If the forecast for tomorrow for Jungfraujoch is still (very) good, get on the earliest available train heading from Lucerne heading towards Interlaken, say the 08 06 from Lucerne. As I hope you already know, you will have to use a rail replacement bus between Meiringen and Interlaken, but you will still arrive at Interlaken Ost at about 09 55. Park your luggage in a luggage locker at Interlaken Ost and go up to Jungfraujoch. You will, of course, have to pay the high fare, but with good weather you will, it is to be hoped, get value for money. If you do this tomorrow, you can then on Monday use your Saver Day Pass to go anywhere in Switzerland, for example go to Geneva or Zermatt!
If what I have suggested for tomorrow is not possible, then recheck the weather forecast very early on Monday morning. If the forecast for Jungfraujoch is (reasonably) good, pay the fare to go up to Jungfraujoch. I suggest going as early as you can. I THINK you MAY get a cheaper fare if you go early.
A consequence of taking this course of action is that you will not be getting much value out of your Saver Day Pass. But you say you are keen on Jungfraujoch.
Going up to Jungfraujoch in POOR WEATHER is NOT VALUE FOR MONEY. On the CURRENT forecast, leaving Jungfraujoch until Tuesday is not a sensible course of action.
But I repeat, keep monitoring the weather forecasts.
Best wishes
Roger
A
Hi Sandy,
If the weather on the 11th is not good enough for a trip up to Jungfraujoch and you still prefer to do a mountain excursion, I would consider making a day trip to Zermatt (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/zermatt/). It’s about 2.5 hours from Interlaken by train. Since you have a Saver Day Pass, I think the trip would be a good option even if only to explore the village and enjoy the scenic train ride. Plan to leave Interlaken early and return in the late afternoon, stopping by in Bern on the way back and catch the light show at the Bundeshaus (Parliament) at 7pm before returning to Interlaken.
Best regards,
Anna
Dear Anna,
The weather forecast for Jungfraujoch is rainy on the 11th and 12th. As for how much rain is expected , I am not sure. Are you suggesting we skip Jungfraujoch, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, and Grindelwald completely? How much rain should we expect in order to cancel all these towns?
Thanks,
Sandy
Hi Sandy
I have just been studying the meteo.swiss weather forecasts for today and tomorrow. Briefly, they are good for both today and tomorrow. Go Jungfraujoch today (08 06 train to Meiringen) . Go to Zermatt and then Bern tomorrow using Anna’s suggested itinerary.
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Roger,
Today we are in Lucerne and will be travelling to Interlaken later in the afternoon so we cannot travel today. We will be able to go to Jungfraujoch, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, and Grindelwald on the 11th with the saver day pass and Zermat and maybe Bern on the 12th when weather may not be so good.
Will that work?
Thanks,
Sandy
Hi Roger,
Could you kindly share the site you use to check the weather in Jungfraujoch?
thanks,
Sandy
Is ticket fare cheaper to Jungfraujoch from Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or Grindelwald?
Thanks,
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
It will be marginally cheaper from Grindelwald.
All pricing for a trip to Jungfraujoch is detailed in our guide below:
You can find suggested Swiss weather websites and apps in the link below:
The Swiss timetable (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/public-transport/timetable/ ) is the best place to check for ticket prices. Please note, the prices are half-price by default . To show the regular prices you can log in as a guest and select no discount or no railpass, or you can simply choose a return trip to show the regular price of a single trip.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
If we purchase a roundtrip to Jungfraujoch, are the villages of Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, and return via Grindelwald included? We can start early and go via the Lauterbrunnen route and return via Grindelwald or the other way round if that is recommended.
thanks,
Sandy
In response to your reply 9, your proposals for tomorrow and Tuesday will work. But if you are going to follow Anna’s suggestion for a Zermatt + Bern trip, but on Tuesday 12th, I SUSPECT that the cheapest option will be to get a Saver Day Pass for that day. You will need to buy that a day in advance – so that’s tomorrow. Alternatively, cut out Bern and buy point-to-point tickets Interlaken to Zermatt and return.
Best wishes
Roger
In response to your reply 10, I have been looking at the meteo.swiss website, as recommended by the moderators of MySwissAlps.
For more details of weather websites, see Yolanda’s reply 12.
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Sandy,
Both routes are doable and both are enjoyable. Work with what suits your plans.
With your Saver Day Pass, your travel to Lauterbrunnen and Wengen are covered. Take a look at the Saver Day Pass validity map and you can see where and when you would need a ticket. For ease here is the direct link:
Kind regards,
Yolanda
hi Roger,
I found this site for Rail Europe fares from Interlaken OST to Zermatt and the fare is only $51.50 a ticket. If we can use our half fare card and get it for under $26, we don’t need a super saver pass to go to Zermatt. Do we need to get this ticket online to take advantage of the fare?
https://www.raileurope.com/en/destinations/interlaken-zermatt-train
Thanks,
Sandy
Hi Sandy
Very sorry, but I do not know the answer. I have no experience of using this website to buy tickets. (Note that the $51.50 ticket may be specific to particular trains, rather than one on which you can go on any train you like.)
Perhaps someone else may be able to help you.
I did look to see what the SBB electronic timetable says about fares Interlaken to Zermatt. It gives the single fare USING A HALF FARE CARD as 43 Franks. A return would be 86 Franks, but that is more than an ordinary SBB Day Ticket, which, with a half fare card, costs 78 Franks.
Remember that a Saver Day Ticket, or an ‘Ordinary’ Day Ticket allows you to go anywhere you like on ordinary trains. You could, for example, on your outward journey to Zermatt, go on the very scenic route from Spiez to Brig via Kandersteg, and then go on to Zermatt from Brig. On your return journey, probably after sunset, you will probably want to get back to Interlaken as soon as possible. So coming from Zermatt you would change at Visp, and take from there a fast InterCity train through the ‘Lotschberg Base Tunnel’ which takes only 26 minutes to get from Visp to Spiez.
(The great thing about Saver Day Tickers, Day Tickets and other passes like the Swiss Travel Pass is that it gives you huge flexibility with your travel plans.)
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Sandy!
The Swiss timetable is by far the most reliable source for prices of your Swiss train trips. Please check the section “How to find realistic prices in the timetable” in our timetable guide: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/public-transport/timetable/. Once you know how it works, it’s a great tool to calculate prices and discover what you’ll save with several rail passes.
Hi Sandy,
On the Rail Europe website, it’s stated that tickets from Interlaken to Zermatt starts from $51.50. So that could well be the cheapest non-flexible option.
I agree with Annika, the best place to check ticket prices is on the SBB website or SBB Mobile App.
As Roger had mentioned, a standard one-way ticket from Interlaken to Zermatt with a Swiss Half Fare Card is CHF43.00. This ticket is valid all day for one-way trip only (you can take any connection). A roundtrip ticket will cost double. A Saver Day Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) will cost less than a roundtrip ticket but you have to purchase it in advance. And the extra benefit of having a Saver Day Pass is it is valid for travel anywhere in Switzerland for 1 day (not just between Interlaken and Zermatt).
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Roger,
We ended up using our Saver Day passes to go to Zermatt today as the train ticket counter gave us the same advice. Now we have tomorrow to visit Jungfraujoch with the towns of Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald. Is the weather suitable for the trip tomorrow or the 13th as the last option?
thanks,
Sandy
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