[Maansha]

4 February 2022 at 18:57:03 #826475

Hi all,

First of all please accept my gratitude and thanks for creating this wonderful forum. This is indeed awesome and something I haven’t witnessed earlier in my life. Kudos to the guys for maintaining it. I intend using it pretty much extensively until I complete my trip. Thank you so much for this.

I will be in Zurich for 2 nights and 1 day with my 2 kids 11 and 17. So it will be Sunday, 3rd April 2022 that we have with us for excursions. I wish to take them on the panoramic trains, hence looking for the good route and the costs involved. At this stage only the flight tickets are booked and I will book a hotel near Zurich airport. This is primarily because we will arrive around midnight and don’t want them to travel long from the airport. I might consider something in between the airport and any other landmark which proves to be more beneficial in terms of time, money and efforts.

If I am being honest this website has way too much information for me to grasp in short time, though I am still working on it say around half an hour a day. What I have understood about panoramic excursions so far is as below:

1. There are few package deals for longer duration and for 1 day, I have to choose my itinerary and pick the ticket(s) that suits me.

2. Swiss Saver Day can help me to get through these trains for free but again its not that a cheap option.

With this in mind, can someone please suggest a route, which will give a scenic view for my kids to cherish? I would then like to evaluate if I am better off buying one off tickets to and fro and then back to Zurich or a Saver Day is better option. As I understood so far that I might have to go to Chur to get a train on this panoramic route, so cost and time to Chur from Zurich also needs to be evaluated.

Any suggestions, directions on this are highly appreciated this.

Thanks,

Maansha

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 7 • 4 February 2022 at 20:08:41 #938451

Hi Maansha,

Thank you for your kind words and welcome to MySwissAlps.

Yes, I agree for first-time travellers to Switzerland sometimes too much information can be very confusing 🙂 So we do try to help and make things simple.

As you are mainly interested in travelling on scenic trains with your kids as a day excursion from Zurich, perhaps taking the Voralpen Express may be a good option. This train travels between Lucerne and St. Gallen and takes about 2 and half hours, so quite manageable with kids. You can find more information about how to travel on the Voralpen Express here: http://www.myswissalps.com/voralpenexpress/gettingthere

If you want to travel on the Glacier Express, then you need to travel to Chur first. Th GE train travels between St Moritz and Zermatt and could take the whole day. As a day excursion it might not be suitable for you and your kids.

Alternatively, you can take your kids to Mt Rigi on the cogwheel train and enjoy a great view from the mountain top. More details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/rigi/gettingthere

You can explore other panoramic train options here: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/scenictrips/train

Since you are only staying for 2 days, I think getting a Saver Day Pass may be the best option for your panoramic train excursion. This pass provides unlimited travelling for 1 day so you don’t need to get tickets for each journey. If you are sure about your dates, you can get book your Saver Day Pass in advance and get it cheaper. Find more details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass

I hope this gets your started. Let me know if you need more information.

Regards,

Anna

[Maansha]

Reply 2 of 7 • 4 February 2022 at 22:16:01 #938452

Jesus Christ, wow wow wow … absolutely beautiful.

What a noble gesture of pure selfless help and at the same time what clarity of response … just amazing. I am running out of words to thank you guys as it’s difficult to express in words the guidance you have provided here, truly appreciate it with all my heart.

You have given me excellent stuff to digest over the weekend and will be sure to make the best use of it. I might get back if I need further assistance.

Thank you so much again.

Also if ever in your life you or your team member needs some assistance where I can be of any help, please do not hesitate. I might be a bit selfish to not post much after our trip, but I am hoping you would have my details to contact me.

Thanks again and May Almighty bless you always, and you continue to help, guide millions like me!

Maansha

[User]

Reply 3 of 7 • 5 February 2022 at 1:21:42 #938453

I’ve been doing one days trips around Switzerland for over 50 years (usually from Geneva as some of my family worked in the UN / WHO).

From Zurich I would recommend the following as a nice round trip with lots of mountain (and some lake) views:

A (green line on the map) – – Zurich – Landquart – Klosters – Davos – Filisur – Chur – Zurich. You would change trains at Landquart, Davos, Filisur and Chur. Zurich – Landquart and Chur – Zurich would be by SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) express train. The other trains are the shiny red narrow gauge trains of the famous Rhatische Bahn [RhB] (aka Rhaetian Railway).

B ( blue line on the map) – a slightly longer version of (A) :

Zurich – Landquart – Klosters – St Moritz – Filisur – Chur – Zurich

C (orange line on the map). A longer circuit:

Zurich – Landquart – Klosters – (route A or B) then Filisur – Reichenau Tamins – Ilanz – Disentis Muster – Oberalp Pass – Andermatt – Goeschenen – Zurich

Just to clarify about the Saver Day Pass:

It is the most economical way to travel within Switzerland for one day. If you know your travel date in advance it is a very good option, because the prices are at their lowest the earlier you book.

The Saver Day pass act as a ‘rover’ ticket for all the main railway lines in Switzerland for the one day, so you can do round trips without any problems.

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[Maansha]

Reply 4 of 7 • 5 February 2022 at 21:55:05 #938454

Unbelievable … looks like the entire Universe has aligned itself to help me here. Loving every bit of it. Thank you so much.

You literally answered the question that I had in mind and not asked yet and at the same time also showered me with various options to play around with. Wow!

I love the way you have explained it using a map. It is very helpful for Dummies like me who get a bit lost when it comes to the new names of the cities and find it hard to work out where to start and where to go 🙂

I am super excited now and extremely confident that with the help of you all, I will be able to make this trip for my kids something to cherish for a long time. Also, they will perhaps be able to help and guide others in the future as you all are doing here.

Thank you so much mate, appreciate it. Beers on me for this help and yes if anytime I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate in asking.

Thanks,

Maansha

[Danielsan]

Reply 5 of 7 • 6 February 2022 at 9:04:25 #938455

Hi Maansha,

I realize you only have one day, +, to see/explore the Swiss alps (unfortunately). I have attached a photo of the major train lines that you can explore. You can further look at any “Grand Train Tour of Swirtzerland” websites, and look through them as well. It’s unfortunate that you folks only have one day to see the country. It can be a tough call as to what to see in such a short time. It also depends if you want to see “alpine scenery” on your journey.

If you go to Zermatt from Lucerne, (or from Zurich, by train) and spend a night there, you won’t be disappointed in any way. The scenery to Zermatt from Zurich/Lucerne is beautiful, and back. You will see beautiful scenery and see the iconic Matterhorn as well. (The train ride to and from Zurich to Zermatt isn’t to exorbitant.) As far as ‘Panoramic Trains’ go, I wouldn’t so much concern myself with them since you only have a short time to travel. Local trains are just as good, and no seat reservations will be nrccesary. This is solely a suggestion, and nothing more than an opinion by me.

Visiting Lucerne is also a great place to see. Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi, a boat ride on the lake, Mt Titlis, lots to see there. And also a lot closer to Zurich than Zermatt, but different scenery altogether. Very Swiss-like. You can’t go wrong either place. Good luck, and enjoy your planning. As others have said too, be careful trying not to stuff so much into one trip. (Hard to do, but….)

Danielsan

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[StevefromHou]

Reply 6 of 7 • 6 February 2022 at 14:54:53 #938456

Maansha

I have seen Mt. Rigi mentioned a couple times on this thread and this is one I recommend to many of my friends to get a good mixture.

I was also recommend checking into staying in Lucerne instead of Zurich Airport.

After you land in Zurich make your way to the train station at the airport and take the train to Lucerne (be sure to select the train that doesn’t require changing trains in Zurich Main station) I believe it is only 1 hr 5 mins +/-.

As far as the excursion, I bought a ticket from the Tourism office at the train station that allowed me to take a boat from in front of the train station to Vitznau and walk a few feet to the awaiting cog train that takes you to the top of Mt. Rigi. After exploring the summit and having a cup of hot chocolate I got back on the train and went 2 stops down from the summit to Rigi Kaltbad and made my way to the cable car station that took me down to Weggis, made the short walk to the dock at Weggis where I picked up the boat back to Lucerne.

Also if you stay in Lucerne you can take the train back to the airport in Zurich before your flight home.

[Victoria]

Reply 7 of 7 • 8 February 2022 at 23:21:32 #938457

Hi Maansha,

You have a lot of good suggestions. My recommendation would be to take the kids on a day trip to Mt. Titlis. This will definitely leave your kids with some memories to cherish. If time permits you can stop off and take a look around Luzern on the way back to Zurich.

A word of caution. April is still really winter so be prepared to change your plans at the last minute depending on weather conditions. Going up a mountain shrouded in rain or heavy cloud is not the best experience. Have a few backup options.

1960man’s train round trips are an excellent alternative to a mountain excursion if the weather is poor and you want to spend you time in a warm train.

Enjoy.

Vicki