8-day trip Lucerne, Interlaken and Montreux: tips and best travel pass
A traveler named Chris is planning a trip to Switzerland with his wife in mid-April, retracing his parents' honeymoon spots from 1949. They’ll spend eight days visiting Lucerne, Interlaken, Gstaad, and Montreux, and are looking for advice on sightseeing and whether to buy the full Swiss Travel Pass or a half pass, given their busy itinerary.
Invest in the Swiss Travel Pass for flexibility and ease of travel across trains, buses, and boats. Make sure to check the boat services on Lakes Lucerne and Brienz, as they are more reliable than those on Lake Geneva in April. Consider leaving Lake Brienz for Day Four to enjoy more time in Lucerne. The mountain line to Stanserhorn is free with the Swiss Travel Pass starting from April 11th.
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Hi all,
My parents honeymooned in these same places in 1949! I’m in my sixties, taking my wife to the same places, mid-April…..Day 1 – fly to Basel airport late afternoon, train to Lucerne
Day 2- Lucerne lake cruise and Mt Rigi trip via Vitznau, and enjoy old Lucerne
Day 3 – morning train to Interlaken, (potentially getting off at Brienz and cruising on to Interlaken? will have 2 cases though? Otherwise an afternon trip up Harder Kulm after arriving by train in Interlaken)
Day 4 – cruise on Lake Thun and enjoy Interlaken itself
Day 5 – GoldenPass Panoramic to Gstaad/Saanen as have a cousin to visit there, relaxing day.
Day 6 – GoldenPass Panoramic from Saanen to Montreux (as I believe Belle Epoque is being serviced/maintained at this time April 16th?)
Day 7 – Montreux including visiting Chillon, Chaplin museum, take lake cruises to those?
Day 8 – very early train to fly home via Geneva airportI realise that it is a bit whistle-stop speed, 2 adults with 2 cases. Have provisionally booked hotels now.
Any advice gratefully received about the planned sightseeing (a full day in each of Lucerne/Interlaken/Montreux, with train travel in intervening days). Also whether this itinerary justifies the full 8-day Swiss travel pass rather than a half pass? Presume Berner Oberland Pass less appropriate as the day 1 and day 8 trains are out of their area….
(Hope my parents will be “looking down on me”…. we couldnt do the same hotels that they stayed in, sadly – eg Hotel du Lac in Interlaken is being refurbished when we go)
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Hello ChrisC
Welcome to MySwissAlps
Thank you for sharing your travel plans with us. Wonderful that you are replicating what your parents did 77 years ago!
The scenery is (of course) much the same as it was in 1949!. (I have been visiting Switzerland regularly since 1971.)
However there have been big social changes. In particular the advent of mass tourism!
Two changes make things much easier for tourists wanting to see a lot of the country. Firstly the introduction (under a different name) of the Swiss Travel Pass in 1972. Secondly the introduction in 1982 of the ‘Taktfahrplan’ under which trains and buses run on a rigid hourly pattern.
The Case for Investing in Swiss Travel Passes.
Going the Half Fare Card route may, in your case, be theoretically cheaper. But I would still recommend that you INVEST in STPs.
The Swiss Travel Pass gives you the freedom of the Swiss public transport paradise. The STP covers buses, trams/ streetcars, the boats on the lakes, as well as trains.
Lines which simply go up mountains (like Pilatus or Schilthorn) are usually excluded from the free travel. On those lines you USUALLY get a 50% discount.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/
Intangible Benefits of the Swiss Travel PassWith the STP You can ‘hop on hop off’ as the mood takes you. That freedom is worth a lot, even if you cannot quantify it in Dollars/Pounds/Swiss Franks/Euros etc.
You can change your mind as to where you are going even in mid-journey. (I often do!) That is something you cannot do if you have bought point-to point tickets.
Not Much Need for Tickets If you invest in STPs you only have to buy tickets for mountain lines (eg Jungfraujoch and Pilatus) which are not free with the STP. (Note that in the Lucerne area some mountain lines – including Rigi and Stanserhorn – are free with the STP.)
Free Entry to Museums and the Like
Most but not all Swiss museums give free entry to STP holders. (The huge Transport Museum at Lucerne gives only a 50% discount. The Chaplin museum is – I think – NOT included. Chillon castle IS included.)
https://www.myswissalps.com/details/swiss-travel-pass-validity/
Your Itinerary is Certainly not ‘Whistle Stop’.Actually it is a very relaxed itinerary! I will make some suggestions in a separate reply.
Best wishes
Roger
Hello Again
OK, I have had some breakfast and I have done some research into the boat services on Lakes Brienz, Thun and Geneva IN APRIL.
Day Three
Now it is certainly possible to take luggage on Swiss lake boats. (On my recent visit to Switzerland over Christmas I saw people doing that on Lake Lucerne.) But it is a bit of a bother, particularly if the boat is crowded.
I would suggest you leave Lake Brienz until Day Four. https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/boat-lake-brienz/
On day three I would give yourself more time in the stunningly beautiful Lake Lucerne area. There is a good boat service on the lake all year round. https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/boat-lake-lucerne/
The mountain line up Stanserhorn (free with the STP) starts operation on 11th April. (Rigi runs all-year round.)
https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rigi/Catch a late afternoon train to Interlaken, say the 16 06 from Lucerne, arrive Interlaken Ost 17 54. (Sit on the right facing the direction of travel.)
Day Four
First note that Interlaken (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/interlaken/) is NOT a ‘historic’ town. It is the product of 19th century tourism. Here is a suggested relaxed slow speed trip which will be completely free with the STP.
Catch the 08 10 number 21 bus from Interlaken Ost station to Thun. (08 16 from Interlaken West.) This bus route goes along the highly scenic NORTH shore of the lake. (The railway speeds along the relatively less scenic south shore.)
On arrival at Thun (0 911) go immediately to the nearby harbour and catch the 09 40 boat to Interlaken West, arrive 11 49.
Train, bus or walk to Interlaken Ost. (Walk is 20-30 minutes.)Make sure you arrive at Interlaken Ost (harbour) in plenty of time for the 13 07 boat departure. (Perhaps have lunch on the boat.) Do the return trip to Brienz, arriving back at 15 53.
Montreux Area
First the bad news. Until April 25th the boat service on Lake Leman (The local name for Lake Geneva) is almost non-existent. A skeleton service weekends only. So that is another reason for doing your ‘boating’ from Interlaken and/or Lucerne!
The very good news is that Montreux and neighbouring Vevey are outstanding centres for shorter or longer excursions. A longer trip would be to historic Gruyeres (cheese factory) and then on to Broc (chocolate factory). All free with the STP.
The mountain line up to Rochers-de-Naye (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rochers-de-naye/) is only 50% discount with the STP, but the line from Vevey up to Les Pleiades is now free with the STP.
Immediately to the west of Vevey are the UNESCO world heritage site Lavaux Vineyards. The Swiss Federal railway line which goes up from Vevey to Palezieux climbs up through the vineyards.
It is a one hour round trip from Vevey. However, in typical Swiss fashion this ‘Ligne des Vignes’ train connects with the IR15 fast train bound for the historic towns of Romont, Fribourg and Bern.
Best wishes for your detailed planning
Roger
Thank you so much Roger for your wonderful kind, knowledgeable help!
That seems such sensible advice that I think we will aim to change our itinerary!
That’s a real shame about lac leman cruises, but we will have to make the most of lakes Lucerne, Brienz and Thun as you suggest instead.
And there is flexibility if inclement weather makes for rescheduling of mountain trips I suppose.
The STP sounds the right thing to do, thank you again.Chris
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