Swiss rail pass for Vevey, Zermatt & Basel
A couple is visiting Switzerland next month and arriving at Geneva airport. They plan to spend time in Geneva before heading to Vevey and then visit Zermatt, with a packed itinerary including the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and other sights, before moving to Wengen and Basel. They are seeking advice on whether to purchase a Swiss Travel Pass and if their Zermatt plans are feasible.
- Consider getting an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass as it is cheaper than two separate 3-day passes.
- Use the SBB timetable to plan your train and cable car trips effectively.
- You may be able to fit all your Zermatt plans into your schedule, but remember that the Randa bridge is closed for winter.
AI-generated summary-
Good day to all 🙂
I am a couple that will be visiting Switzerland next month.
On the 15th afternoon I will be arriving in Geneva airport and staying in Vevey. I’d like to visit old town in Geneva for a couple of hours before taking the train from geneva train station to Vevey.
on the 16th I have plan to take train from Vevey to Zermatt (likely late morning). I am staying near zermatt main train station. I have plan to visit matterhorn glacier paradise, schwarszee, gornergrat, randa (for the suspension bridge) and riffelberg.
I have a full day in zermatt on 17th november and probably half a day on the 18th november as I will be checking out of my hotel. 18th November afternoon plan to head to Wengen from Zermatt. Have booked an accommodation in Wengen.
19th november, plan to do a day trip to Bern from Wengen. 20th november afternoon will be checking out of Wengen and taking a train to Basel.
Staying in Basel from 20th – 22nd November. Want to visit the christmas market in Schinznach Bad on the 21st from Basel.
I am wondering if I should get a 3 days consecutive pass and a 3 days flex pass? Any recommendation? Am not sure if what I plan to do in Zermatt…is it too much to cover?
Really appreciate if you can help and suggest. thank you
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Hi Ellentqh and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Do note that an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass (consecutive) would be cheaper than buying the two, 3 day Swiss Travel Passes you are thinking about. http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price
In the end though, In order to know which Swiss rail pass (if any) will save you money over buying point to point tickets, you’ll need to first decide on your day to day itinerary and then find ticket prices and compare those to rail pass discounts (some trips are fully covered and others partially covered). Read though our instructional page on how to find the best rail pass for your itinerary here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass (we even have a spreadsheet there to help with the math).
You may have time to fit in your Zermatt plans over those 2 half days plus 1 full day…If I were you I’d add a night in Zermatt as you have lots of ideas on what to do and take one night from Basel (unless you have more plans than you mentioned).
You can use the SBB timetable here to plan the train and cable car trips, to see what you can and want to fit into each day: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
You will be able to cover enrything in Zermatt in the time you state, for the following easons:
- Riffelberg is part of the Gornergrat area so Gornergrat and Riffelberg are one in the same trip.
- It only takes a minimum of 2 hours to visit Gornergrat, including some time at the top
- The Randa bridge is closed for the winter so you won’t be able to visit that anyway
- Like Gornergrat, you can visit Matterhorn Glacier Paradise in a comparitively short time if required
- Schwarzsee is likely to be invisible as it may be already covered by winter snow.
HI Lucas
Thanks for responding so quickly. I totally forgot about the 8 days pass choice! thanks for reminding me 🙂
Thanks for your kind advice, will take into consideration 🙂
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