[Anonymous]

20 November 2019 at 17:13:27 #824499

Hi Swiss travel experts,

I would be grateful for some advice, my wife and I are travelling to Geneva for a long weekend at the end of November / beginning of December. The 5 day regional pass advises that it covers all trains on the red lines and that appears to cover Geneva to Montreux and then also Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye. My question largely relates to the second part of the journey, this is a cog-wheel train and I have read some information that suggests seat reservations are advised, but I am not sure if this is a definite requirement and if so how one goes about that, given that we already have the regional pass.

I realise that as Christmas draws closer, it is likely the cog-wheel train will become very busy as Rochers-de-Naye is also home to Santa. I am not sure if we will have missed the rush, being the last weekend in November.

Gratefully awaiting any shared knowledge / experience regarding this route at this time of year.

Many thanks

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[rockoyster]

Reply 1 of 6 • 20 November 2019 at 19:26:37 #925344

Hello Oysterdude and Welcome to MySwissAlps,

The train to Rochers-de-Naye is a quaint little unit. Sometimes it consists of only one carriage. They can increase the carriages based in demand. I did not think reservations were possible as seats are not numbered and the SBB timetable does not indicate reservations are possible.

But this site indicates bookings are required and links to http://www.goldenpass.ch/en/g oldenpass/offer/view?id=68 which talks about a “package” booking. Sorry I can’t be more definitive but I would think reservations would not be essential or even possible if you were just taking the train (and avoiding Santa) with your pass.

Maybe someone else has experience of travelling the route at that time of year?

[User]

Reply 2 of 6 • 20 November 2019 at 19:54:49 #925345

Hi OysterDude,

usually you do not need to book seats on the cogwheel train to Rochers-de-Naye. But as Rockoyster pointed out, from 21 November to 24 December 2019 on Wednesdays to Sundays it is also the Santa Claus train. If you are planning to visit Rochers-de-Naye then, booking is essential. For the Santa Claus experience places are limited and they will be sold out very fast.

See also:

• Montreux: http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux/activities
• Rochers-de-Naye: http://www.myswissalps.com/ro chersdenaye/gettingthe re

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 20 November 2019 at 21:04:45 #925346

Many thanks to rockoyster and Ildiko for the information.

Final point of clarification, are you saying that because the cog wheel train is in effect the Santa train during this period, a Santa ‘experience’ ticket is required regardless of whether one is actually visiting Rochers-de-Naye for Santa or otherwise?

I suppose what I’m really asking, is if there is a way to reserve a seat on the cog wheel, based on the regional pass we already have, or is there some additional cost in order to guarantee admission to the train, be that a Santa ticket or a separate cog wheel ticket?

Many thanks again for all your advice.

[rockoyster]

Reply 4 of 6 • 21 November 2019 at 1:27:17 #925347

For my part I would say you should contact the people organising the package. Otherwise I would just be guessing.

[Anna]

Reply 5 of 6 • 22 November 2019 at 8:06:34 #925348

Hi OysterDude,

The Santa Claus train operates every Wednesdays to Sundays from 21st Nov to 24th Dec. When I checked the timetable, there are still trains running from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye on Mondays and Tuesdays. I think this is the regular cogwheel train. In any case, I think you should contact the MOB to clarify, as suggested by rockoyster.
http://www.mob.ch/en/goldenpa ss/offer/view?id=12

But if you are interested in travelling on the Santa train, you can book seats directly from this website: http://www.montreuxnoel.com/e n-12-santa-claus-s-house.html

When making the booking, you will be required to key in your proposed date and time of travelling plus two alternatives dates/departure times. If you have the Regional Pass Lake Geneva, you would only need to pay for seat reservation as long as you are travelling on a selected free day.

For more info about the Regional Pass Lake Geneva, see here http://www.myswissalps.com/re gionalpasslakegeneva

Regards,

Anna

[User]

Reply 6 of 6 • 22 November 2019 at 8:47:06 #925349

Hi there,

In addition to Anna’s reply: I called them in the morning and I was told that with the Regional Pass Lake Geneva – Alps you can hop on the Santa Claus train too, if there are any free seats left, but you cannot visit the house of Santa Claus. They also said that the Santa Claus trains will be for sure fully booked on the weekends. They suggested buying the seat reservation, what you can do at a discounted price with your pass. You’ll find the discounted prices at http://www.goldenpass.ch/en/g oldenpass/offer/view?id=68.