St. Gallen as a base for scenic trips, suggestions please
A traveler is planning a scenic trip from St. Gallen and is looking for advice on nearby picturesque locations to explore using public transport. They specifically desire suggestions for scenic train journeys, a way to visit a mountain in the summer, and tips on grocery stores in St. Gallen, all while staying within a budget.
- Use the Swiss Travel Pass for discounts on trains and mountain rides, especially for trips to Titlis.
- The Voralpen Express is a scenic option from St. Gallen, offering beautiful views.
- For summer snow experiences, Titlis is accessible via Engelberg, and be aware of additional costs for the cable car.
- Check local grocery stores like Coop or Aldi for budget-friendly options.
AI-generated summary-
Hello, and warm greetings to all. What would be the most scenic locations to visit from St. Gallen as a base? My preliminary research suggests that all scenic locations are quite faraway but there must be some hidden gems. The focus is on the green landscape. Due to tight budgets, it is desired that one visits in the morning but by the evening or late evening get back to St. Gallen. In that regards, what would be the best scenic train journeys? Please recommend in order of being the absolute best. Totally relying on public transport, as do not have a car.
Second, what would be the best way to get to a mountain in summer month to experience snow. Titlis is one, but are there others? For Titlis, will the day pass suffice or need to buy special tickets for the mountain train? Many thanks.
PS. For Glacier Express, figured out it is possible to board from Chur to Zermat if starting from St. Gallen. However, if cannot get hold of GE or as some have advised to take regional trains, is it worth it to take the regional trains instead, given that one must get back to St. Gallen by evening? This is because one has to change three trains from Chur to Zermat if the route is taken by regional trains, however the SBB shows the time to catch the next train is quite limited and with elderly, it is difficult to make it to the next platform in time. Suggestions please.
PS. Also what would be the cheapest grocery stores in St. Gallen?
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Hello Pearl
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
Thank you for sharing your travel plans with us.
It may help if I say something about myself. I am British in my mid-seventies. I have been visiting Switzerland regularly since 1971. Nowadays I base myself in one place and go out on day excursions. I usually limit my time away from base to ABOUT TWELVE HOURS. If I go over twelve hours on a particular day, I usually try and make the following day a bit shorter.
Since 1994(!) I have had a slight walking impediment, but I am never worried by the (seemingly) very ‘tight’ connections shown by the SBB Electronic timetable. I can always do them. I cannot remember the last time I missed a connection in Switzerland. (Where you see a very tight connection of 2-4 minutes, it is usually from one side of a platform to the other. This is ALWAYS the case at Disentis.)
Why do I love Switzerland? A combination of four factors.
The fantastic scenery.
Beautiful historic cities, towns and villages undamaged by wars.
The best public transport system in the world, where all forms of transport are scheduled to connect with each other.
The fact that I can INVEST in a Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/) valid on all forms of public transport throughout Switzerland, except the lines which simply go up mountains (eg the line up Titlis, where I buy a separate ticket. My STP gives me a 50% discount.)
St Gallen as a Base
St Gallen CITY is in the north-east corner of Switzerland. I would NOT recommend it as a base for exploring the whole of Switzerland. But as a base for exploring the NORTH-EAST QUARTER of Switzerland, it cannot be surpassed.
There is a whole spiders web of rail lines AND BUS ROUTES radiating from St Gallen, Once outside the city you will quickly encounter lots of ‘green landscape’. And there are lots of ‘hidden gems’; such as Trogen, Appenzell (Canton and Village) Heiden, The Toggenburg area. Leichstenstein is an easy day trip, and note that the Swiss Travel Pass is valid on the Principality’s excellent bus system.
Summer Snow?
The only possibility within a reasonable distance of St Gallen is TITLIS. The bottom station of the cable car up Titlis is ENGELBERG, not to be confused with EngelBURG, a village near St Gallen City.
The quickest route from St Gallen to EngelBERG is via Zurich and Luzern/Lucerne. That takes two hours and fifty-five minutes.
However, in at least one direction, take the VORALPEN EXPRESS between St Gallen and Luzern. This takes a slow but highly scenic route via Rapperswil and Arth-Goldau. This route takes about three hours and fifty minutes to/from Engelberg. That includes a FIFTY minute wait in Luzern. But Luzern station is right by the lake and within 500 metres of the famous Chapel Bridge.,
Spectacularly Scenic Train Ride to St Moritz.
Forget trying to follow the route of the Glacier Express to Zermatt. From ST GALLEN to Zermatt via Chur and Andermatt is just far too long a trip, even if you make the journey back from Zermatt via Visp, Bern, Zurich and Winterthur.
GO TO ST MORITZ. Take the 08 25 IR13 train to Sargans. Change there (a level walk between two adjacent platforms) to the IC3 train bound for Chur. Change at Chur (straight across the platform) to the IR38 train to St Moritz, arrives there 11 53. Sit on the right hand side of the train. The world-famous curved Landwasser viaduct is about ten minutes after Tiefencastel.
Return FROM ST MORITZ. Leave at St Moritz at 14 53 on the RE3 train which goes to Lanquart via Klosters. This train reaches Landquart at 16 39. You have 12 minutes to walk about 200 metres through the subway to the platform for the IR13 train leaving Landquart at 16 51 and getting to St Gallen at 18 04.
Supermarkets? Migros or CO-OP. (Migrolinos are small Migroses.)
I think I have covered most of your questions, except regarding Day Savers.
Please come back to us if you want more advice. It would help if you gave us intended dates of travel.
Very best wishes with your detailed planning.
Roger
Hi Pearl81,
In addition to Roger’s helpful reply, take a look also at the below links.
- Voralpen Express: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/voralpen-express/
- Visiting Mount Titlis: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/titlis/
Another option for seeing snow in the Summer is the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise in Zermatt. It is a rather a long journey if staying in St.Gallen. Jungfraujoch is another one, but again also a long commute. The guides are below. Perhaps use the Swiss timetable so you can research the journeys, that way you can decide if it is doable.
- Matterhorn Glacier Paradise: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/matterhorn/
- Jungfraujoch: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/jungfraujoch/
Yes, taking the regular trains to follow the Glacier Express route is doable. All explained in the link below. Scroll to “Glacier Express trains versus normal trains”:
Other economical supermarkets you can look out for are Aldi, Denner or Lidl. Scroll to “Swiss supermarkets” in the link below for further details:
For sure, if you are here for a few days and will be using public transport a lot. Investing in a rail pass would make sense. An overview of the passes available can be found in the link below. Explanations of what is included is also detailed:
I hope the above helps.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Roger,
Good morning, and I sincerely apologize for such delayed response due to long sickness and a range of practical issues. We are elderly people and really appreciate such a solid and detailed information. I would try to be precise yet comprehensive so that we could possibly make the trip better. First off, the reason for St. Gallen as a base is not by choice but because we could not try to figure out a more budget accommodation elsewhere plus the connections from long-distance time time consuming trips from the other corner of the world in Asia. As we searched online, we figured out that St. Gallen is more like an industrial city and we could have been better off staying in a rural village which offers more greenery, but otherwise we believe that whole Switzerland is fantastic place, and as you said there is a whole spider web of rails.We thought about the Swiss passes but for the mere fact that we may not travel every day, and need to take gap in between of the trips, and this is where Swiss Pass may become tricky. Although, it is possible to buy Swiss Pass on alternative days but it seems that Day Passes are more reasonable. For example, if we chose specific days of travel with two days or even three days of gap between the days, then we can simply purchase Day Passes. For example, if we buy 3 or 4 day passes for two people on specific days, it is perhaps more reasonable in our situation. The catch of course is that we need to do it much in advance as the day passes are limited and get expensive as the time passes.
I thank for saving us the very long trip of Glacier Express from St. Gallen. I noticed that with Day Pass, it would be 10 PM night when we reach back to St. Gallen and I understand that may not be worth it.
What you suggested was a trip from St. Gallen to St. Mortiz and this is where a Day Pass can be used. However, we were supposed to get to Tirano anyway for 2 nights after the Swiss trip using bus but later we figured out that we can actually use a Day Pass for getting from St. Gallen to Tirano as Tirano in Italy still is in GA travel area so we assume Day Pass will work there. If we do so then the trip you suggested, is naturally covered in this route from ST. Gallen to St. Mortiz but in fact continues further to Tirano. We now wonder would Bernina Express be a good choice here as a direct train or regional trains would be more worth it, offering some space too, as they are less touristy?
If we do this route mentioned above, would it be still worthwhile to do it again by taking a trip from Tirano to St. Gallen?
Next, as based on your earlier advice we skip the idea of Glacier Express altogether since the above mentioned trip to Tirano offers perhaps better views, what would be other suggestions from St. Gallen?
One could be Voralpen Express, for which we should set aside another Day Pass another day.
What about the Golden Pass Express on a Day Pass? Would it offer mesmerizing views or they are similar to Voralpen Express or do you think not better than St. Gallen to Tirano route?
We are looking at perhaps 3 or 4 day passes with our 12 or 13 days stay in St. Gallen. And it would be summer season we are looking at.
We yet have to figure out Titlis, and the additional cost for the cable car, not sure how much it would be or whether Day Pass would cover it all?
In addition, we searched a unique train that goes up the mountain, what are your suggestions about this. Schynige Platte , Switzerland.
Appenzell is a great village but I think day pass is not necessary for that purpose, but a regional day ticket can work from St. Gallen to Appenzell? Is it also possible to stop over at Brunnarden-Neckertal, is it on the way between the two, and I think regional ticket would be valid for it too? If regional ticket is to be purchased is ZVV the correct platform?
Any other ideas to visit from St. Gallen for the sole purpose of viewing lush green landscapes?
Kind regards.
Hi Yolanda,
Many thanks for this information, and accept our deep apology for delayed response. Being elderly we would appreciate the nearest spots with green landscapes, so I posted a detailed reply to Roger, kindly check that too. Thanks for the budget markets info and other links. Regarding, snow in summer, the nearest could be Titlis or if the ones you suggested are farther away, usually they carry additional costs for mountain train? If we ignore the distance, would there be some place to experience summer snow which is all included in the day pass and does not require any additional tickets?
Many thanks, and kind regards.
Hello Pearl
Welcome back!
I have not much time at the moment, so I will just make one crucial point. The regional transport authority for north-east Switzerland is NOT ZVV. It is called OSTWIND. Go to http://www.ostwind.ch and select the English language version.
I will try and get back to you soon, but in the meantime look at the ostwind website, and also consider the possibility of buying Swiss Travel Pass FLEX.
Best wishes
Roger
Greetings Roger,
Many thanks for the information about ZVV and Ostwind, thanks for saving me from the confusion because earlier I also downloaded ZVV. I will now look to this Ostwind, and check the flex Swiss Pass. I have to make cost comparison of flex Swiss Pass versus 4 day passes and see which one is cheaper. The cheapest price of the Swiss pass currently is 52 CHF but one needs to book way in advance.
I shall look forward to your reply regarding the earlier post. Have a great day.
Kind regards,
Hi again Pearl
Swiss Travel Pass FLEX v Saver Day Passes.
Note the drawbacks of the SDP.
They have to be bought t least one day before travel.
The price of 52CHF is the lowest price for an SDP. The price of an SDP tends to go up the nearer you get to the date of travel. On popular days, they may well sell out.
If you pay for an SDP but decide not to travel, you will NOT BE ABLE TO GET ANY REFUND.
Unlike the STP and STP Flex, you do not get any discounts on high mountain lines. For example, if you went to Titlis using an SDP you can use any route you like to travel FREE to/from Engelberg. But from Engelberg to Titlis you will have to pay the full fare.
If you had an STP or an STP Flex, you can use any route you like to travel FREE to/from Engelberg, and from Engelberg to Titlis you will get a 50% discount on the full fare.
DO The Whole Route of the Glacier Express? (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-express/)
As you are based in St Gallen, this would be an extremely long day. I would advise against such a trip. St Gallen to ANDERMATT and back in one day would be doable. Are you interested in an itinerary? Chur to Andermatt is very scenic.
St Gallen to (almost) Tirano and back in one day?
Many would say that Chur to Tirano (or somewhere just short of Tirano) is the most scenic ride in Switzerland. If you leave St Gallen at 07 25 and cut the journey short at Campocologno just before Tirano, it is certainly doable. You would get back at St Gallen at 19 04. If you went through to Tirano (all Swiss passes and tickets are valid to Tirano) you would bet back at 20 04.
Do you want a detailed itinerary?
‘unique train that goes up the mountain’.
I am not sure what you mean by this phrase. You mention Schynige Platt. (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/schynige-platte/) Now that is a very old fashioned electric cog-wheel railway near Interlaken. Doing this line from St Gallen is not really practicable. The same is true of the Brienzer Rothorn (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/brienzer-rothorn/) steam-worked cog-wheel railway, also near Interlaken.
One very scenic cog-wheel line, Arth-Goldau to Mount Rigi, is very definitely doable from St Gallen. Get the Voralpen Express (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/voralpen-express/) to Arth-Goldau (takes about an hour and forty minutes) and the station for the mountain line is on a bridge across the main line tracks.
This line is nowadays regarded as part of the normal Swiss public transport system, and is therefore free with both STP and SDP!
St Gallen as a Base
You will see that the OSTWIND regional transport authority covers a very wide area. It covers Six Swiss cantons and Liechtenstein. In a previous reply I wrote:
‘There is a whole spiders web of rail lines AND BUS ROUTES radiating from St Gallen, Once outside the city you will quickly encounter lots of ‘green landscape’. And there are lots of ‘hidden gems’; such as Trogen, Appenzell (Canton and Village) Heiden, The Toggenburg area. Liechstenstein is an easy day trip,…
All these places are in the Ostwind area, as is Brunnarden-Neckertal. Brunnarden-Neckertal is not between St Gallen and Appenzell, but does get trains every 30 minutes from St Gallen. (Please get out a good map of North-East Switzerland.)
Other Highly Scenic Routes
The Golden Pass Express (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/goldenpass/) route from Montreux to Interlaken is not doable from St Gallen. The Voralpen express is very scenic.
Except for the first few miles/kilometres out of Zurich, the Zurich-Sargans-Chur main line is very scenic, especially the section along the Walensee. Sit on the left hand side of the train when going towards Chur.
The IC1 trains which take five hours to go from St Gallen to Geneva via Zurich, Bern and Lausanne get more scenic the further west they get. Just before Lausanne you get a fantastic view over Lake Geneva. Sit on the LEFT upstairs.
Best wishes for your detailed planning
Roger
Hi Pearl81,
Lots of useful information provided by Roger.
Yes, best to carry out some maths to see what would work out best for your trip. Members of our forum like to use “how to choose a rail pass” guide. There is a downloadable spreadsheet you can use. Based on daily activities, the best rail pass is thereon displayed.
Here’s the link:The Swiss Travel Pass Flex could be a good option, all details on how the Swiss Travel Pass Flex works is explained in our guide below:
Just to clarify. There is the Saver Day Pass, there is also the Day Pass. They are slightly different and have slightly different inclusions. You can read about both in the below links:
- Saver Day Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/
- Day Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/day-pass/
(Whilst the Saver Day Pass offers no discount to Titlis, the Day Pass offers a 50% discount on the Engelberg-Mt.Titlis cableway)
In answer to your question regarding a Saver Day Pass (and Day Pass), to visit the mountain tops that I mentioned in my first reply to you, that would be snow sure during your visit, additional costs will be incurred with both.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Roger,
Many thanks for such useful information. First off, I thought that Golden Pass Express is doable from St. Gallen because when I searched from SBB via Interlaken, it seems that there are few options but one has to start early from 7:00 and the based on the route displayed, it seems that train goes via bern actually to reach Interlaken. Based on current time table it seems that it is possible to arrive in Montreaux by 14.27 on that golden pass train. I then searched a way back, and here it becomes little confusing. The platform showed by Sbb during arrival to Montreux 14.27 is the platform number 6. However, the return train from Montraux to Interlaken back, is then minutes later at 14.33, also the golden pass express, is from platform number 5. What I am not sure is whether it is the same train that arrived from Interlaken to Montreaux at platform number 6 that now is going back from platform number 5 to Interlaken ? I am wondering if one does not get off at Montreaux and keep sitting so as to enjoy the return trip also or do they make to vacate the train for cleaning? But I doubt if there is cleaning, then is the same train leaving back from platform number 5? If it is, then it is possible to reach St. Gallen by 9 PM.
Even if we assume that there is another train bound for return journey from platform number 6, there is really no guarantee that the arrival train will really be at 14.27, it can be late also, plus a change in platform is required. Not sure what is going on here, but it seems that even if we miss that golden pass train, it is possible to get back to St. Gallen by 9 or 10 PM, albeit with hectic changes needed.
Please share your thoughts on this, because Golden Pass seems very incredible based on some reviews. What I am not sure is, whether Volarpen Express that you earlier recommended offers similar views or both landscapes are dramatically different, and golden pass has its own charm, not to be missed?
St. Gallen to Tirano.
I wish I would know this earlier, and then would use a SDP for this trip from St. Gallen to Tirano to back St. Gallen in a day. However, earlier I did not know that SDP is valid also in Tirano and back to Switzerland. Then I had booked a hotel accommodation in Tirano that is not coming cheap, in addition Tirano has implemented tourist tax starting from March 2025 so there is extra charges involved. The idea of accommodation in Tirano was that being elderly we could take some rest in Tirano, but since you demonstrated this is doable in a day from St. Gallen and back to St. Gallen, I am back to thinking whether it would be worth to cancel the accommodation and do this day trip because it then gives an option of both onward and return journey, thus covering this so called beautiful route two times in a day! The other idea is to keep the accommodation in Tirano as it is, do this journey to Tirano and back to St. Gallen still on a SDP earlier, and then on last day in Switzerland get to Tirano, thereby doing this route once more, if you think it would be worth it?
SDP vs Flex Swiss Pass
Thanks, I noted that the main thing here is that SDP is non-refundable, if it is gone it is gone, that remains a risk and one must buy much earlier to get a reasonable price, the lowest. When doing maths, it seems that flex pass is really favorable when 15 days of travel is desired. Another benefit is 50 percent off on mountain rides. But if we do just 4 or 5 SDP, I think SDP is coming off cheaper, the caveat is just that it is non-refundable if we cancel or do not travel on that day. Even so, being with our own limitations, we think that we may not travel every day as after every big day of travel, we need some rest. We are quite limited time in Switzerland, less than two weeks, so I guess if we travel on 4 or 5 days in those 2 weeks, that may be enough otherwise we may not have so much energy, no matter how we wish we could have done more. The real problem here is that we chose the wrong base, but at that time it was only the cheapest and budget option available to us. We discovered this forum much later on.
Regarding the particular route of Glacier Express.
Yes, would definitely want to do a segment of this route from St. Gallen. Please share the itinerary, kindly as well the other itinerary you mentioned.
Voralpen then is on the list, many thanks for this. At least this is one possibility from St. Gallen as a base station.
Correct ticket for Brunnarden-Neckertal and Appenzell.
The idea is to do both Brunnarden and Appenzell in one day, but I guess since these are so near, a SDP would be an over expense. I am thinking if there would be a day ticket or particular ticket that we can start from St. Gallen, get to brunnarden and from there to Appenzell. Also when we search Appenzell in YouTube, there is a scenic train passing through the village, then a town is shown. We are more interested in that scenic village rather than the town or city part. Should we get off at a particular station in Appenzell?
Rotterhom cogwheel train would have been fantastic, sadly it is becoming far as you said and we can just then skip it.
I think one or two mountain trains should be added to the trip. Even so, SDP coming cheaper for 5 days of travel, when paying full price for mountain trains. We just have to chose on e or two, perhaps Titlis or then the free ones like Stansenhorn as in Yolinda’s earlier reply.
I think I will carefully read what you wrote earlier and have to take some notes on paper, and then plan accordingly. At this time it is really not possible and practical to change the base so I think St. Gallen remains a base for now.
Bundle of thanks and regards.
Hi Yolanda,
I am very impressed by loads of work and useful links that the team on MySwissAlps has created. I wonder since they put so much time and efforts into this, do they get some monetary rewards or it is more as a hobby and passion? thanks again.
Do you also have some kind of members community gettogethers ?
Hello Again Pearl.
Golden Pass Express (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/goldenpass/)
This is a VERY LONG trip from St Gallen. The line is (in parts) very scenic, but I would not rate it as a ’must do’. You yourself stress that you are elderly and will need what I would call ‘rest days’. A would omit the Golden Pass from your plans. If you insist, I will work out an itinerary for the Golden Pass Express, trying to avoid the problems at Montreux.St Gallen to Tirano.
At the end of your paragraph under this heading, you write
‘The other idea is to keep the accommodation in Tirano as it is, do this journey to Tirano and back to St. Gallen still on a SDP earlier, and then on last day in Switzerland get to Tirano, thereby doing this route once more, if you think it would be worth it?’
Where would you be going if you travelled to Tirano on your last day in Switzerland, stopping the night there? Would you be going on to MILAN or some other destination in Northern Italy?
Brunnarden and Appenzell in one day
Use Ostwind tickets for this trip.
Go St Gallen to Brunnarden
Brunnarden to Appenzell Village changing at Herisau.
Appenzell Village to St Gallen
Mountain Excursion
Go from St Gallen to Lucerne (via Arth-Goldau) on the Voralpen Express. Go up the Rigi (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rigi/) from Arth-Goldau or the Stanserhorn (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/stanserhorn/) from Stans. (Frequent trains from Lucerne to Stans.) All this can be done using a Saver Day Pass.
Andermatt Circular trip. All this can be done using a Saver Day Pass.
This a very scenic round trip
Get the 09 05 Voralpen Express, getting off at Arth-Goldau at 10 45.
Get the 10 54 Treno Gottardo (bound for Locarno) to Gőschenen, arrive there at 11 50
At Gőschenen walk to the other side of the station building (about 50 metres) and get the 11 54 train to Andermatt, arrive 12 06
Have lunch at Andermatt
Get the 13 26 train to Disentis; this train goes over the Oberalp pass.
At Disentis, go straight across the platform for the 14 44 train to Chur. This train goes through a gorge often called the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. Arrives Chur at 16 02.
Take another break. Get the 16 42 IR13 train from Chur to St Gallen, arrive 18 04.
Kind regards
Roger
Dear Roger,
Many thanks for your prompt reply. I take note of your message, and write these details on paper that will be easier for us. No, Golden pass is not really necessary, but on SDPs we would wish that we at least board on some really nice trains, which otherwise are considered very luxury. Although this is certainly not necessary and perhaps Golden Pass is overly hyped. You are very right in that since our base is very far away from major attractions, we should plan the trip wisely.
For now, we tend to think that either 4 or 5 SDPs are enough for our almost 2 week trip. We shall scatter SDPs such that we get rest days in between them.
Regarding staying in Tirano.
Our initial plan has been to exit Switzerland by bus, and thereby exploring some views. However, having heard of Switzerland to Tirano ride, we then decided why not then take the train to Tirano. At that time we did not know that SDP would be valid inside Tirano (ITALY), and we assumed that the SDP would stop working once we went out of Switzerland. For this purpose we booked accommodation in Tirano, with a purpose of taking rest for two nights and thereby also getting a natural chance to visit Venice for a day. There was no reasonable bus connection to the other end of Europe from Italy, so we ended up booking another accommodation in St. Gallen for few days. The idea was to use a SDP or a bus to St. Gallen, take rest there, and take any bus or train connections to the mainlaind Europe in Germany or further away, from where we plan our flights back to Asia.
However, now as we learned that we can do St. Gallen to Tirano and back to St. Gallen on SDP, we are thinking whether it would be worth to stay in Tirano. To our surprise we noticed that Tirano is an expensive town compared to Switzerland in that the accommodation is really expensive and now from March 2025 the accommodations are collecting taxes for overnight stays as well, which of course we also pay if we stay in Tirano. Otherwise we have no idea about Tirano village.
The trip you mentioned to Andermatt is really fantastic. I am setting a day aside for this, i.e. SDP for this purpose. This is an addition to a second SDP for that mountain excursion combined with Voralpen Express.
I am not sure if there is an option in SBB APP to save a journey, so I can lodge this trip you mentioned, or can just write on paper.
Out of possibly 5 SDPs I think 2 are locked to those 2 day trips you suggested.
I have to figure out rest 3, one obviously could be to Tirano, but would wait for your opinion on whether it could be feasible from St. Gallen to Tirano and then also a return journey on the same day to St. Gallen or whether accommodation is better in Tirano.
If you however think that Golden Pass could be worth it, please let us know otherwise we do not really insist and are open to some other hidden gem or great trains.
We are just wondering whether SDP could also be used on scenic bus in Switzerland or it is mostly trains? My understanding is that it is mostly SBB that has a great network of trains so perhaps buses are not very popular for scenic trips. As well, trains could be more comfortable, perhaps.
Chur to Campocologno/Tirano
Cancel the Tirano hotel booking.
Return to Asia flying from Zurich or Munich. (There are trains every two hours from St Gallen to Munich.)
Now the trip I am proposing is a long day and you do not get a lunch break. So take a packed lunch.
Leave St Gallen on the 07 25 IR13 train bound for SARGANS. You arrive there at 08 24.
Catch the 08 33 IC3 to CHUR, arrive 08 52.
At Chur you go straight across the platform to the waiting 08 58 IR38 train bound for St Moritz via Filisur. Try and get seats on the right hand side of the train in the direction of travel. The famous curved Landwasser viaduct is about ten minutes after the stop at Tiefencastel.
You get off the IR38 at Samedan at 10 43. Straight across the platform for the 10 47 R9 to Pontresina, arrive 10 55. Get the 11 04 RE9 train bound for Tirano. But you get off at Campocologno, the last village in Switzerland, at 12 51. By doing this you do not miss any great scenery.
Catch the 13 06 RE9 train heading back north bound for St Moritz. Stay on this train the whole way. You get to St Moritz at 15 11. You now do get a 42 minutes break. Go for a short walk by the lake.
Catch the 15 53 RE3 train bound for Landquart via Klosters. This arrives at Landquart at 17 39. Get the 17 51 IR13 to St Gallen, arrive 19 04.
I think you will need a day’s rest after this trip!
Trip with a Very Scenic Bus Ride
Leave St Gallen on the 08 25 IR13 train bound for SARGANS. You arrive there at 09 24.
Catch the 09 33 IC3 to CHUR, arrive 09 52.
As you may well have noticed from a previous trip, the BUS station at Chur is ON TOP OF THE TRAIN STATION. Go up the escalators to the bus station. Catch the 10 08 number 171 bus bound for BELLINZONA via San Bernardino, a really thrilling ride, particularly after you have passed through San Bernardino. The bus reaches Belllinzona at 12 20.
The bus station at Bellinzona is outside the train station. Catch the 12 49 S20 to Locarno, arrive 13 15. Have lunch in Locarno.
Catch the 14 33 Treno Gottardo IR46 bound for Zurich. Stay on this train as far as Arth-Goldau, arrive 17 07.
Catch the Voralpen Express leaving at 17 16, reaching St Gallen at 18 55
Do you want me to suggest a fifth day for a day saver pass? It would help if I knew the approximate dates of your stay in St Gallen.
Would you like to visit Bern? Geneva?
Very best wishes
Roger
Hi Pearl81,
The Saver Day Pass covers unlimited bus, train and boat journeys for your date of purchase(s). Take a read of our Saver Day Pass guide. I am not sure if you have purchased your Saver Day Pass(es) yet but essentially the earlier you buy them (if available), the cheaper they are. You may want to download the validity map so you can view all the included routes:
Thank you for your kind words regarding the website. You can read more about how MySwissAlps started in the link below:
(No community get togethers per se, as we are all located from all parts of the world ;-))
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Roger,
Many thanks, and this helps us to make our mind to cancel the Tirano booking as it can be hectic since there are no feasible bus routes back from Italy to other part of Europe. Our travel agent seems to have booked us return flights from far across the mainland Europe, and we need to cross a considerable distance. Anyways, back to the point. Yes, definitely, would love to have a 5th day suggestion for SDP for the fifth day. We think that we spread 5 days wisely between the roughly two weeks time we have there approximately (from 22 June to 3 July). Please feel free to let us know if you plan a trip during that time.
We never been to Geneva or Bern, but if you think that some great scenery is there, please suggest us the 5th day. We all heard a lot about Interlaken, but that is where the Golden Pass route is. Since that was a rather long route, and you suggested otherwise, we are much more open to other hidden gems of the Switzerland than what is mainly famous.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for these trip suggestions. We have been there earlier several years ago, but since we had not much knowledge on where to go we ended up only visiting Zurich and back from there. Like us there were other groups of people who did not know where to go and what to do, at that time there were also not many YouTube videos. But this forum is doing a great service, so many thanks.
Regarding the bus trip, do we need to make any advance reservation on the bus or is it the local bus running frequently?
Regarding the early morning trip from St. Gallen to Sargans and beyond, it is marvelous, we just have to be careful as not to miss a connection but since you earlier told that you never missed a connection despite the small walking impediment, we positively look forward to catching the connections.
During these all trips I noticed that there is no need for any reservation on a tourist train, and it indicates your love of regional trains and we believe too that regional trains offer good comfort and could be less touristy with a possibility of more of a Swiss culture. Though, we thought that Bernina could be a different game, since this one goes straight from Chur to Tirano all the way but then if we take this one, we cannot get off at Campocologno, yet it might save or not save the time. However, it comes at two costs. (1. it is not so frequent like regional trains obviously 2. there is added cost of reservation though small amount compared to Glacier Express). Overall, we can say that we are quite okay with not having to take any tourist train, when we can actually save on, and have more flexibility with the regional trains. The only thing is to catch the connections, but we do hope that they will be okay. I think it will help if I write these 5 trips on papers, and make the connections with the separate colored pens with time and platform numbers.
Many thanks again Roger, and looking forward to the 5th trip.
Kind regards
Hi Yolanda,
Many thanks and would read that story about this forum. Several years ago we visited this country but like so many others from Asia and beyond we ended up staying all inside Zurich, at that time we had really not enough knowledge about Switzerland and there were not so much YouTube videos. I remember a group of Indian tourists approached me on the station and asked “do you know any good hotel in here to stay”?, I wish I could have guided them to a cheaper hotel but I did tell them that if you do on spot booking you will have to pay for the standard price which can be high. At that time I thought I am the only one who have no knowledge, but quickly realized that a lot others actually do not know what places to visit. This forum is really a great place to seek knowledge about Switzerland. Had we known about it earlier, we might have actually chosen some other base than St. Gallen. We did not yet got SDPs but you are right we should get them sooner. Do you advise to get separate passes for 2 people or one pass with 2 people added on it? SBB website or APP lets you buy single SDP for 1 person but also lets you buy single SDP for 2 persons (with obviously price for 2 persons).
Kind regards.
Hi again Pearl.
In your reply 15 you say ‘we believe too that regional trains offer good comfort and could be less touristy with a possibility of more of a Swiss culture.’ You are absolutely right! When you are on regional trains you will meet ordinary Swiss people going to work, school, shopping, hospital appointments, sporting fixtures, theatre performances etc!
Regarding the bus trip, do we need to make any advance reservation on the bus or is it the local bus running frequently?
The route 171 bus which features in one of my itineraries in reply 13 is Switzerland’s longest ‘local’ bus route. It runs (approximately) every hour. People will use it for going to going to work, school, shopping, hospital appointments, sporting fixtures, theatre performances etc! No reserved seats! Just get on and show your SDPs to the driver.Writing down my itineraries. Two itineraries appear in reply 11; two more in reply 13. There will be another one in this reply.
Create a new ‘folder’ on your computer, called (I suggest) Swiss Itineraries.
Make a separate Microsoft WORD copy of each of my five itineraries. It can be done. Just highlight the relevant material and press ctrl+C. Create a new document with an appropriate title. Press ctrl+V, and the copied material should appear in the new document. Save the document.
You can print out an itinerary as and when you need it. Certainly make a print out before you leave home for Switzerland.
Itinerary for Fifth SDP day.
Lausanne (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lausanne/) and Bern (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/bern/)
Now one word of warning. You will have to do this itinerary early on in your stay. This is because, beginning on June 28, the line from Lausanne to Bern will be closed for engineering work.
Catch 07 58 IC5 train from St Gallen to Lausanne. Sit on the left hand side of the train. Go right the way through to Lausanne, arrive there 11 26.
Lausanne is a beautiful city built on hills above Lake Geneva. Have lunch there. Your SDPs will give you free travel on the city’s bus and Mėtro system. The station is little bit below the city centre.
Catch the 13 17 IC1 train bound for St Gallen. This train will depart from platform one. This train will be a sixteen carriage double deck train coming from Geneva. There should be plenty of seats at the rear end of the train. Sit on the right hand side of the train, upstairs. On leaving Lausanne you will have about seven minutes of sensational views over Lake Geneva. After that you have distant views of the Alps almost the whole way to Bern. You get off at Switzerland’s ‘Federal City’ at 14 26.
Both the medieval city centre and the (impressive) government buildings are very close to the station.
Catch the 16 31 IC1 back to St Gallen. You arrive there at 18 52. Again go right to the back of the train and sit upstairs on the right hand side.
Kind Regards
Roger
Hi Pearl81,
I agree, the wealth of knowledge has increased a lot over the years.
You will have a great trip 🙂
As for the purchase of Saver Day Passes, there are online options in the link below. They will come via PDF to your chosen email address. Thereon, you can save them to your phone(s) and show as and when required. Perhaps print out a copy too, incase your phone does not behave or battery is low on the day.
Having a designated person with all the Saver Day Passes saved on their phone can be helpful. Work with what is easiest for you, whether the one person or each has their own/both.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Greetings Roger and Yolanda,
Roger thank you very much for the 5th Day pass itinerary, we believe these itineraries you suggested are great and so much look forward to these. Okay, I shall be putting these on MS WORD and then print out them as you suggested. I present below the current days selected for 5 SDP. Mostly, kept a gap of just one day, and the remaining two, two days. Two SDPs happens to fall on Sunday. Assuming weekend is busy, but what we fear most is, are trains operating at low frequency on Sundays in Switzerland? I mean to say that are there less trains with more wait times during Sundays? Below are the selected days, should they be fine normally for elderly? I think one day rest should be okay after a long journey, but assuming train journeys are not tiring in Switzerland, when there is not much moving or other activities but enjoying scenery from the trains, I think it is doable.
SDP 1 22.6 Sunday SDP 2 24.6 Tuesday. SDP 3 26.6 Thursday. SDP 4 29.6 Sunday. SDP 5 3.7 Thursday
Would you suggest some adjustments to the above SDPs or they are looking okay?
Warm wishes and thank you again.
Hello again Pearl.
Thanks for your kind words
Your plan for Saver Day Passes (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) looks fine to me.
Sunday Public Transport in Switzerland
In the cities the buses and trams will run slightly less frequently than during the week. But on railway lines and bus routes which go between towns and cities, or which go out into the country, the service (usually hourly – sometimes better) is usually the same 365-days a year!
You need to learn how to work the Swiss electronic timetable. http://www.sbb.ch/en (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/public-transport/timetable/)
Very best wishes
Roger
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