1st or 2nd class railpass, GoldenPass Prestige, Wengen plans
A traveler is planning a 13-day trip to Switzerland with their family, including stays in Zurich, Montreux, Wengen, and Lucerne. They're looking for advice on travel passes, train options, and how to best organize their days in the Jungfraujoch region for maximum enjoyment and ease.
- Consider getting the Swiss Travel Pass for convenience and flexibility while traveling; if you plan to take the Golden Pass train, reserving seats is essential due to high demand.
- The Berner Oberland Pass may be a good option for the kids if you're traveling with children, as it allows free travel with the Swiss Family Card.
- Plan your days in Wengen carefully, with a suggested itinerary starting with arrival, visiting Jungfraujoch, and enjoying activities in Grindelwald.
- For comfortable travel, consider 1st class, especially during peak times, but 2nd class can still be a good choice if reservations are made.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
I have many questions as I am ready to buy my passes and have questions on how to plan my Jungfraujoch region visit. We are in Switzerland for 13 days. Zurich two nights (boat trip, other attractions); Montreux three nights (staying in Vevey and touring Montreux, Grueyeres and Lauvaux vineyards); 4 nights in Wengen ( need advice); 2 nights in Lucerne but 3 full days and back to Zurich for a night just to fly out next day morning. Family of 5 (2adults and kids ages 7 and teenagers)
Questions:
- We want to buy the swiss travel pass but debating if we should get the 1st class so we have seats to sit, plus we wish to take the Golden Pass Panoramic train from Montreux to Interlaken the day we go to Wengen but we want to book the Prestige class on the Golden pass. So should be take the 1st class STP?
- Which Gold pass train is better – Golden Pass Panoramic or Golden pass express?
- For the Wengen trip (details in next point) do I need to buy a Jungfrau travel pass or should we just buy as we go? We plan to take cable cars.
- Wengen Question – We are in Wengen for 4 full days and confused how to plan the days so we can see maximum. We want to see Interlaken and Hader Kulm (someone said Hader Kulm is not worth it) and Iseltwad. Then we want to see Grindelwald village but not sure where to stroll around, then we want to do only one activity in Grindelwald first, then thinking of going to Plisngstegg (is it worth it?); we also have other areas to explore like Jungfrau, Kliene scheidegg, Manlichen (some sort of hike) and visit falls at Lauterbrunnen. How can I break down and plan the 4 days including most of the above?
- Need help planning Wengen area – how to plan Day 1 to Day 4. Day one will be arrival in Wengen at 3:30pm.
- Can the hike be done from Kliene scheidegg to Manlichen or does it have to be the other way around? Can we combine this with something else the same day? Can the hike be shorter than 2 hours?
- Can we visit to Jungfrau be combined with something else or will that be a hectic trip.
- While in Junfgrau my kids only want to do some easy activity what should that be?
- In Grindelwald first kids only want to do Mountain cart and that’s all. Should I prebook or what time should be arrive to beat the crowds?
- Can Lauterbrunen and hikes be combined in one day or Lauterbrunen hike and Interlaken in one day?
- In Lucerne we need to decide which mountains are best to explore and fun for kids. Need to pick two as we cannot do all three – Mt. Pilatus, Titlus and Rigi (which two)?
Sorry for this long message but if anyone can break this down for me and suggest which Travel pass combination will be best, I would be very grateful to that person.
Thank you!!
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Re your question 2. The Golden Pass Express (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/goldenpass/) is a through train from Montreux to Interlaken. All the others involve changes at Zweisimmen and Spiez. Be warned that the GPEs (only four per day in each direction) are likely to be very busy. As you are a family, reservation is essential.
“Should I prebook or what time should be arrive to beat the crowds?”
What month are you planning to visit? If late June to end of August, then crowds will be at all the popular spots.
As for 1st vs 2nd class passes, I always get 1st class. On boats this lets you go to the upper deck where crowds are thinner. Trains (not the mountain trains) can be very crowded in 2nd class depending on time of day and location (big cities during rush hours).
I would very strongly support everything Pvonk says, except that I would stress that the busy season now goes on well into September.
Hi SSS,
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
With a 1st class Swiss Travel Pass, you can enjoy free unlimited travel in 1st class carriage. Typically, the 1st class carriage has more leg room and space to put your luggage than a 2nd class. However, for most, travelling in 2nd class is sufficient and obviously cheaper. You can find more information here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/train/classes/
Information about the Swiss Travel Pass is available here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/
With a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass, you can still travel on the GoldenPass Express Prestige Class by purchasing a class upgrade and paying a supplement. The GoldenPass Express is a direct train service between Interlaken and Montreux. The GoldenPass Panorama runs between Montreux and Zweisimmen only. If your final destination is Wengen, I think taking the GoldenPass Express would be more convenient. You can book your seats on the GoldenPass Express online: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/goldenpass/
In Wengen, I would plan your activities as follow:
Day 1 – Arrival at 3.30pm. After check-in, explore Wengen.
Day 2 – Possible excursion to Jungfraujoch (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/jungfraujoch/) in the morning and visit Grindelwald on the way back. Take the cable car to Grindelwald First (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/grindelwald-first/). Stop at the middle station Bort and take the mountain kart or trottinette down to the village /in the late afternoon the lines for the adventure activities are usually not very long).
Day 3 – Possible excursion to Mannlichen (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/mannlichen/), hike to Kleine Scheidegg. Take the train to Lauterbrunnen (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lauterbrunnen/) for a quick sightseeing. The hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is fairly easy and is a favourite with local families.
Day 4 – Take a train to Interlaken Ost, enjoy a cruise on Lake Brienz (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/boat-lake-brienz/) and visit Iseltwald along the way.
Feel free to switch the days around.For kids, I would recommend going to Mt Pilatus (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/pilatus/) as it is closer to Lucerne. There’s an adventure playground and a toboggan run on the way up to Pilatus. You can opt for the Pilatus Golden Roundtrip which includes a boat cruise, cogwheel train, gondola and cable car ride. I think the kids would love riding all the different modes of transportation.
Hope this addresses your questions. Please post again if you need more info.
Regards,
Anna
Hi again,
With regards to whether you should get a Jungfrau Travel Pass, based on your plans, this might be a good idea. If you children are aged 6 -15 years old, getting the Berner Oberland Pass might be more practical as the Swiss Family Card is valid to use with the Berner Oberland Pass. The Swiss Family Card is given complimentary with the Swiss Travel Pass and allows children under 16 to travel along for free. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you can also purchase the Berner Oberland Pass at a discounted price. All details in the links below:
Berner Oberland Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/
Jungfrau Travel Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/jungfrau-travel-pass/
regards,
Anna
Thank for all the information so helpful. I bought the 2nd class Swiss travel pass. The Golden Pass Express between Montreux to Interlaken ost had no availability of 5 seats at 9:45 am (the time we really want ) in 1st class or Prestige class, so I did not see value in getting a 1st class Swiss travel Pass. We intend to do only one or two boat rides and wording if we can just pay a bit of difference to sit on the upper deck or does it really matter. Between 1st and 2nd class Swiss travel pass there is a good difference of CHF 300. So if I have to pay bit extra to upgrade then I can right?
Also someone mention this “You can opt for the Pilatus Golden Roundtrip which includes a boat cruise, cogwheel train, gondola and cable car ride. I think the kids would love riding all the different modes of transportation.”
How do I book Pilatus golden round trip? What are steps to take to it this way? Sorry I am a bit confused.
Thank you for the day by day breakdown for Wengen. It’s really great.
I have been going to Switzerland for over fifty years, and I have always bought a First Class Swiss Travel Pass. Why First Class? Because Swiss trains (and sometimes boats) get extremely crowded,.
Why so crowded? The Swiss themselves make huge use of their superlative public transport, in all its very many forms. It is part of their national identity. Swiss sometimes say ‘The person sitting next to you might be the President of the Confederation.’ In September 2019 I travelled from Lausanne to Bern sitting next to an important looking woman buried in her laptop. I saw her again on the evening TV news. Karin Keller-Sutter, this year’s Vice-President….
I am not in a bit surprised that the ‘Golden Pass Express’ which runs only four times a day, is fully booked. This train runs through, changing track gauge at Zweisimmen (towards Interlaken from metre to standard.) On Thursday 25th April (very definitely ‘shoulder season’) I was very lucky to get a seat when travelling without a reservation from Spiez to Montreux; most of my fellow passengers were speaking Schwizzerdeutsch. The Swiss themselves want to experience the new technology! On Montreux station there was a huge crowd waiting for the return journey. (Weight limits on the steep gradients limit these trains to four carriages.)
Despite my wide experience of Swiss transport, I have never heard of the ‘Pilatus Golden Round Trip’. What I have done is at Lucerne station walk through the subway under the road coming off the bridge and get a number one trolleybus (free of course with the STP (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/ )) to ZENTRUM PILATUS. I then walked the few hundred metres to the cable car station. That cost ‘Schusters Rappen’. There I bought a ticket up to Pilatus and down to Alpnachstad. I got the usual 50% discount. From Alpnachstad I caught a paddle steamer back to Lucerne. The ship was busy downstairs (second class) but there was ‘plenty of room upstairs’. The ship was of course free with the STP. Had I caught a Zentralbahn train that {of course) would have been free.
I agree with you but the sector I really wanted 1st class was from Montreux to Interlaken at 9:45am Golden Pass Express train on July 10th but 1st class was already sold out so I had to pick seats together in 2nd class and paid for the seat reservation. So even if I have a 1st class Swiss Travel pass it would not have mattered. From Interlaken to Lucerne I already paid for seat reservation on 1st class (I only need to pay the fare difference between 2nd class and 1st class).
I could possibly cancel my 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass, get a refund since the journey has not started, and rebook 1st class Swiss travel Pass but I am asking if it is really worth switching at this point to 1st class and paying extra CHF 528 (2 adults kids are free I know)? It’s not going to get me 1st class seat from Montruex to Interlaken. The other sectors left on my trip are – Train journey from Zurich to Montreux, Interlaken to Wengen (in Wengen we will use the pass to just go to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald village. The trains going to Jungfrau and Grindelwald First have the same discount weather you have a 1st or 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass), Lucerne to Zurich and may be hoping on a boat or two during the trip, visiting the Swiss travel museum in Lucerne (entrance is free for 1st or 2nd class and you still have to pay for any extra activities one wishes to do).
So at this point what will spending an extra CHF 528 to upgrade to 1st class accomplish? From each city we intend to take train around 9:30 or 10am depending on the schedule.
In the light of what you say about starting not before 09 30, stick with second class.
Hi SSS,
I agree, I think your children will thoroughly enjoy all the different modes of transport when visiting Pilatus. Take a look at the attached link for more information for a visit to Pilatus. If you scroll to “Trusted points of sale for Pilatus tickets and tours”, you will find some online options for tickets and tours:
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Anna,
I wanted to check why were your recommending the Berner Oberland Pass vs the Jungfrau travel pass? With both passes I still have to pay going to Top of Europe. It does not cover all the way up I believe. Rest as I see it the Swiss Travel Pass that I have covers going from Wengen to Grindelwald Village and also covers going to Lauterbrunnen. The only thing it does not cover is cable going from Grindelwald Village to Grindelwald First and the cable going to Manlichen. I can get discount on those using Swiss travel pass. So I don’t see the value in getting a BOP.
In Lucerne we plan to do the cogwheel to Pilatus which is also not covered by the BOP or the Swiss Travel Pass. Only discounted.
Hi SSS,
When you purchase a Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/), you can request for a complimentary Swiss Family Card which will allow children under 16 to travel along for free: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/discount/.
The Swiss Family Card is valid with the Berner Oberland Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/) but not the Jungfrau Travel Pass.
For example, if you are planning a mountain excursion to Jungfraujoch and have a Berner Oberland Pass, you will only need to purchase tickets for yourself. The children go free (just show your Swiss Family Card). But if you have a Jungfrau Travel Pass, you would need to purchase separate tickets for the children or purchase a child version of the Jungfrau Travel Pass.
Regards,
Anna
Hi
I have a quick question on STP. I am looking at departure times like 10:32 from Zurich to Vevey on 9th July. It shows red from Lausanne to Vevey. I know this means occupancy is high. Does this mean people have already reserved seats? Also I told no need for seat reservation, just hop on a train. We are family of 5. What if we hop on a train & find seats to sit & then someone else comes and says “sorry this seat is reserved”. Then we have to get up & go hunt for other seats, while we have suitcases to move around?
All this seems very confusing.The other thing on Sbb.ch website, even if I do try to reserve a seat for CHF 5, if I select one person it gives me the option to reserve a seat. If I select more than one, that option disappears. Does that mean only one seat is available on that sector?
Hi SSS,
You can check train occupancy by clicking on the ‘Show train information’ button at the top of the screen after you select a connection. This will show you the occupancy of each train carriage. High occupancy means the carriage may be full for that particular connection. Simply choose a carriage that has low occupancy if you want to be seated together. The journey from Lausanne to Vevey by the way is only 15 mins.
If seats are reserved, there is usually a ‘Reserved’ sign indicated above the seat or near the window.
You can find more tips on how to use the Swiss train timetable here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/public-transport/timetable/
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
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