Day trips by train to the Swiss Alps from Zurich
A traveler is planning a trip to Zurich for 3 to 5 nights starting May 28. They want to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Alps, focusing on green landscapes rather than snow, and are considering day trips to places like the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express. Their goal is to get practical advice on which routes are the most scenic and how to best utilize their time for a memorable trip to see the Alps.
- Opt for the Bernina Express for a more scenic experience compared to the Glacier Express.
- Using a Swiss Travel Pass is recommended for convenient travel and discounts on many excursions.
- Zurich serves as a great base for day trips to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Zermatt, and Rhine Falls.
- Be prepared for jet lag and plan a slower first day to start your adventures.
- Look into flexible itineraries to adapt to weather conditions for the best views of the Alps.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
my husband and I will be traveling to Zurich and will be spending 3 to 5 nights. I have done a fair amount of research and have learned that we can travel to the Alps even with Zurich as our base. The sole purpose for our travel will be for my husband to see the absolutely beautiful scenery of the Alps that he has seen on TV. We are not snow lovers and prefer to see more greenery than snow (we are planning on arriving 5/28/19 for 3 to 5 nights).
I have read the reviews on the Glacier Express, Bernina Express and some on the Golden Pass. I understand it would probably make more sense to catch these trains from Chur. I am considering the GE route from Chur to Brig and back by local train based on a post I have seen here in this forum. The Bernina express has also piqued my interest which I understand we would be catching from Chur as well. My question is, would we be repeating the same route on the GE from Chur as on the Bernina Express? Also, is the GE route from Chur to Brig interesting and scenic? What are some of the great highlghts on this route? Would it make sense to continue on to Zermatt considering our base in Zurich?
If we were to choose between the GE and Bernina Express from Chur, which would be the most scenic choice and where would we be the best place to end the Bernina Express from Chur considering it would be a day trip and we would need to get back to Zurich? We will have limited time with all we want to see so we are looking for advice on the best and most practical scenic trip to see The Alps from Zurich in a day. Other places of interest we would like to visit are Rhine Falls and Mt. Titlis on other days.
Hoping to also take a day trip over to Liechtenstein so we want to make very wise use of our time and fit in as much as possible.
I am planning on getting a Swiss Rail Pass. Any advice would be great! Again, the main purpose of this trip is to get a nice dose of the Alps scenery. Thank you so much for your help and sorry for all the questions. I have just gotten to a point in my planning and research where I just need some additional help.
Thank you so much once again!
-
Hi Environ0103,
My wife and I will be arriving Zurich May 28 as well from the US, and will be using Zurich as our base for the entire stay. While I think most of the experts here would not offer that as good advice, we like the idea of the resources of Zurich (transport hub, restaurants, etc.) and not packing and unpacking to move bases about. Using the Swiss Travel Pass is an excellent idea. Here are some of the itineraries we plan to utilize during our trip. We have done this quite a few times, and enjoy it in every season. One other note, the Bernese Oberland area offers so much beauty, and many options via gondola, tram, rail and ferry.
Options: Day trip to Gimmelwald via Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg. Swiss Pass valid in full to all of these places – including the aerial cableway Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp – then train along the cliff’s edge to Murren and aerial gondola down to Gimmelwald and from there an absolutely hair-raising aerial cable car that descends back down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley at Stechelberg from where postal buses take you the few miles back to Lauterbrunnen. You can take the cable car up to Schilthorn (be prepared for James Bond hype) before descending. Or reverse the route and take the post bus to Stechelberg, and up the mountain. All travel, including the aerial cableways covered 100% by Swiss Pass – and this loop Lauterbrunnen-Murren-Gimmelwald-Stechelberg-Lauterbrunnen is a great trip in the Jungfrau region -this is a favorite for mountain scenery. Stunning scenery. The trip from Zurich HB is 2:23 to Lauterbrunnen. In this area, there are ferries to ride (Brienz and Thun).
Another day we’ll train to Interlaken Ost, walk to the Lake Brienz ferry, enjoy that trip to Brienz, and take the Steam train to Planalp – an incredible view (entire route to top may not open until mid-June, save 50% with STP) http://www.myswissalps.com/br ienzerrothorn
We also plan day trips to Lucerne (From Lucerne, ferry to Weggis, tram to Kaltbad-First, and cogwheel up to Rigi Kulm, cog train back down to Vitznau, then cruise lake Lucerne to Fluelen, train back to Lucerne, dinner in Lucerne, train back to Zurich);
Montreux (use part of the Golden Pass line via Spiez and Zweisimmen) and lake cruise to Chillon Castle. The scenic route takes 4 plus hours, and you arrive in Montreux for lunch. Use a more direct route back to Zurich.
It’s a long day, but we do Zermatt and the Gornergrat because we enjoy the majesty of the Matterhorn, and don’t tire of its splendor. It is just over 3 hours on the train, so you can get a good day in at Zermatt depending on how early you leave Zurich and when you return. There are so many choices, and personal preference plays such an important role – best wishes in your planning.
Mike J
I just wanted to share, from my own experience, of using Zurich as our base when my husband and I have visited Switzerland twice.
We managed to do day trips to Mt Rigi as well as Mt Pilatus. Each was a day trip, and was done at great leisure, with plenty of time to soak up views of the beautiful Alps. We also did manage a day trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley where we did the beautiful and easy Valley hike but due to bad weather, had to miss going up to Schilthorn. Another time we also managed a quick trip to Zermatt just to be able to say “we saw the Matterhorn!” and we did that after spending some time in Domodossola. As mentioned earlier, all those were day trips, from our base in Zurich!
I hope this helps a bit. 🙂
If you want to experience the Bernina Express as a day trip from Zurich have a look at http://www.rhb.ch/en/tickets-travelcards/promotions /gotthard-bernina-rundreise.
Wow!!! Thank you all soooo much for all your amazing insight. This is the kind of information that I need to add the final touches to our trip. Mike J, I never seriously looked into the Bernese Oberland area until you mentioned it. I googled the area and this is the scenery my husband would absolutely LOVE!!!! After seeing those photos, the Glacier Express is starting to slowly fade away in my mind. Thank you also for taking the time to provide such detailed information on how to do the different activities. Both you and Beatrix have mentioned the Matterhorn which didn’t seem doable in a day trip until now. We have seen footage of it in travel clips but would love to lay eyes on it in person. I am sold on this too as a day trip and pretty excited that it is doable in a day.
Rockoyster, thank you so much for the link to the Bernina Express trip. That looks like an awesome deal from Zurich. Is there a catch? The fact that we can include a panoramic train is very appealing.
Once again, thank you all so much for your insight. Truly appreciated! And, please, if you don’t mind, keep the trip ideas coming.We may just do a full 6 nights in Zurich so every advice is appreciated!
No catch on the BEX as far as I know.
To help make the Glacier Express fade faster have a look at bit.ly/2R1Bm0n. Another BEX option is http://www.rhb.ch/en/panorami c-trains/bernina-express-offers/bernina-express-circular-tour#overview. Bear in mind you can easily do any of the scenic railway routes (or parts thereof) using regular trains.
With regard to choosing the best travel pass you should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math.
Also get to know your way around the SBB Timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable) to plan your travel. If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions on that page.
All Swiss trains have large windows and you can see the scenery very easily. It is not really necessary to take the special panoramic trains in my opinion, especially the ones that require additional fares to be paid.
You get a much more ‘genuine’ travel experience taking the ordinary trains.
I don’t think Titlis would add anything particularly special to your itinerary. The Matterhorn is more iconic – and easy to see (weather permitting)
You can do the Bernina Express all the way from Zurich and back to Zurich but you would be ‘confined’ to the same train from Chur all day – this often causes travellers to fall asleep and miss the scenery they have paid so much to view… that’s why ordinary trains can be a better option
Points to bear in mind about the Glacier Express:
Although the whole journey is in the mountains, a lot of it is in valleys – where you get some good views of bubbling rivers but not all the time – there are some mundane sections.
-
The trip is a long one – tourists can frequently be seen sleeping rather than watching the view and missing the spectacular bits anyway!
the same railway lines can be travelled using ordinary local trains which are no slower in practice due to the single track infrastructure
Glacier Express:
it is worth taking a moment to understand the Glacier Express and its history:
It was created (as one train each way daily) with the notion that well-healed travellers taking long holidays in Switzerland in the ‘Belle Epoque’ era (1930s) would stay in Zermatt and then also go and stay in the other fashionable resort of the time, St Moritz. The train was named (mainly) after the Rhone Glacier which has now melted so much that you don’t see it from the train and in any case the train runs under the Rhone Glacier in a base tunnel which replaced the Furka mountain section in 1982.
the same railway lines can be travelled using ordinary local trains which are no slower in practice due to the single track infrastructure
here is a list of how to get to the 4 most worthwhile sections on the ‘Glacier Express route’ by out and back individual trips from central Switzerland, without using the Glacier Express:
The Albula (World Heritage site) railway – especially the Albula north ramp loops and spirals Tiefencastel – Filisur – Preda: any fast train to Chur, then RhB IR train Chur – St Moritz
Ruinaulta (Rhine Grand Canyon): any fast train route to Chur, then RhB regional train Chur – Ilanz, It is accessible from Valendas-Sagogn, Versam-Safien and Trin stations that lie within the gorge.
Oberalp pass crossing:
as above – any fast train to Chur, then RhB regional train Chur – Disentis, then MGB regional train Disentis – Oberalppass – Andermatt
or SBB trains to Göschenen, MGB local Göschenen – Andermatt, MGB regional train Andermatt – Oberalppass – Disentis
Zermatt /Matterhorn
Direct mainline trains to Brig or Visp, MGB regional train to Zermatt
Zurich Zermatt
is an easy journey, only one change of train required (from standard gauge SBB to metre gauge MGB train at Visp.
Get one of the direct route IC8 trains from Zurich. They are formed on IC2000 type double deck coaches.
You are certainly most welcome. A couple more thoughts on your travel in the Jungfrau / Eiger region. Be careful using the STP if you decide to do the opposite side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and head up to Wengen, also a lovely pedestrian town. The train that stops that leaves for Wengen out of Lauterbrunnen is in two halves. One part goes to Kleine Scheidegg and the other to Wengen. The Wengen part is included with the STP while to Kleine Scheidegg part isn’t. So if you want to go the whole way to Kleine Scheidegg, you’ll pay a bit more. The ride to Grindelwald is also included in the STP . On the way to Lauterbrunnen, you pass through a town called Wilderswil. Here you will find another potential excursion: http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hynigeplatte/gettingth ere STP get you a 50% discount for the excursion.
If you appreciate castles, the Lake Thun Ferry has the potential to transport you to 4 castles on Lake Thun including Hünegg, Thun, Oberhofen, and Spierz Castles. You’ll have to check, but I think most of the castle admissions are considered museums and are free along with the ferry travel. Details about STP validity found here: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity
More practical observations — don’t plan a lot your first day if you get jet lag from a redeye flight. I don’t sleep on planes, and that makes me quite sluggish that first day. In Zurich, the STP covers a Ferry excursion to Rapperswil-Jona where’ there’s another castle. Typically, we’ll pick a hotel with a good breakfast close to the main train station, and sometimes stop at a Migros or Coop to pick up bread / cheese/ meat and fruit for a picnic lunch or bag lunch as we head out for the day. There is a Coop near the Zurich HB, and you can also pick up sandwiches inside the station.
Just some more ideas!
Mike J
Hi Mike,
“The train that stops that leaves for Wengen out of Lauterbrunnen is in two halves. One part goes to Kleine Scheidegg and the other to Wengen. The Wengen part is included with the STP while to Kleine Scheidegg part isn’t.“
You aren’t getting confused with the train that leaves Interlaken Ost and one half goes to Grindelwald and one half goes to Lauterbrunnen are you?
The Swiss Travel Pass covers all travel as far as Wengen or Grindelwald. That is very clear on the Validity Map. The 25% discount kicks in after those two locations if heading to Jungfraujoch.
The trains from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg via Wengen are numbered 3xx. The connecting train from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch is numbered 5xx.
rockoyster,
Yes, thanks for the timely correction and clarification, it is an important one. I know more than one traveler that has found themselves on the train to Kleine Scheidegg thinking they are covered with the STP. With the validity map, you just have to carefully distinguish the dashed line (tunnel) from the dotted line (fare reduction). If I read the fare sheet right, the cost per person of traveling to Kleine Scheidegg is over 80 CHF round trip second class, subtract STP fare reduction from that.
One additional general random note of clarification for Environ0103 is on train classes – the train carriages have a number 1 and 2 on outside of them indicating first and second class and you seat yourself in them because of the travel class of STP you buy. The class of car is indicated on the station platform and arriving signs to help you know where on the platform to wait for the correct train class car.
What a wealth of information I have received from each of you! Wow!! Thank you all so much. I am so grateful for all this information. I am very happy to know that a similar experience can be had on the regular trains vs the GE. I have read that the GE does not allow for great pictures because of the reflection from the windows so it’s nice to know we have the option of the regular trains where we may be able to open the windows and get better photos. Rockoyster, I really love the idea of those circular day trips from Zurich. I am sure we will be doing at least one. Familiarizing myself with the SBB timetable is something I will make time to do because that will be crucial to ensure not much time is wasted when we arrive. Thanks for that tip!
196oman thank you for the insight on Titlis. I thought about eliminating that trip as well after Mike J and Beatrix suggested that the Matterhorn can be done in a day trip so, thanks so much for that confirmation, exactly what I was thinking. I really appreciate you taking the time to break down the scenic routes that can be had without having to use the GE. Your history on the GE made me now understand that the route the GE takes is not exclusive to them.
Mike J, thanks for the additional info on the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I find the pics of this area absolutely stunning! I think the link you included for the potential excursion in Wilderswil may be broken. I wasn’t able to access the site. And, yes, I do plan to take the 1st day slowly. We may use that 1st day to go to Rhine Falls. Will look into Rapperswil as you suggested as well. Thanks for the info on the lunch. That is something I will be researching next as well. I am vegan so that always poses a challenge whenever I travel.
Thank you all so much, once again!
Mike’s link to Schynigge Platte should work – http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hynigeplatte/gettingth ere
Hello again everyone,
Thank you Rockoyster and Mike J for the links. I was copying and pasting the link so that was what I was doing wrong. So, we finally have our trip to Switzerland officially booked for 5 nights!! Yeayyyyy! We’re so excited! My husband and I will arrive in Zurich at 8am on 5/29 and leave on a 9pm flight on 6/3. We plan to use everyday fully and hit the ground running as soon as we land. Thank God we do not suffer from jet lag when we travel (our longest flight so far has been 15 hrs non-stop) and we have always been able to fully function and make full use of our 1st day of arrival. We plan to do the same on this trip. I have an itinerary planned out (see below) and wondering if you all can give me some advice on how to better tweak it? One question I have is whether or not it’s feasible to do a day trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and be able to make it back to Zurich by 5pm on Friday, 5/31? If we were to choose a spot in the Lauterbrunnen Valley that has the absolute best scenery of the valley (greenery and wildflowers and the alps in the backdrop), which would it be and how would we get there in an efficient amount of time? My husband does get some altitude sickness at heights of 10,000ft (3048m) and higher so we do not necessarily need to summit any of the taller mountains (I think he’ll be okay with the Gornergrat to view the Matterhorn and surrounding mountains). By the way, we have no problem starting out each day at 6am or 7am.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Wednesday 5/29 – Arrive Zurich at 8am. Day trip to Constance and Mainau Island. I imagine if the flight is on time, we can get through immigration and get to our Zurich hotel by 10am. We’ll drop off our bags and immediately head to Lake Constance. I was hoping to fit Rhine Falls in as well on the way back but I haven’t found a convenient way to get there from Constance. Is there a convenient way to include Rhine Falls?
Day 2: Thursday 5/30 – Bernina Express Circular Tour to Tirano as recommended by Rockoyster. Thanks Rockoyster and 1960man for making the Glacier Express disappear from my thoughts.
Day 3: Friday 5/31 – Day trip to Lauterbrunnen Valley and cable car up to Schilthorn as recommended by Mike J. Possible Valley Hike as recommended by Beatrix. Not sure if it’s feasible to do all this and return to Zurich by 5pm?
Day 4: Saturday – Church in Zurich.
Day 5: Sunday 6/2 – Day trip to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn from Gornergrat.
Day 6: Monday 6/3 – Day trip to Vaduz, Liechtenstein (and possibly Feldkirch Austria, if time permits). Departure flight at 9pm.
I don’t think I’ll need a travel pass for Day 1 or Day 4 so Swiss travel pass for 4 days should suffice. Do you think this is a doable itinerary? Is there more that I can reasonably add or trips that I can combine to make for a more efficient trip? Thank you so much once again for all your advice.
If you just copy the link text it will most likely have spaces inserted (it’s a quirk of the forum) best thing to do is select the link then right click and choose copy link. Alternative is to CTRL/CMC on link which opens link in a new tab.
You should be able to do a round trip to the Lauterbrunnen valley in a day. Used the SBB Timetable to figure out timings.
From Lauterbrunnen a very nice circuit to do is to Grütschalp (cable car), Mürren (train), Gimmelwald (cable car), Stechelberg (cable car), Lauterbrunnen (bus). From Mürren you can easily visit Schiltorn and Allmendhubel if you have time. In between Stechelberg and Lauterbrunnen the bus stops at the Trummelbach Falls. Well worth a look.
Hi Environ0103,
” I was hoping to fit Rhine Falls in as well on the way back but I haven’t found a convenient way to get there from Constance. Is there a convenient way to include Rhine Falls?”
This is likely the area I am least familiar with in Switzerland, so I return to my standby, the Swiss Travel Pass Map, and limit my observation to travel within Switzerland. I do understand that you’ll likely be paying point to point fares at this point, and I note that Mainau Island is inside Germany and not covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. The route covered by STP is from Konstanz to Neuhausen, and interestingly enough, Stein am Rhein is a way point between Rhine Falls and Lake Konstanz. Just FYI, here is a link from Lucas chronicling his trip to Stein a R.
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/stein-am-rhein-easy-day-trip-from-zurich
So just pointing out another option to consider in your trek north of Zurich. We are always confronted with too many options and so little time! FYI, SBB lists the travel time between Konstanz and Neuhausen Rheinfall at just over 1 hour; Konstanz and Stein am Rhein at 35 minutes. Here is link to Rhine Falls
http://www.myswissalps.com/rh inefalls
Mike J
I agree with you Mike J that there are so many options and too little time indeed! I did find the route from Konstanz to Rhine Falls and it is just about an hour like you said. Thank you so much. It definitely seems doable.
Rockoyster, I did map the circuit route you suggested above and it seems very doable. It is really a small area. Wow! I really like that! I think we can get it done in 2 hours or maybe a little longer if we decide to hike from Murren to Grimmelwald instead of doing the cable car down. I will do more research on the scenery on this hike and decide if we will walk it or not. I realized too that this route is similar to the route that Mike J recommended in his initial response.
Thank you all so much once again for all your help. I think I am good to go for this trip! Many thanks!!
I would give Mainau a miss. It is hardly a major tourist attraction. More of a giant park for locals to go and relax and take their kids. It’s a nice place to while away a lazy afternoon but nothing special IMHO.
We did a river boat from Konstanz to Schaffhausen. Free with STP but maybe take too much out of your day? Although so would Mainau.
Thank you for the information on the river boat. I had considered that but somehow didn’t see an option from Konstanz. Thanks again!
It’s a lovely ride if the timing works for you. http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-au/lower-lake-untersee-and-rhine.html
Thank you for the link. I read through the description and it does sound lovely! I was hoping it would be a little shorter though. Five hours is a long ride however, there is lots to see and take in along the ride that would make for a really great day!
-
- The thread ‘Day trips by train to the Swiss Alps from Zurich’ is closed to new replies.
