Train tickets Basel to Lucerne purchase in advance
A traveler is arriving at Basel, Germany by air and wants to know if they need to buy train tickets in advance for their trip to Lucerne, Switzerland. They also have questions about how long customs will take at Basel airport. It's a straightforward trip, and they're looking for specific advice on both customs and train travel.
- You do not need to purchase train tickets in advance for the Basel to Luzern route as trains run regularly and do not sell out.
- If you want to avoid waiting, consider buying tickets at an automatic machine right after customs.
- The Swiss Travel Pass can be a good option if you plan to travel extensively in Switzerland, as it offers great value.
AI-generated summary-
Arriving Basel, Germany by air do I need to purchase train tickets in advance for train travel to Lucerne, Switzerland? How long does it take to pass through customs at Basel airport, we will be arriving from USA?
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Basel airport (aka Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, aka Euroairport) is on French territory. If travelling into Switzerland, you can exit the terminal through the Swiss exit.
The airport is small, so transiting customs doesn’t usually take too long
Then you have to get the number Basel city transport (green colour) route 50 bus which goes along a customs-free ‘corridor’ road to Basel SBB main station.
Then it is easy to buy a ticket to Luzern from an automatic machine
Hint: get used to using the correct local spelling Luzern (pronounced Lootz-air-n). Lucerne is the French spelling and outmoded)
Thank you for the information. I did not see a comment on whether or not I should purchase tickets in advance for the train to Luzern from Basel. Does it sell out?
Hi Ballam1,
There are regular trains on this route so no it does not sell out and you should find connections quite frequent as you can see here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
However you may still wish to purchase tickets in advance to avoid waiting unnecessarily at Basel airport or at the main train station (Basel SBB), as you can see here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/switzerland
If you have planned a long trip in Switzerland, you may want to look into getting a rail pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass
Hope this helps and have a wonderful trip!
Maria.
We recently took the Basel – Luzern train after completing a Rhine cruise. Trains, and all models of Swiss public transportation, are remarkably reliable, clean and easy to use. For us, the 4 day Swiss Travel Pass was a great value.
Have another look at my reply – the comment was indeed there! ie:
“Then it is easy to buy a ticket to Luzern from an automatic machine”
Main line trains don’t ‘sell out’. Swiss main line inter-city trains run to a co-ordinated, hub-based timetable system known as a taktfahrplan – trains on all lines run either every 30 mins, every 1 hour or on some rural line every 2 hours.
Basel – Luzern has three direct trains per hour throughout the day
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