Scenic and affordable route from Zermatt to Munich on Dec 25
PalB09 is planning a trip from Zermatt to Munich on December 25 and is looking for affordable travel options due to high SBB ticket prices. They also want ideas for scenic train rides to enhance their experience. Helpful suggestions include combining train and bus routes and considering special travel passes.
- If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, it covers travel within Switzerland but requires separate tickets for the German leg of your trip to Munich.
- For scenic routes, consider taking the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur; reserve your seat early as it's popular.
- Explore Saver Day Pass or Supersaver tickets for cheaper travel options, but remember that Supersaver tickets are specific to your chosen train and cannot be changed.
- On busy days like Christmas, consider pre-booking seats on trains to ensure availability.
AI-generated summary-
Hello Palbog
Your final itinerary is very interesting, and has presented me with something of a challenge!
Question 1 Time on the ground at Zurich.
To catch the 11 46 train you are going to have to be (very) LUCKY. December 24th is going to be very busy, and immigration procedures MAY take quite a bit of time.
Slightly simplifying, the trains relevant to you (IC8 or IC81) leave Zurich Airport station at 46 minutes past each hour.
The IC8 train leaving at 11 46 will get you to Embd at 14 40. Changes at Visp and Kalpetran will be necessary.
The IC81 train leaving at 12 46 get you to Embd at 15 40. Changes at BERN, Visp and Kalpetran will be necessary.
[And so on at 13 46 , 14 46 etc.]
It will not be possible to go up to Sunegga/Blauherd/Rothorn on 24th.
Question 2 Embd
I had to search on the official Swiss government map to locate Embd. It is ‘near’ Kalpetran. However Kalpetran station is at 893 metres above sea level. Embd at is at (at least)1372 metres above sea level.
Kalpetran station and Embd are linked by a cable car which runs about eighteen-hours a day and is timed to connect with the trains. The point-to-point single fare seems to be 13 CHF.
Embd (like Kalpetran and Zermatt) is in the Swiss Canton of Valais (French name) Wallis (German name). Valais Canton seems to be developing a policy of serving high lying villages not by bus but by cable car.
Christmas Day.
Get the 06 45 cable car down to Kalpetran. That connects with the 06 58 train to Zermatt, arriving there at 07 50, just as it is beginning to get light…. (At this time of year full daylight in Switzerland is about 08 30 to 16 30.) Park your luggage in a locker at Zermatt station.
Do your mountain trips, but be sure you catch the 14 37 train from Zermatt to Visp as you must not miss the 19 32 train from Zurich to Munich. That train is the last train of the day through to Munich.
Question 3 Seat reservations
None of the trains you (or I) mention require seat reservations. However Zurich to Munich trains are almost always very busy. And on Christmas Day there may well be people like Grandparents returning home from the Zurich area after a day with their family. So reserve a seat on the 19 32 Zurich to Munich.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/seat-reservation/
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/germany-switzerland/Question 4 Validity of Ordinary Tickets
Ordinary point-to-point tickets are valid on any train on the calendar day they relate to.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/regular-ticket/
Question 5 Super Saver Tickets.
if I happen to miss my train, am I allowed to board the next one?
NO! The essence of super saver tickets is that they are train specific. If you miss the designated train, that is your tough luck.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/supersaver-ticket/
(In previous replies I have referred to Flixbus. In common with other European coach operators your ticket is always departure specific. If you miss the departure for which you have a ticket, that is your tough luck.)
Question 6 Any cheaper passes?
A Saver Day Pass coupled with your Half Fare Card MIGHT save you money on Christmas Day.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/
As Yolanda and I have said, you perhaps should consider a Global Eurail Pass. That leads to my
Conclusion.
On two of the busiest days of the year you will be expending a lot of time, energy and money just to have a few daylight hours at Zermatt. You need to be thinking, is this worth it?
Food for thought
Roger
One small correction to my previous reply.
I have found the website for Embd, and it gives the cable car fare as 5.40 CHF, and only 2.70 with the half fare card.
Kind regards
Roger
@Roger, I cannot thank you enough for all the information!! You are awesome and the MySwissAlps team is an amazing team!!
Based on all the helpful information you shared, I do realize that Dec 25 is going to be pretty tight. So, I have now made a change in the plan. I am staying the Dec 25 night in Zurich and taking the first morning train to Munich on Dec 26. It cuts down my time in Munich a bit, but that’s okay, as it saves me 3.5 hrs. on an already hectic & busy Christmas day! I will still follow your suggestion of taking the 06:45 cable car down to Kalpetran, to maximize my time in Zermatt.
I will spare more time at the airport, now that I know I won’t be able to do Sunnegga-Rothorn on that day.
I didn’t know about the Kalpetran-Embd cable car fare, Thank you for informing that.
I will make sure to reserve seat for the Zurich to Munich train.I looked up the Global Eurail Pass. It will cost about USD 2,100 for the two of us for 15 days. This time we are covering a northward arc through Europe. Our current plan (Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland) involves taking the LUX Lounge buses around the Baltic countries and not a lot of trains. So, essentially, our transportation cost isn’t as high as USD 2,100. Our total transportation cost for all 7 countries is coming to around USD 1,200. So, I looked into the combination of Half Fare Card and Saver Day Pass, and this seems like a great option for Switzerland, unless I am calculating incorrectly. Please let me know. I would really appreciate that. I have attached the the rail pass calculation sheet and here’s the editable link too: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KZ9T7LBgIC0u81u4gSTYXpzzoN7QCZ3T/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107067252026603861135&rtpof=true&sd=true
To your very last comment – “On two of the busiest days of the year you will be expending a lot of time, energy and money just to have a few daylight hours at Zermatt. You need to be thinking, is this worth it?” I really appreciate you helping me think through this. As for why this trip is important for me – I did my Master’s at TUM in Germany and covered most of Switzerland in several visits, except Matterhorn. I had saved that one special place to visit with my future husband. After my MS, I got married, moved to US, and now, eight years later, my husband and I finally have the chance. This is his first time visiting Europe. I know December is snowy and weather is always unpredictable in Switzerland, but I would know I gave it a try. Keeping my fingers crossed! 🙂
Hello again
Thank you for this latest reply. I have absolutely no doubt that the combination of Half Fare Card, with a Saver Day Pass on Day Two is the right solution.
The decision to stay overnight in Zurich on 25th is the game changer, as this gives you another two hours precious daylight in Zermatt. Your mountain trips will not be nearly so rushed.
I am not sure about the ticketing on 26th. A Saver Day Pass is only valid in Switzerland, and the Half Fare Card will (I think) only give a discount as far as the frontier at St Margrethen. But these facts cannot possibly affect the correctness of the decisions you have now taken.
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/The moment I saw your reference to the three Baltic states I thought ‘Global Eurail is OUT’. As I am sure you know, inter-city train services in these states are poor.
To end on a positive note, I have recently seen very favourable reviews of both Lux Bus and the Tallin to Helsinki ferries!
Very best wishes
Roger
You are right. Thanks for pointing that mistake on the 26th. I have corrected it. Thanks again for all the help!! I feel so much more confident about Zermatt now!
Hi PalBo9,
1. It typically takes about 45 mins to 1 hour to go through immigration, customs and baggage claim at the airport. But if it’s a busy day with lots of passengers arriving at the same time, the lines may be longer.
2. The weeks before and after Christmas is usually a busy period in Zermatt and most hotels will only accept reservations for a minimum 3 or 4 night stays. I’m not sure where you are staying exactly in Embd, Please note that access to Embd is via a cable car from Kalpetran (6 mins journey) and the last cable car up departs at roughly 8.30PM. From Kalpetran, the train journey to Zermatt takes about 50 mins. Based on your plans, I would travel directly to Zermatt on Dec 24, store luggage at the train station and do the excursion to Sunnegga before taking the train back to Kalpetran. Leaving the excursion to Gornergrat for the next day is sensible.
3. Seat reservation is not required as explained here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/seat-reservation/.
Regards,
Anna
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