MySwissAlps.com includes Roger Sexton
Forum replies
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Hello Sharmi.
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
I am applying my real human intelligence to your problem. I have been visiting Switzerland regularly for 55 years.
Get out a good map of Switzerland..
Invest in Swiss Travel Passes. Free travel on all Swiss public transport, except that lines which simply go up mountains are usually not included.
Skip staying in Zurich. Go from Zurich airport to CHUR. Stay two nights there. On the intervening day use ordinary regional trains to travel from Chur to Tirano. Go via Filisur; come back via Klosters (or vice versa).
Next day take the 171 bus to Bellinzona, and then the short train ride to Lugano. Journey will take about two-and-a-half hours. Park your luggage in a locker and spend a few hours in Lugano. Then take a fast train northwards through the Gotthard BASE tunnel to Lucerne. Fast trains northwards run twice an hour; a change is usually required at Arth-Goldau. Lugano to Lucerne is about one hour forty minutes.
At Lucerne, remember that the boat service is very good. The STP will take you on the boat to Vitznau.. The train from Viznau up Rigi is FREE with the STP.
At Interlaken the STP will take you free to Grindelwald,, Murren and Wengen. The STP will give you a discount on mountain lines above those villages.
At Zermatt, the STP gives a 50% discount on all three main mountain lines. The line up Gornergrat is very strongly recommended.
At Montreux, the STP gives you a discount up Rochers-de Naye. On the line from Vevey to Les Pleiaides the STP will take you free right to the summit.
Use real intelligence for your detailed planning (for any trip).
Kind regards
RogerHello Vie
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
Please get out a good map of Switzerland. Go right to the centre of the country and locate the city know in English and French as Lucerne, but called Luzern in German (the language spoken by most of its inhabitants).
I have been visiting Switzerland regularly for fifty-five years On my very first trip I based myself in Lucerne. On my second visit I based myself in Interlaken.
Lucerne is a very historic city while Interlaken is a creation of late nineteenth-century tourism.
Lucerne is an ideal base for exploring the whole of Switzerland.
Interlaken is a good centre for exploring the Berner Oberland region, but not for longer distance excursions to places such as the Rhine Falls.
The boat service on Lake Lucerne is very good. Those on Lakes Thun and Brienz are not as good.
INVEST in a six-day Swiss Travel Pass. This will give you the freedom of the world’s best public transport system. It includes the buses, trams/streetcars and lake boats, as well as trains.
The STP usually does not give free travel on lines which simply go up mountains. However in the Lucerne area it does give free travel on the lines up Rigi, Stanserhorn and Klewenalp.
In the Interlaken area the STP will take you to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, and also up from Lauterbrunnen to the mountain villages of Mürren and Wengen. (On the mountain lines above those villages; you will get a discount.) (Lauterbrunnen is the village for waterfalls!)
Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald from Lucerne.
The highly scenic Luzern-Interlaken Express runs every hour and takes one hour and fifty minutes. At Interlaken Ost you change to the local trains of the Berner Oberland Bahn. These trains run every 30 minutes. The front half of the train goes to Grindelwald, the rear half to Lauterbrunnen.
Rhine Falls from Lucerne
The Rhine Falls are close to Schaffhausen, in the north of Switzerland. To get to Schaffhausen you go via Zurich. After viewing the falls I would suggest you go on to the small medieval town of Stein am Rhein. Return to Lucerne via Winterthur and Zurich.
Other Excursions from Lucerne.
Take the Voralpen Exoress to St Gallen via Rapperswil. From St Gallen take a local tram-train to the splendid village of Appenzell.
Take the Treno Gottardo along the OLD Gothard railway, which goes ‘over the top’ via Airolo and finishes in Locarno, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.
Arriving in Switzerland from France.
Coming from Paris get the TGV high-speed train from Paris to Zurich, but go only far as Basel. There are frequent direct Swiss trains from Basel to both Lucerne and Interlaken. Your STP will be valid from Basel to Lucerne (or to Interlaken).
If you are coming from southern France, travel to Geneva, (probably via Lyon). There are hourly IR15 trains from Geneva to Lucerne. This journey takes three hours. STP valid (of course) for all your travel in Switzerland east of Geneva. (For Interlaken you would need to change at Bern.)
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
in reply to: Jungfrau region, Zermatt, Glacier Express in June
Hello again Omar.
Day Five
Get out a good map of Switzerland
First note that the Glacier Express takes the Albula Line (via Filisur) from Chur to St Moritz.
So I would suggest the following route from St Moritz to Lucerne on Day five.
Take the RE3 train from St Moritz to Landquart via Klosters.
From Landquart take the fast IC3 train to Zurich Hauptbahnhof. Sit on the right hand side of the train in the direction of travel.
Take the IR70 train from Zurich to Lucerne. Sit on the left hand side of the train in the direction of travel.
The journey will take just over four hours.
As an alternative to Titlis, I would suggest that in the afternoon, you ‘slow down’ and go for a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne, and perhaps go up the Rigi from Vitznau. (Both are free with the Swiss Travel Pass.) Boats for Vitznau leave Lucerne at 12 minutes past each hour.
Days six, seven eight.
The Jungfrau Travel Pass gives Free Travel on the following mountain lines – Harder, Schynige Platte; Griindelwald-First; both lines to Mānnlichen; both lines to Kleine Scheidegg. On the very expensive trip to Jungfraujoch it gives you a much bigger discount than is given by the Swiss Travel Pass.
Whether you invest in Jungfrau Travel Passes depends on the amount of (mechanised) mountain climbing you intend to do! You could delay the decision until you get to Interlaken. (The booking office at Interlaken Ost station would be able to sell you JTPs.)
Coupon Pass I have no experience of this pass, which,as Anna explains, is not a transport pass. Remember that your Swiss Travel Passes gives free admission to a lot of museums.
Reservations
Apart from the Glacier Express, the only other trip you mention which requires reservations is Brienzer Rothorn (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/brienzer-rothorn/).
The only trip I mention which requires a reservation is Jungfraujoch (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/jungfraujoch/).
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Also we will be returning from Lugano to Zurich. What would be the fastest/ least expensive way to do that?Thanks so much for any advice!
Will this be the same day as you travel on the Gotthard Panoramic Express? (I suspect not.)There are fast trains through the Gotthard BASE tunnel towards Zurich at 02 and 30 minutes past each hour. The journey takes just under two hours. On certain departures you will need to change at Arth-Goldau.
Will you be investing in a Swiss Half Fare Card?
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Hello again Artim.
No need to ‘buy tickets’ for the ‘Golden Pass Panoramic’. Your Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/) will give you free travel on the the ‘Golden Pass Panoramic’ from Zweisimmen to Montreux. Just show your STPs to the ticket inspector. However, as the train is likely to be very busy, I would recommend seat reservations at 10 CHF per person.
Kind regards
RogerHello Artim
Further to Anna’s reply, you can be sure that when you get to Zweisimmen, there will be a LOT of people wanting to make the cross-platform connection to the train for Montreux. The five minute cross=platform connections at Zweisimmen are ‘SAFE’. I have made this connection on many occasions.
Kind regards
Roger
in reply to: Adverse weather plan in Luzern
Hello again Paul
Are you INVESTING (I use that word deliberately) in a Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/)?
Luzern is bang in the centre of the world’s best public transport system. If you own an STP you can get to almost anywhere in Switzerland on a day excursion. The only significant exception is the Bernina line to Tirano, which would take about fourteen hours to get there and back….
Though Switzerland is a small country in area, the existence of the mountains does mean that the weather can be very different from one area to another. In particular, the weather north of the main Alpine chain can be very different from that south of the main chain.
About four years ago the weather in Ticino canton was poor, so I headed back north on the Treno Gottardo, which takes the old (1882) line. Coming out of the old Gotthard tunnel at Goschenen the weather was much better. Ninety minute later I was on my way up Mount Rigi on the cog-wheel train from Arth-Goldau; (remember the Rigi lines are free with the STP).
We all know that bad weather usually ‘clears from the west’. If the weather in Luzern is bad, but the forecast indicates that good weather will later in the day be spreading from the west, the IR15 train is waiting for you. Every hour, on the hour, the IR15 leaves Luzern bound for Geneva (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/geneva/), via the historic towns/cites of Bern, Fribourg, Romont, Lausanne and Nyon.
To get to the Rhine Falls (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rhine-falls/) you go to Schaffhausen via Zurich. After you are finished with the Falls, go on to the medieval town of Stein am Rhein. Return from Stein am Rhein via Winterthur and Zurich.
If you take the Voralpen Express (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/voralpen-express/) to St Gallen, later take the tram-train which goes from St Gallen to Appenzell. Return to Luzern via Gossau and Zurich.
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Hello Gramcookie
The short answer to your question is you could combine Stoos with Stanserhorn, but I would suggest that is not a good idea, There is enough hiking in the Stoos area to keep you busy for several hours.
For the record you could get from Stoos to Stans (at the foot of the Stanserhorn) by taking the funicular down; then bus to Schwyz station, then train via Arth-Goldau and Lucerne. (Luzern in German.) This journey will take about two hours!
https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/stoos/
Combine Stanserhorn with Klewenalp?
Stanserhorn is arguably not an all day trip: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/stanserhorn/. You could combine Stanserhorn with the Beckenried-Klewenalp cable car, which (like Stanserhorn) is free with the Swiss Travel Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/.
There is a bus which runs twice an hour from Stans to Beckenried and only takes about twenty minutes.
To get back to Luzern the quickest route is via Stans. But the hourly boats are of course more scenic, and take 75 minutes for the voyage, They arrive in Luzern at 47 minutes past each hour, in good time for the fast IR70 train back to Zurich at 09 minutes past each hour.
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Hello Lyn_T
Welcome back to MySwissAlps.
This reply has bee redrafted and shortened now that I have seen Arno’s reply. I have rewritten it so it supplements what he has said.
The Easiest Route by Train Nice to Lugano
Looking at my rail map pf Europe, and my European Rail Timetable, the easiest and most direct route from Nice to Lugano is-
To take a local French train to the boarder station of Ventimiglia. These take just under an hour.
Then take the Italian Intercity train service which runs five times a day from Ventimiglia to Milan via Genova. These take just under four hours. As with all Italian long distance trains, seat reservation is required.
From Milan (Milano Centrale) catch the RE80 ‘Tilo’ Train which runs hourly (at 43 minutes past the hour) from Milan to Locarno via Como (city), CHIASSO and Lugano. This is a local ‘regional’ train service organised jointly by Ticino Canton and Lombardia province.
(If you took a long distance EC (Eurorcity) train from Milan to Lugano you would need seat reservations.)
Ticketing
See Arno’s reply.
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Hello Brad
Give yourself more time in the Lake Brienz area
Referring to your original itinerary in your thread, you are (on day three) travelling from Zermatt to Wengen. That journey will involve changing at Visp, Spiez, Interlaken Ost and Lauterbrunnen. In your reply two it seems that you are now planning to go to Wengen first, and then head back to Interlaken!
You will give yourselves roughly two more hours in the beautiful Lake Brienz area if you travel as follows:
Travel from Zermatt to Interlaken OST.
Park your luggage in a locker(s) at Interlaken Ost.
Explore Lake Brienz using boat, train and perhaps bus. Your Swiss Travel Passes are (of course) valid on all three modes of transport.
Retrieve your luggage from the locker(s).
Carry on to Wengen via Lauterbrunnen.
Check in at Wengen.Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
in reply to: Planning a day trip on the Bernina railway line
Hello again Karen
Thank you for your kind words in your reply five.
The Tirano to Lugano Problem if you cannot get on the Bernina Express Bus
(First note that the 811 bus route referrred to in my thread is of no help to you. It goes nowhere near Tirano.)
Arno’s advice to go through Italy via Monza is undoubtedly the solution to your problem. Italian trains leave Tirano at eight minutes past each hour. They are regional trains bound for Milan(o) Centrale. Sit on the right hand side of the train in the direction of travel for views over Lake Como, arguably the most beautiful of all the Alpine lakes.
If, for example, you caught the 14 08 train from Tirano, you would reach Monza at 16 26. You then would get the 16 53 ‘Tilo’ train (which has started from Milano) bound for Locarno via Como(city) Chiasso and Lugano. You reach Lugano at 17 58. (If you left Tirano at 1508 you would reach Lugano at around 19 00 (7 pm).Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Hello again
If you buy a Swiss Travel Pass Flex, then (except for very few trains which have compulsory seat reservation) you do not need separate tickets for individual trains.
For how the Swiss Travel Pass Flex works: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass-flex/
Then, from the menu which now appears. Click on ‘How does the Swiss Travel Pass Flex Work?’
Kind regards
Roger
in reply to: Jungfrau region, Zermatt, Glacier Express in June
Hello again
Get out a good map of Switzerland
I suggest you travel as follows.
On June 10th travel from Interlaken to CHUR, and stay the night there. You go via Bern and Zurich. Sit on the left hand side in the direction of travel between Zurich and Chur.
On June 11th catch 08 17 Bernina Express (reservations required) from Chur to Tirano, arrive 12 49. Catch an ordinary regional train back from Tirano to St Moritz. Stay the night in St Moritz.
If you find that the Bernina Express is fully booked, catch an IR38 train from Chur to St Moritz. Sit on the right in the direction of travel. The famous curved Landwasser viaduct comes about ten minutes after the stop at Tiefencastel. Park your luggage in a locker at St Moritz station and take a trip on the Bernina line using the ordinary regional trains. You may want to break your journey at the small intermediate station of Alp Grum. The views from there are fantastic!https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/bernina-express/
On June 12th take the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt.
https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-express/
Kind regards
RogerHello again Artim.
Thank you for this revised itinerary, The only change I would make is to ‘swap’ the 23rd and 24th. Go to Lauterbrunnen and Murren on Saturday 23rd, and to Montreux and Chillon on 24th.
20, 21 and 22 May are all fairly long trips. Give yourselves a bit of a rest on 23rd by making the short trip to Murren.
On Pentecost Sunday 24th go to Montreux. The Golden Pass Express trains are always VERY BUSY, so reservation is ESSENTIAL.
https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/goldenpass/
Reservation is not necessary for the return journey via Lausanne.
On Whit Monday you have another short trip. If you are using a lake boat, turn up well before the scheduled departure time. If (as is conceivable) you are ‘crowded off’, remember that there are trains between Interlaken and Brienz, and BUSES as well as boats from Iseltwald to Interlaken.
Tuesday is another short trip, Wednesday is long, Thursday is (very) short. Friday is longish. You clearly have got the right balance!
Very best wishes
Roger.
in reply to: Planning a day trip on the Bernina railway line
Hello pvonk, alimac and Komal.
Thank you for your kind responses to my suggestion!
Hello Everyone
Komal’s solution is brilliant!
BUT it will only work if your holiday/vacation base is in Ticino canton (Lugano, Locarno, Bellinzona area). And it will only work in the anti-clockwise direction. You will leave Lugano at 10 00 and be back there at 20 58. (just before 9 pm).If you adopt my suggestion of basing yourself in Chur, the 171 bus route Chur-Thusis-Belinzona is a ‘must do’.
I would not recommend it, but you could leave Chur on the 06 58 route 171 and get to Lugano (changing to a train at Bellinzona) at 09 28. That would be in time for the 10 00 Bernina Express bus! You would get back to Chur at 18 31 (just after 6 30 pm).
Note that both the Bernina Express bus and the Bernina Express train require seat reservations.Kind regards
Roger
in reply to: Jungfrau region, Zermatt, Glacier Express in June
Hello Omar
I have been regularly visiting Switzerland (from Britain) for 55 years. Ever since its introduction (under another name) in 1972, I have always invested in a (First Class). Swiss Travel Pass. It gives you the freedom of the world’s best public transport system. The only lines excluded are those which simply go up mountains. On those, the STP usually gets you a discounted fare. (See also Anna’s reply.)
Have a good map of Switzerland in front of you.
On day three take the scenic route from Zurich to Interlaken. That involves going via the city English-speakers call Lucerne, but known locally by its German name, Luzern.
Regarding which town you should use as a base for exploring the Jungfrau region, Interlaken (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/interlaken/) is a better centre for exploration than Grindelwald.
On Day six go from Interlaken to Spiez. From Spiez, take the RE1 train which goes to Brig VIA KANDERSTEG.. This route is slow but very scenic. Sit on the right hand side of the train in the direction of travel. From Brig you catch the narrow gauge train to Zermatt (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/zermatt/).
On day seven, you may indeed have problems with getting a reservation on the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz. Two alternative suggestions.
There is a Glacier Express which leaves Brig at 14 14 and gets to St Moritz at 20 53. It may be easier to get reservations on that train.The other alternative is to use ordinary trains to go from Zermatt to St Moritz (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/st-moritz/). In the morning go from Zermatt to Andermatt, changing at VISP. Take a break at Andermatt. Get some fresh air and have lunch. In the afternoon travel on to St Moritz, changing at Disentis and Reichenau-Tamins. On the IR38 train from Reichenau to St Moritz, the famous curved Landwasser viaduct comes about ten minutes after the train has left Tiefencastel. Sit on the right hand side of the train.
On day eight I would not go back to Zermatt. Instead take the train to Tirano and back. This train goes along the Bernina line, which many (myself included) rate as the most scenic railway line in the Alps. Spend a second night in the St Moritz area.
On day nine take the RE4 train from St Moritz to Landquart via Klosters. At Lanquart you change to an inter-city train to Zurich. Sit on the right hand side of this train for great views over the Walensee lake, and then over Lake Zurich.
On day ten, after the Rhnie Falls (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rhine-falls/) go on to the small splendidly preserved medieval town of Stein am Rhein.
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger.Hello again Artim
The plan set out in your attachment is exactly what I would recommend!
Break of journey at Ospizio Bernina or Alp Grum?
The regional trains on the Bernina Line are only approximately hourly. (On most Swiss regional lines the service is exactly hourly.)
On the outward journey you could break your journey at either Ospizio or Alp Grum. There is not time for both.
I personally have (twice) broken my journey at Alp Grum but never at Ospizio. The views at Alp Grum are very spectacular! The views from Ospizio are (I believe) relatively not so good.
Catch the 10 48 RE9 train from St Moritz and get off at Alp Grum at 11 42. Continue from Alp Grum on the R19 train leaving at 12 53 and reaching Tirano at 14 23. (You will have only 37 minutes in Tirano.)
The Return Journey
This is fine. I have done the journey Bernina Line-Pontresina-Sagliains-Klosters-Landquart on several occasions, most recently on 23 December just gone!
The connecting time of two minutes at Sagliains is ‘safe’. Sagliains station exists purely for the purpose of allowing people to change between the R19 and RE4 trains. You cannot buy tickets to Sagliains, and there is no pedestrian entrance/exit.
(I know of only one other station which exists purely for the purpose of allowing people to change trains. Manulla Junction in the Republic of Ireland!)
The total journey time for this trip is less than twelve hours. I would not regard that time as ‘too long’.
Very best wishes
Roger
Hello again Geokan.
Firstly, I would refer you back to what I said in my reply one to your thread of 18 September 2025.
I would now recommend that the two adults invest in FOUR-day Swiss Travel Passes (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/) for the period 28 June to 1st July.. Buy these on line a few weeks before you travel.For the younger child get on line a Swiss Family Card. This is simply an administrative process. The SFC costs nothing, and it entitles the child to travel FREE (even on high mountain lines) provided he is with the parents.
For the older child, if he/she has reached the age of sixteen by the date of travel, he/she will need a YOUTH Swiss Travel Pass; this is 30% cheaper than the full adult price.
If the older child is still under sixteen at the date of travel then he/she can be included in the Swiss Family Card, and will (like the younger child) be able to travel free.
Using Swiss Public Transport will be an education for all four of you as to how things should be organised. And the huge diversity in the forms of transport is also fascinating.
All Swiss lines and routes run frequently, and are timed to interconnect. This ‘integrated’ transport system covers not only buses and trains, but also the boats on Lakes Lucerne and Zurich.
Focus your travels on interesting public transport routes which are free with the Swiss Travel Pass.
STP validity map: https://www.myswissalps.com/details/swiss-travel-pass-validity/
Around Lucerne the free travel extends to the cog-wheel railways up Mount Rigi, which has a lot of easy hikes. It also covers the cable cars from Beckenried to Klewenalp and Emmetten to Stockhutte. And the very steep funicular up to Stoos. (Pilatus is NOT free with the STP.)
Around Zurich the railway line up the local mountain, the Uetliberg, is free with the STP. The cable car from Adliswil to Felsenegg is also free.
To see a less well-known area of Switzerland go from Zurich to the city of St Gallen in the north-east of the country. Perhaps later take the tram-train from St Gallen to the delightful village of Appenzell.(Of the mountains I have mentioned which are free with the STP, the highest above sea level is Rigi, about 1,800 metres above sea level. Pilatus, not free with the STP, is about 2,100 metres above sea level.)
Best wishes
Roger
in reply to: Bernina train route day trip doable from Ebikon?
Hello again Artim
This is the third time in less than a month that someone has (in effect) asked ‘can we do the Bernina Line as a day excursion from Lucerne?’
The answer is YES BUT……..It will be an extremely long day.
If you left Lucerne at 06 35 and changed at Thalwil, Chur, Samedan and Pontresina, you would reach Tirano at 13 00. Returning leaving at 13 41, you would be back in Lucerne at 20 25.
If you left at 07 35 you would get to Tirano at 14 23. You would return leaving at 15 00 and be back in Lucerne at 21 25.
(Note that if you stayed in EBIKON, you would leave at 06 31 or 07 31, and there would be an additional change at ROTKREUZ.)
Possible Shorter trips.
First note that on the 2026 timetable cutting short at Campocologno is no longer possible.
Places where you could turn short are Brusio, Le Prese, Poschiavo, Alp Grum.
Cover the Bernina Line at the Beginning of your trip.
I see that from your other thread that you are arriving in Switzerland from Salzburg. Get off the RJX train at SARGANS and stay in the Sargans/Bad Ragaz/Landquart/CHUR area for two nights. Do the Bernina line as a day trip from this area.
Kind regards
Roger
Thank very much Subrata for this latest reply. The good news is that at Zurich ‘The process at Passport control was hassle-free’.
And in the case of your wife and yourself it took ‘a little longer’ because the requisite entries had not been made at Milan Malpensa.
(New readers of this thread should study Subrata’s previous reply number 3.)
Very best wishes
Roger
