12 nights Swiss trains and mountains in October

Me and my wife visited Switzerland in October 2022.

We took an Etihad Airways flight from Bangalore, India on 5 th October and reached Zurich at 7:25 am on 6 th October via Abu Dhabi. The flight reached early by 25 minutes. We cleared immigration in just 20 minutes. We took the 8:48 train to Zermatt via Visp. Transting from Zurich airport to Zurich station was very easy .Apart from the moving staircases there are lifts also to take you from the airport to the station in Zurich. If you have very heavy luggage then you can use the lift. We had 7 minutes to get the next connection at Visp to Zermatt we missed it by a whisker mainly because it took us a few minutes to find the ramp to roll our luggage. But we had the snacks to pass our time and boarded the next train to Zermatt. Though Zurich to Visp had a fair bit of rush because it crosses big cities but Zermatt train was relatively empty. We had purchased a 15 day 2 nd class consecutive Swiss train pass. We carried our luggage from Zermatt station to the hotel .The check in was at 4 pm. We had booked the hotel room with self catering facilities.

On 7 th we visited Glacier Paradise which cost us CHF 109 for 2 persons. In the afternoon we visited Gornergrat which cost us CHF 80. Both the places were just amazing. You must have multi layer clothing for both the places especially for Glacier paradise as it has lot of exposure to cold winds We had thermals from Jockey,and another 3 layers of clothing. On 8 th October we did boating from Interlaken west to Thun this was free because of STP.The boat station is just opposite to the Interlaken west station. It is a 2 hour ride and Thun station is just opposite to the Thun boat station. On 9 th we took the Glacier express from Zermatt to St Moritz. Here I want to make one point that don’t undermine the reservation in Glacier express. Pl do it as soon as your travel plans are finalized. You don’t have to book the Swiss train pass to do reservation on Glacier express. Most of the time it is fully occupied.

We had taken 8:52 AM Glacier express from Zermatt and reached St Moritz by 5:37 PM.

On 10 th we left St Moritz in the morning and reached Grindelwald in the evening after changing at 4 places. This was the most toughest part of our journey but we did it without missing a single connection. One point I want to make is sometimes in Interlaken OST you will find same train no, platform and time but different destinations namely Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. It will be 2 in one train and you have to sit in the right coach, it could be slightly confusing.

On 11 th October we went to Jungfraugh.I had diligently followed the weather forecast and 11 th October showed lot of sunshine. We were lucky to get a great weather on that day. We took the train from Grindelwald itself and after one change reached Jungfraugh. It is a lifetime experience. When I saw the glacier I had goose bumps and tears in my eyes. I had arrived at my dream destination. We stayed for more than 3 hours and had snacks in the restaurant at that height. Unfortunately the famous Bollywood restaurant was closed.

On 12 th October we went to Grindelwald first it cost us 64 CHF and in the afternoon we went to Interlaken OST and did Harder Kulm this cost us 34 CHF. You have to walk for 5 minutes to reach the Funicular station and on the way there is a railway crossing which you must cross with lot of care

On 13 October we went to Luzerne .

On 14 th we took a day’ s rest and visited malls and supermarkets.

On 15 th we went to Zurich to see the Rhine falls.

On 16 th we went to Geneva and then visited Montreux which has one of the best promenades in Europe..

On 17 th we went to Mount Titlis and this excursion is also very attractive. Again I had followed the weather and this day was bright and sunny. This cost us CHF 96

On 18 th we boarded Etihad aiy flight from Zurich scheduled at 11am.

The efficiency and punctuality of Swiss trains and buses are just mind blowing. On our last day we had decided to take the 5:38 am bus from our hotel to Luzerne station. When we reached the bus stand there was not a soul on the street and were wondering from where this bus will come and exactly at 5:38 am the bus zoomed in and stopped at the bus stand. Amazing. Swiss people are extremely friendly, though slightly reserved but I did not encounter any racist feelings. This is a place where you find efficiency and punctuality with a human touch. The example is when we were waiting near the Gornergrat train station the train driver came to us and asked are you coming ? this train is leaving now this was the real human touch. If you have a rail pass then your SBB timetable is your lifeline. Google maps are also extremely helpful. For us it was an ultimate dream destination and i take this opportunity to thank all the experts whose prompt and we’ll guided replies made this trip Possible i thank this forum for providing all the answers to our queries. I would be glad to answer any queries especially from Indian travellers .I foresee a great influx of Indian tourists to Switzerland in near future which may boost Swiss economy.