Paris – Lauterbrunnen – Italy itinerary early May

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    27 January 2018 at 15:04:44 #814169

    Good day everyone!

    We are 2 people planning to go to Switzerland on May 3-6, 2018. We will do Paris then Switzerland then Italy. We are planning to get the Swiss Travel Pass for 4days but still need your expert advice and still comparing normal ticket price.

    May 3 from Paris Gare de Lyon to Basel SBB (10:03 -13:26)

    Basel SBB – Interlaken OST – Lauterbrunnen ( base for 3nights ) just explore the area for the day

    Question — I cannot find the departure time of Basel to Interlaken for May 3. Is it the same timing for the whole year? And the ticket price is it the same or it changes depending on when you are booking it? I tried to check for Jan 29 and it is 34.30CHF. Image attached. But I think it is for Swiss residents with half fare card as I read that somewhere. And Basel SBB to Lauterbrunnen is all free with Swiss travel pass, right?

    May 4 Top of europe (Jungfraujoch) Going from lauterbrunnen – kleine scheidegg then change train going to jungfraujoch (with 2 stops on Eigerwald and Eismeer.

    Coming back from Jungfraujoch – Kleine Scheidigg then change train to Grindelwald Grund – Grindelwald ( explore area) – train to Zweiluetschinen – change train to Lauterbrunnen

    Question — On this trip, the only ride we have to pay is from Kleine scheidegg to jungfraujoch with 25% discount? No need to book in advance right because it will depend on the weather for that day which can only be known a day before?

    May 5 Schilthorn Going from Lauterbrunnen bus to Stechelberg – Cable car to Gimmelwald- change cablecar to Murren – change cable car to Birg- chage cable car to Schilthorn

    Coming back take same route and explore murren and gimmelwald.

    Question — All this trip is free with Swiss travel pass?

    May 6 Going to Domodossola

    Train from Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken OST – change train to Spiez – change train to Brig – change train to Domodossola

    Question — Is this trip all free with Swiss travel pass? Because in the image i have downloaded there are red broken lines from Frutigen to visp and from Brig to Iselle di Trasquera. Does it mean 50% off or just passing thru tunnels? Image attached.

    Alternate trips for bad weather is Lake Thun and Lake Brienz Cruise which is also free with Swiss travel pass right?

    THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE. I’m very open to all your suggestions and clarifications. And I’m really sorry for this long post and unending questions. 😁

    — Toni 😊

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    28 January 2018 at 1:07:41 #875262

    Hi Toni, and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    >> 2 people … May 3-6, 2018 … May 3 from Paris Gare de Lyon to Basel SBB (10:03 -13:26) Basel SBB – Interlaken OST – Lauterbrunnen ( base for 3nights ) I cannot find the departure time of Basel to Interlaken for May 3.

    Are you using the Swiss Timetable?

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

    Your train from Paris-Gare de Lyon will arrive in Basel on platform 9. There is a train leaving platform 10 (the other side of the same platform) for Interlaken Ost at 13:31, which you can probably catch.

    If you miss that one, there are trains from Basel to Interlaken Ost every half hour at -31 and -59 minutes past the hour until well into the evening. Most are direct, others require a change at Spiez. Platform numbers vary for different departures, but most will be stated in the timetable, and all will be displayed on the departure boards at Basel.

    >> And the ticket price is it the same or it changes depending on when you are booking it? I tried to check for Jan 29 and it is 34.30CHF … But I think it is for Swiss residents with half fare card

    Full fare for the route Basel-Lauterbrunnen is CHF 68.60. The fare of CHF 34.30 is in fact the half-price fare as you suspected.

    Prices can sometimes vary slightly according to route taken, but you don’t get a cheaper fare by buying your ticket early. In any case, you can’t buy online more than a month in advance.

    There are other tickets offering discounted travel for a particular service, or for a whole day, such as a Supersaver or Saver Day Pass (both with conditions attached). I won’t go into details here if you are going to be using a Swiss Travel Pass.

    >> Basel SBB to Lauterbrunnen is all free with Swiss travel pass, right?

    Yes.

    >> May 4 lauterbrunnen – kleine scheidegg … jungfraujoch … Kleine Scheidigg … Grindelwald … Zweiluetschinen … Lauterbrunnen … the only ride we have to pay is from Kleine scheidegg to jungfraujoch with 25% discount?

    Not quite. With a Swiss Travel Pass, you get free travel to Wengen or Grindelwald, then 25% discount for the journey onwards to Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfraujoch.

    >> No need to book in advance right because it will depend on the weather for that day which can only be known a day before?

    Yes. Weather conditions and visibility can change rapidly in the alps, so weather forecasts more than 24-48 hours in advance are not generally reliable.

    You can check the webcam to see what conditions are like before buying a ticket to go up:

    http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/webcams/

    Weather forecast Jungfrau

    http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/weather/#jungf raujoch

    >> May 5 Schilthorn Going from Lauterbrunnen bus to Stechelberg – Cable car to Gimmelwald- change cablecar to Murren – change cable car to Birg- chage cable car to Schilthorn Coming back take same route and explore murren and gimmelwald … All this trip is free with Swiss travel pass?

    Yes. Instead of going back the same way, you could do a circuit as described here in rockoyster’s post of Jan 27, 2018 – 12:26 AM:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/best-way-to-spend-time-in-berner-oberland-area

    The cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp is closed between 30 April and 4 May, but that won’t affect you if you are planning this trip for 5 May.

    >> May 6 Going to Domodossola Train from Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken OST – change train to Spiez – change train to Brig – change train to Domodossola … Is this trip all free with Swiss travel pass?

    Yes. You could make it more scenic by putting “via Kandersteg” into your timetable search. Doing this means you will see some lovely scenery instead of travelling underneath it in a long tunnel. If the departure times suited, you could also do the Brig-Domodossola sector by PostBus over the Simplon Pass, which is a wonderful trip.

    If you are interested, I have written about both these trips (and included photos) in my posts titled

    • Meiringen to Saas-Fee (first half of the post)
    • Saas-Fee to Locarno (starting from the third paragraph)

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/trip-report-late-august-to-mid-october-2016

    >> Because in the image i have downloaded there are red broken lines from Frutigen to visp and from Brig to Iselle di Trasquera. Does it mean 50% off or just passing thru tunnels? Image attached.

    Those are just tunnels, and those routes are free with the Swiss Travel Pass.

    >> Alternate trips for bad weather is Lake Thun and Lake Brienz Cruise which is also free with Swiss travel pass right?

    Yes.

    Have a great trip!

    Alpenrose

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    28 January 2018 at 7:55:47 #875263

    Wooowww!!!

    Thank you so much alpenrose for answering all my questions!! Very helpful and detailed! 😁 I will take note of everything you said and will definitely look into your posts..

    And more question, do you think buying the swiss travel pass will save us money if those are the only trips that we will make in switzerland? Or should I still look into Supersaver or saver day pass? And correct me if I’m wrong, having the swiss travel pass, we will just be hoping on and off the train. Is it like an oyster card in london that you have to tap it? Or like a paper ticket?

    Thank you so much again!! 😍

    -Toni

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    28 January 2018 at 9:02:57 #875264

    Hi Toni,

    You’ll need to add up the ticket prices and compare them to the different rail passes to know for sure what is the most economical option. We have a web page on how to choose the best rail pass which will help you do the math.

    You can order the Swiss Travel Pass online here and print it at home. There is nothing to tap etc. on the trains. You simply show the conductor the rail pass when asked.

    Removed user
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    28 January 2018 at 9:34:46 #875265

    Hi Lucas!

    Oh I see, that’s great! And adding up the ticket prices I will do that soon! Thank you so much for your reply! 😁

    – Toni

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