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My wife and I will be flying to Zurich in September and I am having a
difficult time deciding which train passes make the most sense for us.
Our itinerary as of now:
Day 1-Arrive Zurich airport, need transportation to Lucerne. We will be staying in Lucerne for 4 nights.
Day 2-Explore Lucerne.
Day 3 and 4-We would like to do some day trips from Lucerne using the
rail system. We will be returning to our hotel in Lucerne each night.
We would also like some suggestions on which day trips might be doable
on each of those 2 days.
Day 5-Lucerne to Basel.
Does the Swiss Travel 4 day flex pass make sense for this type of
itinerary? We would only be traveling by train for 4 out of 5 days, but
not consecuatively. Or would a regular 3 day pass for the last 3 days
work better, and just buy single tickets from Zurich to Lucerne? Would
the 4 day flex pass allow us to use buses and get us into museums in
Lucerne, even though we would not be traveling by train on our 2nd day?
Thanks for any suggestions or advice anyone can give me.
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Hello Oldhophead and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
I would buy a 3-day pass and point to point tickets on day 1. You pay a premium for a Flex pass and that would just not be economic for the itinerary you describe. Nor is the Flx pass any se for anything on non-travel days.
For things to do in and around Luzern see http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/activities.
Hello Oldhophead,
The best rail pass to choose quite strongly depends on your itinerary so you’ll need a slightly clearer idea there before you can compare passes in detail.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass, note the spreadsheet for detailed comparison of passesIf you’re planning to do some trips in the Lucerne area maybe the Tell Pass would also be an option to look into:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/te llpassYou could then just buy a regular ticket for the arrival and departure day or look at the Saver Day Pass as an alternative:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/switzerland
– http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypassHope this provides some helpful input. Choosing the right rail pass can be challenging but also worth it.
Happy planning, we’re here for further input.
Best,
StephThanks for the feedback. For such a short time in the Lucerne area (3 days,4 nights), does it make sense to try to venture farther away from our “home base” of Lucerne? Or is it more realistic and practical to just try to see and do things closer to Lucerne? Remember, we are staying in Lucerne each night, so traveling to a further attraction (such as the Eiger , or taking a panorama train trip maybe?) and back to “home base” in a day might make for a long day? I would like to know what is realistically “doable” in one day from Lucerne and back.
Thanks for the info so far!! It really helps!
Joe
Hi Joe,
You could easily fill your time in and around Luzern. But if you want to go further afield you can use the timetable on the SBB website (myswissalps.com/timeta ble) or the highly-recommended SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi) to figure out if the amount of travel time fits within your personal preferences. I think a day trip to the Jungfraujoch Region is perfectly doable and well worth it. Panoramic trains work best if you are going from one destination to another rather than as round trips (in my opinion).
Is the Jungfraujoch Region accessible with the Tell Pass, or would we need the Swiss Travel Pass for that? I remember reading that the Tell Pass would get us to Interlaken, but that is far as we could go with it. Possibly we could buy full price tickets from Zurich airport to Luzern (30
CHF per person) and Luzern to Basel (34 CHF). The 210 CHF for the 3-day
Tell Pass and our cost is 274 CHF per person. That is a very reasonable cost in my non-expert opinion! But would this get us to the Jungfraujoch Region for a day trip?
The Tell Pass won’t get you past Interlaken. See http://www.myswissalps.com/te llpass/validity.
If you have a Swiss Travel Pass you could do a day trip to Schilthorn for free. Its the Jungfrau Region. Jungfraujoch is an expensive add-on which ever pass you choose.
Hello again Oldhophead,
Another option is to add a Guided Tour to the Jungfrau Region from Lucerne to your itinerary, preventing you from buying a more expensive pass but still allowing you to explore some further regions. You find them in below link:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/activitiesBest,
StephThank you for all the suggestions! A lot to digest and consider, but you have been most helpful. I noticed on the Swiss Alps Lucerne webpage that there are several hotels that are recommended. We have reservations at the Hotel Central Luzern, Lucerne at Morgartenstrasse 4 near Chapel Bridge. Can you tell me anything about that hotel? It looks like it is near the train station, according to the map.
Thank you,
Joe
Hi Joe,
Hotel Central is not in the historical town center, but very close to it, and only minutes from to the train station as well. It’s in the part of town called Neustadt (new city), with 19th century (I think) buildings mostly. Close to a very small park and a modern church. A map and price comparison can be found here: https://www.hotelscomb ined.com/Hotel/Hotel_C entral_Luzern.htm.
As you said, more hotels are listed here: http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/hotels.
Thank you all so much for all your assistance and help, it is very much appreciated! With your suggestions, I have formulated a rough itinerary for the few days we are in Switzerland. The plan is as follows: Day 1- Travel from Zurich airport to Lucerne, purchasing point to point tickets to do so. Day 2-Explore Lucerne using the Mobility Pass (I am assuming our hotel will provide those for us). Day 3-Travel to Fluelen by boat, then catch the train to Arth-Goldau, and then taking the cogwheel train up Mt. Riggi. We would then descend and return to Lucerne via train. Day 4-Explore Mt. Pilatus. Day 5-Travel from Lucerne to Basel, again using point to point tickets.
Does this sound like a realistic and doable itinerary, and will the Tell Pass, along with the Lucerne Mobility pass, get us to the places we want to visit?
Thank you,
Joe
Hi Oldophead,
That sounds like a reasonable plan. You can check the Tell Pass validity using the link that Rockoyster provided in his 2nd answer. Your trips on day 3 and 4 would be covered indeed. I’m not sure about the Mobility Pass. I haven’t heard of it in relation to hotels in Lucerne. Most hotels do offer a free Visitor Card, maybe that’s what you mean? You can read about it, and find links with additional information, at myswissalps.com/lucern e/hotels and myswissalps.com/lucern e/travel.
Yes, it is the Visitor Card that I was referring to. My apologies.
Thank you,
Joe
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