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Hello All
My wife and I are 66 and 72, and have some knee issues, also not too agile. We have a 5-days Swiss Travel Pass.
We’re considering
- 2nd October: Geneva-Zermatt-Geneva;
- 3rd October: Geneva-Montreux to Interlaken/Grindelwald via the Golden Pass Line. I assume the line is the same whether going from Lucerne to Montreux or the reverse?;
- 4th October: Riding the local trains around the Interlaken area, as described in your “Jungfrau Region in One Day”;
- 5th October: Interlaken to Brienz for the Brienzer Rothorn steam cog-wheel train ride and/or the cogwheel train to Schynige Platte, or Jungfraujoch;
- 6th October: Interlaken to Lucerne, same Golden Pass Line backwards.
How does that look? Especially the alternatives for 5th October?
Is Montreux to Lucerne via Interlaken the same as the Golden Pass Line which is described as Lucerne to Montreux via the Bernese Oberland?
Thanks for any advice and alternatives.
DPAKDEE
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Hi dpakdee, and welcome to MySwissAlps!
>> We’re considering 2nd October: Geneva-Zermatt-Geneva
That’s a long day: 3.75-4 hours travel each way, plus whatever time you spend in Zermatt. If you could stay in Montreux instead, that would cut at least 2 hours off your return travel for the day, and would also reduce your travelling time to Grindelwald the following day.
You can check travel times by using the Swiss Timetable:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
>> 3rd Oct. Geneva-Montreux to Interlaken/Grindelwald via the Golden Pass Line (I assume the Line is the same whether going from Lucerne to Montreux or the reverse?)
Yes, the line is the same in both directions. If you are starting from Geneva, put “via Montreux” and “via Zweisimmen” into your timetable search. If starting from Montreux, just put “via Zweisimmen” into the search. Otherwise the options presented will favour the faster routes, rather than the slower, more scenic Golden Pass route.
>> 5th Oct. Interlaken to Brienz for the Brienzer Rothorn sream cog-wheel train ride and/or the cogwheel train to Schynige Platte, OR Jungfraujoch;
Any of those trips would be possible if the mountain tops are not in the clouds. You can use the Swiss Timetable to plan your trips and decide what is feasible in one day. The webcams will help you decide if weather conditions are suitable for a visit to the mountain tops.
Webcams for the Jungfraujoch and Schynige Platte
http://www.jungfrau.ch/live/w ebcams/
Webcam for the Brienzer Rothorn
brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch/webcam/?lang=en
>> Is Montreux to Lucerne via Interlaken the same as the Golden Pass Line which is described as Lucerne to Montreux via the Bernese Oberland?
Yes. The full route is Luzern-Interlaken Ost-Zweisimmen-Montreux (or vice versa), with a change of train at each of the intermediate stations. It is sometimes also necessary to change trains in Spiez. You can read more about it here:
http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass
Alpenrose
Many thanks, Alpenrose! Very comprehensive and helpful indeed. I’ve gleaned a lot by reading through some of the threads matching mine.
>> We’re considering 2nd October: Geneva-Zermatt-Geneva
That’s a long day: 3.75-4 hours travel each way, plus whatever time you spend in Zermatt. If you could stay in Montreux instead, that would cut at least 2 hours off your return travel for the day, and would also reduce your travelling time to Grindelwald the following day.
Question: On 2nd Oct, can we go Geneva-Zermatt-Montreux with luggage, as we reduce the time by 1 hr 10 minutes by going to Montreux rather than Geneva, which also helps us for going to Interlaken the next day on the Golden Pass Line? Is there a luggage storage in Zermatt while we explore the village?
>> 5th Oct. Interlaken to Brienz for the Brienzer Rothorn steam cog-wheel train ride and/or the cogwheel train to Schynige Platte, OR Jungfraujoch;
Any of those trips would be possible if the mountain tops are not in the clouds. You can use the Swiss Timetable to plan your trips and decide what is feasible in one day. The webcams will help you decide if weather conditions are suitable for a visit to the mountain tops.
Regarding the 5th October plans, which would you recommend, Briener Rothorn or Schynige Platte, coupled with a boat ride on the lake from Interlaken? Is there a site for the weather predictions for an area?
What might be an alternative, maintaining Interlaken/Grindelwald as base, in case of poor visibility?
Which is the preferable day trip from Lucerne, Mt. Pilatus or Mt. Titlis?
Ahh, these old people…questions, questions! Sorry!
Keep up the excellent work! Really wonderful gold-mines of information!
Hi Dpakdeem,
Yes, there are luggage store facilities at the Zermatt train station, or you can ship your luggage and travel light.
For weather forecasts, please see http://www.myswissalps.com/we ather/forecast.
You mentioned some wonderful excursions, and they are really all very nice. I’d recommend to check our pages and decide for yourself which ones are most appealing to you. You really can’t go wrong here!
>> Is there a luggage storage in Zermatt while we explore the village?
Further to Arno’s info, the lockers are down a longish flight of stairs at the station entrance. I don’t recall seeing a lift, but you could look around for a sign, or ask.
As I recall, the lockers at Montreux are on the same level as the platforms, so they might be easier for you to manage if you have knee problems. That would mean stopping off briefly on your way to Zermatt from Geneva.
If you decide to do it this way, find suitable connections in the timetable by putting in “From Genève” “To Zermatt” (or Gornergrat, Klein Matterhorn etc) “via Montreux” and put in some stopover time in Montreux for putting your luggage in the lockers – say 20-30 minutes.
It would be useful to have a supply of coins on hand to save messing around looking for change 😉 Lockers cost CHF 6 or CHF 9 (small or large), so useful coins would be CHF 5, CHF 2 and CHF 1.
Alpenrose
Thank You, Alpenrose, Arno, All,,,
That was very handy information on the baggage storage at Zermatt being perhaps down a flight of stairs, as against being on the platrorm level at Montreux. I’ll see whether I can cut off one day in Geneva and book a day in Montreux.
Keeping an eye out for more of your gems of information!
Dpakdee
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