[Removed user]

5 June 2018 at 11:24:22 #816461

Hi, I will be in Austria/Switzerland for work next month and thought I’d use the opportunity to see as much of the area as I can. I am looking to depart Innsbruck on Tuesday morning, and will need to be in Zug by late Thursday evening. (So I have 3 days and 2 nights to explore!)

As I still need to make it into Switzerland in the morning, would it make sense to start with the Golden Pass Line?

– Are there opportunities to hop off and experience towns along the way?

– Is it worth spending the night in Montreux? Or do I stay somewhere else along the line?

The following day, I could then get the 1 hour bus to Brig, and catch the west bound Glacier Express to Saint Moritz (or Davos, or Chur).

The next day I could complete the Bernina Express line, before slowly making my way to Zug that evening

Is this all even possible? And even if it is, this is obviously a lot of train travel. Is it worth reducing the travel, and spending some time in some of these places?

What suggestions would you have for someone with a few days to see the most of Switzerland?

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[Removed user]

5 June 2018 at 13:43:51 #887462

Hi RedKangaroo and welcome to MySwissAlps!

Coming from Innsbruck you won’t be entering Switzerland near the Golden Pass route (Montreux – Lucerne).

You will come in to Switzerland near Liechtenstein (town of Buchs SG). This isn’t too far from the town of Chur where you can start the Glacier Express and Bernina Express trains though.

For your limited time I would not do the Bernina Express (which goes to Tirano, Italy) but take the Glacier Express to Zermatt for 1 night. You could then train to Montreux, hop on the Golden Pass line to Lucerne (stay another night) and then an easy trip to Zug later that day.

You can play with the Swiss railways timetable to find schedules for train between any towns/mountains in Switzerland: https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable

[Removed user]

5 June 2018 at 15:06:14 #887463

Hi Lucas,

Thank you so much for you response! I had initially been looking at starting at Chur, but only looked at Bernina Express at the time, which left way too early for me to be able to make it from Innsbruck. I can see now that Glacier Express offers a much more reasonable time!

Just to confirm, Day 1, I would:

– Depart INNSBRUCK at 0745, on the RJ Zürich HB.

– Change at BUCHS at 1015, and get on to the RE Chur.

– Change at CHUR at 1126, and get on the GE to Zermatt.

– Arrive at ZERMATT at 1710, and sleep 🙂

Day 2:

– Depart ZERMATT at 0852, on the GEX Disentis/Mustér

– Change at BRIG at 1020, on the EC Genève

– Change at MONTREUX at 1144, on the Golden Pass Line

Will it be the same the same train all the way up to LUCERNE? Or will i need to transfer a few more times?

Also, is there a town you’d recommend stopping to spend time at? Maybe walk to a lookout, or grab some food? (Zweisimmen, Interlaken or Luzern etc)

Looking at it written like that…There are a lot of trains and transfers involved! Should I be buying point-to-point, or look at one of the train passes?

Thanks again – Really appreciate the site and your help!

[Removed user]

5 June 2018 at 19:27:36 #887464

That sounds right for Day 1. The timetable link I gave before will give you the specific details for the trip.

Day 2: I wouldn’t do the Glacier Express back to Brig as you just spent the money the day before on the trip. Standard regional trains run the same route as the Glacier Express. Use the timetable to find a train that is convenient for you from Zermatt to Lucerne via Montreux. From Montreux you will need to transfer at least once (more if you follow the Golden Pass route).

I’d look at a 3 day train pass yes – the Swiss Travel Pass is the most convenient. https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass

If you want to know for sure, which is the cheapest option (rail pass or tickets) you need to plan out all trips you will make (train, bus, boat, cable car) and compare the prices for regular tickets to the rail pass price (and which routes/mountains are free or discounted). Once you have that information you can read our page here on how to choose the best rail pass. There is a spreadsheet there to help with the math. 🙂