[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 6:37:01 #814743

Hi,

We are travelling from Rome to Zurich by train ( April end ). We have only 3 days in Switzerland ( excluding the arrival and departure days ). Though we have already booked our train tickets all the way to Zurich, will it be a good idea to get down at maybe Bellinzona, Arth Goldau or Zug instead of Zurich and stay for the night and then travel up next morning?

Also what would be the best route to take to utilise our 3 days in Switzerland ? We are interested in nature mainly, not big towns. We have to take the train out of Zurich on the 5th day ( Day 1 – arrival around 5pm , Day 5 – 11am train to Paris from Zurich )

Thanks !

Vineetha

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[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 7:48:09 #878680

Hi Vineetha, and welcome to MySwissAlps,

To give you some suggestions, I would need a little bit more information. Where are you arriving at 5 pm on day 1? What kind of tickets did you purchase? Point-t0-point from Rome to Zurich?

Thanks.

[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 8:35:26 #878681

Hi Chantal,

Thank you for your prompt response !

We are boarding the train ( we booked point to point from Rome to Zurich ) with the following stops : Milan: 3:25pm – Monza: 3:35pm – Como S Giovanni: 4:01pm – Noise: 4:10pm – Lugano: 4:4pm — Bellinzona: 5:1pm – Arth Goldau: 6:09pm – Zug: 6:27pm – Zurich: 6:51pm.

SInce we are coming from Rome,we thought it would be nice if we could get down at a border city and go upwards, maybe staying a night each at 4 places and finally get to Zurich on the 5th day to catch the 11am train to Paris. But we are not sure if we will be allowed to get down at an earlier stop than the destination we have booked….

We currently don’t have any rail passes, we plan to buy a pass for our Switzerland travel. Which would be the best one ? We are a family of 4 ( 2 adults & 2 kids 14yrs & 16yrs ).

Appreciate your advice on how to plan our Swiss itinerary….

Thanks !

Vineetha

[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 9:14:39 #878682

Hi Vineetha,

I guess that the ticket to Zurich is only valid on a certain date? So you can’t get off the train on the way up? I’m assuming you’ll arrive in Zurich on your first day, but I would not stay there for the rest of your trip.

Are you interested in visiting any of the Swiss Alps? There are day trips you could do to the mountains around Lucerne if you wish to: Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Rigi or Mt. Titlis. The Junfraujoch region is another option.

I think you should first decide what it is that you would like to do and see. We have information on our website that can help you generating ideas: http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities. I would also read the information on how to put an itinerary together: http://www.myswissalps.com/pl antrip/doityourself.

Feel free to share your draft itinerary with us. Once you have finalized your itinerary you can think about selecting a rail pass. A clearly mapped out itinerary is the basis for deciding which pass (if any) suits. You can read more on how to select a rail pass on this web page: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass.

[rockoyster]

13 March 2018 at 9:23:53 #878683

We don’t know your specific situation but a point-to-point ticket typically is only valid for one day of travel so you may be best going straight through to Zurich and working out what you do from there. Like go to Lucerne and the Jungfrau Region which are probably the most popular tourist destinations.

A ticket from Rome to Chiasso which is the Swiss border might have been better for you and then you could have used a Swiss Travel Pass from there. But that’s by the by.

Your 16-year olds are unfortunately too old to take advantage of the free travel afforded by the free Swiss Family Card available to Swiss Travel Pass holders.

You should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass).

[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 9:32:31 #878684

Thank you for your input !

Just a small clarification – A point to point ticket from Rome to Zurich will not permit me to end my journey somewhere in between ? I understand that I can’t get back on the train to complete the trip to Zurich and would be losing that money but just wanted to know if that is allowed or not.

If so we were thinking if we could travel to Zurich halting in couple of cities on the way. Our main interest is to see the Alps and enjoy the scenery. We don’t plan to see the cities.

Thanks !

Vineetha

[rockoyster]

13 March 2018 at 9:42:52 #878685

Sure you can get off anywhere if you don’t mind losing some of what you have spent. No one is going to force you to stay on the train.

It’s just that the stops between Como and Zurich would not rank in the top ten of tourist attractions in April when it is the tail end of winter.

Maybe stop at Lugano or Bellinzona (nice castles) for a night? Zug is almost at Zurich. Not much at Arth-Goldhau.

The Gotthard Panorama Express (http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress) commences 21 April.

Or Lugano to Zurich via Bernina Express? See http://www.rhb.ch/en/panorami c-trains/bernina-express#info

[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 16:07:20 #878686

Hi All,

Thank you all so much for your valuable input !

Could you all suggest whether the below 2 itinerary options sounds possible / reasonable ? We will have to break our journey from Rome at Bellinzona (instead of our final destination Zurich ) for both these options. We are considering breaking the journey at Bellinzona to see the place and also to save some time.

Option 1 :

Day 1 : Bellinzona stay overnight

Day 2 : Bellinzona sightseeing & train to Zermatt ( reach in the evening )

Day 3 : Zermatt to Jungfrau and stay at Lauterbrunen

Day 4 : Lauterbrunen to Interlaken

Day 5 : Interlaken to Zurich, and onward to Paris

Option 2 :

Day 1 : Bellinzona stay overnight

Day 2 : Bellinzona to St. Moritz

Day 3 : St. Moritz to Lauterbrunen

Day 4 : Lauterbrunen to Jungfrau and stay overnight at Interlaken

Day 5 : Interlaken to Zurich, and onward to Paris

Or is it better to not break our train journey at Bellinzona and continue to our final destination Zurich and proceed from there to the mountains ?

This being our very first trip to Europe we are finding it quite confusing to plan our Switzerland itinerary for such a short stay. Appreciate all the help we can get !

Thank you !

Vineetha

[Removed user]

13 March 2018 at 19:06:51 #878687

Hi Vineetha,

This looks much better and both seem doable. I love the Italian part of Switzerland so I would never say not to break your journey there. I wouldn’t recommend to stay in Interlaken. That’s not a very special place. You could go to Lucerne.

[rockoyster]

13 March 2018 at 20:32:32 #878688

With option 1 look at Bellinzona – Locarno – Zermatt.

I would stay 2 nights Lauterbrunnen rather than swap to Interlaken.

[Removed user]

14 March 2018 at 4:30:42 #878689

Thanks again for your advice !

Which would be a better path to take considering the time constraint and weather around April 20th – St.Moritz or Zermatt ?

Also will it be better to cover the mountains near Lucerne than Jungfraujoch ? Read somewhere that Jungfraujoch is worth it only if the weather permits.

Thanks for your help !

Vineetha

[rockoyster]

14 March 2018 at 4:50:36 #878690

If you go to St Moritz from Bellinzona ((which will be by bus/train if you want the quickest route) then you would be better confining the rest of your trip to Lucerne.

You could also reach St Moritz via Lugano and the Bernina Express ((http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress) as mentioned earlier.

Either way you will need reservations.

You could also consider going from St Moritz to Andermatt on the Glacier Express (you would need reservations) and then to Lucerne. Or you could go all the way from St Moritz to Zermatt on the GEX (Glacier Express (http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress). Just don’t expect to see any glaciers.

If you go via Zermatt you (hopefully) get to see the Matterhorn and visit the Jungfrau Region.

The weather is a big factor in any mountain visits. Jungfraujoch is a very expensive trip to study the inside of clouds if the weather is bad.

You might want to read this http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/gondolarail-access-to-mountains-in-aprilmay-2018.