Booking trains with Swiss Travel Pass

  • Removed user
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    22 September 2017 at 11:50:30 #813327

    Hello I am new to international travel!

    My fiance and I are traveling to Switzerland for our honeymoon (we are excited for the beauty) We will be flying into Zurich around 6:15pm and will be traveling straight to Murren for a few days then back to Zurich to fly into Venice. We will be there from October 29th – November 1st. I was going to buy a 4 day travel pass for all of our train rides but was curious if I need to book a specific train in advance or can we just hop on whenever? I have been looking at the http://www.sbb.ch/de/ website and there are several trains to Murren but I wanted to make sure if I bought the pass that we wouldn’t have to buy a “set” time in case of delays.

    Also if we are going from Switzerland to Venice on November 1st is our best bet flying out of Zurich or taking trains? I know the trains may be longer but I was curious of the pros/cons.

    Thank you so much in advance for the thoughts/help!

    -Adam

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    Removed user
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    22 September 2017 at 16:46:06 #870067

    Hi Adam and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    You won’t need to pre-book any trains between Zurich and Murren no – just hop on any train with your Swiss Travel Pass and you are good to go.

    I would think the train would be much more convenient and probably quicker in the end I’d bet.

    Murren to Venice would be about 8 hours (with a few train changes). Murren just to Zurich is about 4 hours plus getting to the airport an hour or two ahead of time, then flight time then getting into downtown Venice…

    I would go on the train – with the Swiss Travel Pass you will only need to buy a ticket from the Swiss border town of Chiasso to Venice.

    Lucas

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    24 September 2017 at 15:56:54 #870068

    Hey Lucas thank you for your reply and the information. I am looking at doing the train after you mentioned that but I am unfamiliar with which specific train station we would be leaving from in Murren. Should I use the Sbb site or just purchase tickets when we are there? I have found a few routes that range from 6-8 hours and that does sound much better than having to go back to airport. Again I am using google maps and don’t know how reliable that is.

    I heard the train rides can be very beautiful and full of scenery?

    Thank you in advance for your help!

    -Adam

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    25 September 2017 at 7:22:03 #870069

    Hi Adam

    I live in Murren and am familiar with the local timetables. Based on your eta in Zurich, you should be able to catch the last cable car up to Murren. The 20:40 & 20:43 from the airport will get you into Murren Schilthornbahn station at 23:55 After that time there will be no transport up the mountain until the morning. This route involves a bus from Lauterbrunnen station to Stechelberg station, where you catch the cable car. Not sure if you’ve booked accommodation yet, but this late arrival in the village is something to keep in mind as most places will have closed up for the night.

    Regarding your departure, I suggest you leave from Murren BLM station if you have luggage as it will be transferred for you from the mountain train to the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen. The SBB timetable gives the most direct and fastest routes for your specific time of travel, compared to Google. The train rides are spectacular in daylight. Hope this helps with planning.

    Washpark
    Participant
    13 posts
    25 September 2017 at 7:58:56 #870070

    We were just there and hoped right on all trains, cog railroads, ski lift. No lines and no problem. Don’t book if you’re going soon and be more flexible for the weather, etc.

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