Calling Arno/Anika! Please suggest pass for itiner

Hi Arno/moderators,

First, I like to thank you for creating such a great platform for sharing info on swiss tourism. Its like a tripadvisor specific to swiss :)

I am planning on the below itineray: Could you please suggest a good rail pass or card for me? Also please suggest if the itinerary is OK or too aggresive;

Thanks a lot for helping out!

12th August Tuesday
Arrive Zurich by air at 4:40 PM; Later, Zurich to Lucerne by train; Night stay in Lucerne

13th Wednesday
Visit Lucerne & Around: Mt Titlis
Night Stay in Lucerne

14th Thursday
Visit Lucerne & Around: Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi, Lion Monument, Lake Lucerne, do Paragliding
Travel to Chur by train
Night stay in Chur

15th Friday
Visit Chur & around (not much I guess)
Travel form Chur to Zermatt on Glacier Express
Visit matterhorn and around
Night stay in Zermatt

16th Saturday
Travel to Interlaken by train
Visit Two lakes, Jungfrau, harder klum, UNESCO BIOSPHÄRE ENTLEBUCH,
Night stay near Interlaken (Wengen)

17th Sunday
Visit Berne by train and come back to interlaken (can skip if its too much time taking)
Travel to Montreux/Lausanne (Golden Pass Line)
Visit Montreux/Lausanne: chateau de chillon, Wine Tours, lavaux

18th Monday
Travel to Geneva by train and come back to Montreux/Lausanne
Visit CERN labs

19th Tuesday

Go to geneva, flight leaves at 11:45 AM

So the travel would be:

12/8 Zurich to Lucerne
13/8 Lucerne to Mt Titlis
14/8 Lucerne to Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi, Lion Monument, Lake Lucerne
Lucerne to Chur by train
15/8 Chur to Zermatt on Glacier Express (must go on this train!)
16/8 Zermatt to Interlaken
Interlaken to Jungfrau
17/8 Interlaken to Berne and back (can skip bern if its too much travel)
Interlaken to to Montreux/Lausanne (Golden Pass Line or any train in the route)
18/8 Montreux to Geneva and come back
19/8 Go to geneva, flight leaves at 11:45 AM

Plus all local visits on buses.

Thanks!!

Hi gotoswiss!

Thanks for signing up with us. And thanks for your compliments; it's good to hear that the site is useful :-)

You're traveling a lot, so an 8-day Swiss Pass is a perfect fit. See here for how it works, what's included, where to buy. Make sure to take advantage of this promotion, as that will save you money: all you need to do is buy a $25 baggage voucher, and that will get you a $75 discount on the pass. Net savings are $50. The voucher comes in handy for one of your longer travels, as the bag will be transported for you.

If you want to see a lot of Switzerland in a relatively short time, then the basic outlines of your itinerary are perfect. You have planned too much per day though.

The paragliding on the 14th, for example, will take a lot of time (I guess half a day, but please check with the company organizing this). There's no way you can fit in all the other things on your list. The key is to combine things smartly: if you plan to do the paragliding from Mount Rigi, then you can travel to/from Mount Rigi by boat and see the lake, and travel up there by cogwheel train and see the views (be sure to go all the way up to Rigi Kulm). See the Rigi page for details. The train and boat are free with a Swiss Pass.

On the 15th, the Glacier Express will take most of the day. If you take the latest one at 12:27 PM, you'll have some time to explore Chur in the morning but no time to go up to a viewing point after arrival in Zermatt at 6 PM. You can also travel by the regular local trains instead of the Glacier Express. The route and views are the same, and you'll be more flexible as you don't have to book seats in advance. You can just take the first train that suits you. Also you save CHF 33 per person on reservations. See here for details.

My general advice would be to stick to your plan, but check the timetable for traveling times to get an idea about what fits in one day. Then keep your list of to do's as a wish list, and decide what to do on the day, also based on the weather. Most things don't need to be booked in advance (except the paragliding and CERN I guess), so you can be pretty flexible. The Golden Pass line does not require seat reservations either.

Have fun!

Thanks for the feedback Arno!

I will definitely put those things on the wishlist and decide on the day depending on available time and weather.

I have made an appointment at the CERN already. So thats taken care of!

Do you recommend 2nd class Swiss Pass for 8 Days or 1st class for the places we are visiting (crowd on train and seats availability for viewing scenery)?

Hi gotoswiss,

Well, 1st class is more convenient (see here), but I would not say it is a necessity. If you can afford it, then do it and enjoy the ride even more. You are indeed traveling in high season, so some trains may be busy, typically more so in 2nd class.

Kind regards,

Annika

OK, will think about the class..

can you advice on any vineyard tours near lausanne-vevey-montreux area for halfday on monday morning? will go to geneva in the afternoon..

Hi gotoswiss,

The region you want to visit is called the Lavaux, and you find suggestions on the Montreux - Vevey tourism website.

That helps! Thanks a lot Annika :)