[Xavi]

11 June 2022 at 0:04:41 #827473

Hi ! my family and I are traveling to Chamonix FR, we’ll have a rental car for our Chamonix trip.

Then we will travel to Switzerland and we don’t know if it’s best to make the trip by car or by train ??

Here is how our itinerary looks like :

From Chamonix we are going to Zermatt, then Grindelwald, Jungfrau Region (Top of the World, Lauterbrunnen etc.) and then to Lucerne and Zurich (Mt Tiltis and Rhin Falls).

If we travel by car from Chamonix to Zermatt, we”ll have to drive to Geneva airport french side to drop off our Chamonix rental (this because of the huge price tag if we drop off the car in Switzerland, i.e. in Geneva or Lucerne)

And so we will have to rent another car in Geneva airport on the Switzerland side to make the rest of the trip and be able to drop off the new car rental in Geneva (or Lucerne).

We are aware that the car won’t make it all the way to Zermatt, instead we will have to pay for parking at Tasch, so it doesn’t make much sense, but then I’m not sure if you suggest to keep the car rental….

We also researched that it is possible to take a train from Chamonix to Tasch (3 changes ) so this will avoid the drive to Geneva plus all the car rentals hassles.

But then again we really don’t know how much do one needs a car in Grindelwald? Is it a must to have a car in this region?

How do one goes from Grindewald (that’s our base city for the 4 nights) to Grildelwald First? to Jungfrauhouch Top Of The World? to Lauterbrunen, Murren or Werren or Interlaken? Is all the travel involved by train and gondolas or is it best to have a car?

I’m sure all this traveling from Grindelwald to nearby places will involve many cable cars, gondolas and trains.

And we have read that for lifts and gondolas COST INVOLVED is best to have some kind of Swiss Travel Pass or Half Card to get discounts (still don’t understand much which pass deal would suit our itinerary best because there is also a Jungfrau Pass so it’s so confusing : do we need one of each ?)We are thinking to rent a car in Interlaken at the end of our Grindelwald stay and drive to Lucerne, go to Mt tiltus or Pilatus (any recommendation on which one to visit?)

Well, it is pretty obvious we are “kinda”lost and really need and appreciate some enlightenment please

Travel dates are July 17 until 29.

Party of 2 adults, and 2 teens ages 15 and 131/2.

Thank you

W

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[Anna]

11 June 2022 at 7:13:17 #943124

Hi W,

Welcome to MySwissAlps. Thank you for joining us on this forum.

Based on your plans, a car might not be the most feasible option. I recommend travelling with the train so you won’t have to worry about car logistics such as parking and driving on the mountains. Be sure to read this for more useful information: car vs train

Zermatt is a car-free zone so you’re right, you will have to park in Täsch and use mountain transportation to access Gornergrat and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Similarly access to Grindelwald First and Jungfraujoch is only available by mountain transportation.

You can pretty much reach all the destinations on your list with the train.

For convenience, consider getting a railpass. A Swiss Travel Pass is the most flexible option. If you have children aged 6 to 15, you can request for a complimentary Swiss Family Card, which will allow your children to travel along for free everywhere as long as you have a valid railpass. You can explore other railpass options here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses

Hope this gets you started.

Anna

[Removed user]

11 June 2022 at 15:03:34 #943125

Unless you have your own car, there is little benefit in hiring a car for the places you are travelling to, which are all geared up for public transport. You can get to Chamonix from Geneva Airport fairly easily since the launch a couple of years ago of the ‘Leman Express’ cross-border integrated railway network, where new cross-border trains were launched on existing rail routes.

Without a car you can travel directly from Chamonix to Zermatt via Vallorcine and Martigny on the ‘Mont Blanc Express’

[Xavi]

15 June 2022 at 4:42:33 #943126

Thank you all for taking the time to help us !

We’ve decided, based on all the advise given, to continue by train from Chamonix to Zermatt, Grindewald, Lucerne and Zurich.

Regarding the train tickets, some questions please:

1 Swiss Travel Pass, Half Fare Card or Jungfrau Pass ?

Based on our itinerary, which do we need to

purchase ? which would be more cost friendly, flexible and valid within our travel dates (19-27 July) ?

Family of 2 adults and 2 15 yr old teens

2 Should we buy train tickets prior to our arrival ?

3 If yes, where should we buy them ?

4 If we should buy train tickets upon arrival, how do we make train reservations if we don’t hold a train ticket yet ??

Many thanks in advance for your most appreciated help 🙂

[Removed user]

15 June 2022 at 8:54:03 #943127

Hi Xavi,

Are the teens under 16? Then you can get the free Swiss Family Card for them free if you buy yourself the Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare Card: http://www.myswissalps.com/swissfamilycard. With the Swiss Family Card your children travel for free, see the validity map at http://www.myswissalps.com/swissfamilycard/validity.

I recommend you the Swiss Travel Pass as that pass is valid in the whole of Switzerland and not just in some regions, please check the validity map at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity.

If you would like to calculate your traveling cost, use our calculation spreadsheet, you can download it from here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass.

You can buy your train tickets in advance if you wish but you can also buy them here in Switzerland, learn more here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/wheretobuy.

If you are not familiar with the Swiss train system, make sure to check this one: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/howtotravel.

There are only a few trains in Switzerland that require a seat reservation: a few popular panoramic trains. All other trains can just be boarded with a rail pass or a ticket and do not need to be booked in advance. More info about how it works: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations/howtouse.

Regards,

Ildiko