Combine Gotthard Panorama Express & Glacier Expres

I am thinking of doing the combined Gotthard Panorama Express and Glacia Express as suggested in the website. Target date is around 8 Dec 2016. I would like advice on:

1. Total time for the trip (one way)

2. Where to find the timetable for this combination

3. Do I have to buy tickets in advance or can I buy on the day of travel? (I have the Swiss travel pass)

thanks!

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us!

As for your questions:

1. That depends on the route you have in mind, but you should count on one day. The routes are explained on the Gotthard Panorama Express page.

2. The online Swiss timetable offers all schedules of all public transport. It's easiest to search for each of the 4 legs separately: Glacier Express, Andermatt - Göschenen, Gotthard Panorama Express, boat. You'll also find timetable links on the page linked under 1 and the Glacier Express page. The boat won't run frequently in December, so I'd start there.

3. As you have a Swiss Travel Pass you do not need tickets at all. The pass covers the ride. The Gotthard Panorama Express does not operate until April so you can take regular trains and boats on that leg. No reservations required there. The Glacier Express does not operate until December 11, so you either take regular trains there as well or you can buy reservations in advance (see the Glacier Express page) if you decide to travel after that date.

Thanks for the speedy response.

I ought to have been more specific. The route I am thinking of is the one from Bellizona to Zermatt or the other way around:

Bellinoza --> Göschenen (Gotthard Panorama Express) --> Andermatt (Cogwheel train) --> Zermatt (Glacier Express)

How many hours will this take approximately? Is the Gotthard Panorama Express operating in Dec 2016?

This is my itinerary. Does it look manageable? We are a family of 4 with 2 adventurous children age 10 and 6. We prefer to spend more time in alpine villages while still taking in the sights of the cities.

Zurich - 2 nights.

Grundelwald - 3 nights. Separate day trips to Bern and Jungfraujoch

Zermatt - 3 nights. Travel to Bellinoza on the combined panoramic train route mentioned above.

Bellinoza - 1 night.

Bellinona to Flühli

Grateful for your advices and suggestions.

HI Ashley17!

As mentioned above, the Gotthard Panorama Express won't be available in December; please check "What's the best season?" at www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress. You can do this trip by regular trains too though, no problem. The timetable will help you out here: enter Bellinzona (mind the right spelling) as your departure station and Zermatt as your destination or vice versa, and then add Göschenen and Andermatt as via stations using the advanced search option.

Yes, your itinerary certainly looks doable. Flühli is quite remote and I don't expect this to be the perfect destination for a trip in early December. The town of Lucerne has a lot more to offer, especially if you're traveling with kids, but you may have specific reasons to visit Flühli.

Hi Arno

Greatly appreciate your speedy response and advice. The tip on the advance search option is useful.

We are visiting a friend in Flühli for a week. We will be skiing and definitely making day trips to Lucerne and Mt Titlis.

As you can see from the itinerary, we are concentrating our trips around just a few places and its vicinity - Zurich, Grindelwald, Bern, Zermatt. Do you have suggestions on where else would be a good place to spend 1 or 2 nights instead of Bellinzona? I had considered Basel and St Moritz too. Switzerland is such a wonderful country and everywhere is so pretty. It is so hard to choose because we have limited time.

You're welcome! If you like museums, apart from the ones in Zurich, Basel would be a good option. For nature and more mountains, St. Moritz is wonderful. Two nights is an absolute minimum there as the weather is not guaranteed and there is a lot to see in that area (in fact you would need a week at least).