[Removed user]

19 February 2018 at 17:44:14 #814426

Hi,

I will be travelling to Basel on a business trip from April 22 to April 27, reaching Basel from Dublin at 12 noon and leaving for Dublin at 7 pm on the 27th. My wife will be buying the 15 day swiss flexi pass for herself as we are going again to Switzerland, this time on holiday centred around Grindelwald and Engelberg from May 4- May 13.

She is an avid traveller and doesn’t mind long hours in the train and bus.

Please could you advise regarding an itenerary and if what we have planned thus far is feasible? Thanks so much for your help.

Day 1: explore Basel with me 🙂

Day 2: She has shortlisted the Bernina express from chur to Lugano and then back to Basel on the same day.

Day 3: ?

Day 4: can’t seem to fit in the Glacier express route in a single day , hence we were thinking the Basel – Zurich – Chur – St. Moritz – Oberalppass – Andermatt – Lucerne – Basel ( leaving at 5 am reaching at 9-10 pm)

Day 5 : ? Lucerne/ Bern / Spiez /Stein Am Rhein

Day 6: ? Mt Rigi

Have a great day !

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[Slowpoke]

19 February 2018 at 20:17:53 #876795

Hi MW2018-

Have you tried working those out with the timetable?

http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

I made a quick pass at day 2, and could not complete it in one day. Did not explore every possible route option, but there are some pretty long journeys along various routes.

On Day 5, why Spiez? If I were trying to do that one, I’d go Basel -Bern – Spiez – Luzern- Stein. Did not check the timing, but a look at this map shows the logic of that routing:

map.search.ch/

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

19 February 2018 at 20:28:51 #876796

Hi MW2018,

Day 2: leaving from Basel in the morning? You know that that will be over 12 hours on the train? The leg Tirano to Lugano of the Bernina Express route is by bus and leaves only once a day at 14:20. Use the Swiss timetable to plan your trip. I would by the way never recommend to do this trip in one day.

Day 3: day trip to Bern.

Day 4: this is as heavy as day 2. Again, I wouldn’t recommend to do the Glacier Express from Basel and returning to Basel on the same day.

Day 5: again too much. Just go to Lucerne and spend the day there and include Mt. Rigi. We have a nice scenic trip described on our website here.

You could make Spiez another day trip, including a boat trip on Lake Thun.

I believe you’re trying to fit too much into your day. I would strongly recommend to rework your itinerary and if you post it back I will be more than happy to have another look at it.

[Removed user]

19 February 2018 at 20:47:07 #876797

Thanks for your advice, I shall rework to do less on the days especially day 2 and 3. Is there any way to do the Bernina express on one day as my wife was really keen on doing it, perhaps by not doing the bus leg ? Warm Regards,

[Removed user]

19 February 2018 at 20:59:16 #876798

Check this one in the timetable:

06:07 train from Basel to Tirano via Chur. Brings you at 12:49 in Tirano.

14:25 train from Tirano to Basel via Chur. Brings you at 20:53 in Basel.

The trains are denoted as BEX in the timetable. The trip is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass Flex. You still will have to make reservations which you can do here: http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress/tickets

[Removed user]

19 February 2018 at 21:05:50 #876799

Thanks so much Slowpoke for the map and guidance 🙂

I was using this site as reference for my days .. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g188049-i752-k1973023-Day_trips_from_Basel-Basel.html

For day 5, thanks for the heads-up , will see if I can skip the bus and complete the train part and then back to Basel from tirano ..

[Removed user]

19 February 2018 at 21:21:43 #876800

Thanks Chantal for providing detailed information on the booking and timetables , really appreciate the same ! 🙂

[rockoyster]

20 February 2018 at 4:32:57 #876801

Bernina Express in a day from Basel? Crazy brave but try http://www.rhb.ch/en/tickets-travelcards/promotions /gotthard-bernina-circular-tour#info.

If you can get to Zurich by 7:32 you’re laughing.

Get the 6:07 from Basel and you’ve got half an hour to grab brekkie in Zurich. 😎