Excursion ticket/reservation buying suggestion

Hi All.

I will be in Switzerland from15 June (eve) till June 21 (morning). I will be with my wife and baby who is just 1.5 years old. Our base city is Luzern.

We have 5 days only and looking at weather forecast it seems it might rain. Also because of baby's health we might need to make changes to plan such as skip a snow mountain.

As I have 5 days only, I want to cover 4 mountains in 2 days, like below:

Day-1 – Mt Pilatus (noon) excursion and Mt Rigi (eve).

Day-2 – Mt Titlis excursion (noon) and Mt Stanserhorn (eve).

I think Mt Rigi and Mt Stanserhorn are better for evening time and dinner. Please correct me if I am wrong.

In remaining 3 days, we just want to spend a day or two taking rides. e.g. Glacier Express www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress/gettingth ere (section 2 only or section 2+3)

As we need a lot of flexibility, I am planning to just buy Swiss Travel Pass online now. And later on buy excursion ticket, Glacier Express and other train reservation on the spot.

1. Is this good idea?
2. I think mountain excursion passes can be purchased online on the spot without issue but what about train reservations? Do they get sold out.
3. Please pass your suggestions. Also let me know if 2 mountains in a day is doable?

Regards.

Thanks for joining us, rahul286!

First of all, you really shouldn't worry about the forecasts. Current forecasts are absolutely unreliable for mid-June. They'll start to make sense only a couple of days in advance. Please find further information here.

As for your questions:

1. Yes, if flexibility is important to you it's wise to get a Swiss Travel Pass. Please find purchase options here.

2. Yes, additional tickets can be bought at the spot. Seat reservations aren't necessary, except for some panoramic trains such as the Glacier Express. Although June isn't the tourist peak season yet, you may want to consider arranging for this in advance too, as it's quite a popular train.

3. Two mountains in one day should be doable. It's all about your personal preferences. You can check schedules with the aid of the general timetable and the information under the "Route" tabs on our attraction pages, e.g. Rigi, Pilatus, Titlis and Stanserhorn. You'll find links to separate mountain transportation timetables on these pages too. If you don't mind long traveling days and think your baby is up for it, it's all fine. Do remember to be cautious when bringing your infant up to high altitudes, as altitude sickness may pose problems. Information is at our attraction pages, e.g. our Titlis page.

Hi Annika,

Thanks for your reply and this community. This site helped me plan most of my trip.

So I will avoid buying excursions seats for now. About Glacier express reservation, I will do it later.

Long day is fine. I think sun sets late in Switzerland and northern Europe. As we will rise early, I hop we will get a lot of time every day.

Do you recommend any particular pairing among Rigi, Pilatus, Titlis and Stanserhorn?

From map it looks like Pilatus, Titlis and Stanserhorn are on one side of Lucerne. But three in a day may be too much!

As we are traveling with an infant, for us "journey will be reward". We won't be able to play much in snow as baby needs constant attention.

I also posted my detailed plan on my blog - rahul286.com/blog/word camp-europe-trip-2016-itinerary/ . In case you like to make any suggestion.

Thanks again.

edit: about "altitude sickness" - I read Titlis page before on this site and consulted doctor. As I said above, this site is single best resource for Switzerland. :-)

Hi rahul286,

Happy to hear our website has been useful so far! I'd avoid trying to visit three mountain tops in one day indeed; two is definitely enough. Titlis and Rigi require most traveling time in all from Lucerne, so I'd do both on separate days and then add either Stanserhorn or Pilatus.

Great that you get to visit France and Austria too! I hope you'll enjoy your Europe trip.