First time travellers - which Pass to buy?

Hi Arno,

Firstly, I would like to commend you and Annika for the absolutely fantastic resource that you have put together for those planning a trip to Switzerland. As I have been working on our itinerary for our upcoming holiday to Switzrland (our first), this site has been such a fantastic help.Thanks so much for that.

Having put together our rough itinerary, I am now trying to work do the math about which pass will work best for us but have several questions. I am hoping to count on your expert advice.

Apologies in advance for the very long post.

We are a family of 4(2 adults and 2 children, 5 and 3 years)travelling from London Gatwick. Our itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 – Arrive at Zurich airport at 10 am. Transfer to Lucerne and campsite. (Camping Lido). Deposit luggage at campsite, lunch and come back to Old Town for some sightseeing.

Day 2 – Excursion to Mount Rigi

Day 3 – Excursion to Mount Pilatus

Day 4 – Golden Pass to Interlaken. Reach Manor Farm campsite. Harder Klum Or cruise on river Thun or Brienz.

Day 5 - Jungfraujoch excursion. Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnenand up to Wengen. to Jungfraujoch. Then down to Grindelwald, walk through the villageto the First cable car. Up to First. Then back to Interlaken Ost.

Day 6- Interlaken Ost to Mürren via Lauterbrunnen and the Trummelbach Falls (underground) and the cable cars from Stechelberg. On to the Schilthorn if you like and then back to Mürren, walk through the village and train to Grutschalp and back to Lauterbrunnen and then to Interlaken.

Day 7 - Cable car to Männlichen, walk down with views of mountains and train back from Wengen

Day 8 –Golden Pass to Montreux and onward to Geneva. Night flight from Geneva to theUK.The passesI am considering are the Half Fare Card,the 8 day Swiss Pass and the Transfer Combi 1-month. Is there any that onperusal of our schedule that you would particularly recommend? I have thefollowing questions: As we are staying in a campsite in Lucerne that is not very central and are travelling without strollers, we may need to take the bus a couple of times back and fro to the main city. I am unable to find the prices for the bus journeys.I am also unable to find the prices for the cruise on Brienz and Thun.On the last day, we would like to take the VIP booking on the Golden Pass to Montreux. I read online that this allows you to be seated in the drivers section for just GDP 10 PP. But am unaware how to make this booking. I cannot find the option for this on the website.Our itinerary for the last day is still open. Would there to be time for us to walk around the Montreux promenade and do some quick sightseeing in Geneva before we head to the airport? How do I work out prices to travel in Geneva city center with a Half Fare Card?

I am a bit biased towards the Swiss Travel Pass however not if this will be to a premium to the other options. As we have an Indian passport, we do have the option to order it on the Indian rail europe website and get it delivered to the UK (this would cost us GDP 410 as opposed to GDP 500 if purchased through the UK site) but am concerned that we would receive this before the 26th.

I would appreciate your inputs very much. Thank you in advance.

Best Regards,

Manokamana

Welcome to MySwissAlps, Manokamana!

Thank you for your compliments. We're glad to hear that MySwissAlps has been a useful resource in your planning. Let's take a look at your questions.

• There are several rail pass options indeed. The 8 day Swiss Travel Pass would be the most convenient option: www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass. The Swiss Half Fare Card (www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard) might turn out to be cheaper, but you'd have to do the math as explained at www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass to make sure. Mind that you have quite a fixed and weather dependent schedule. If weather or other circumstances force you to change your plans, you may end up doing other trips than expected. However, calculations will give some hold.

• Also consider what you prefer in terms of convenience. The Swiss Travel Pass allows you to board regular trains, buses and boats for free, without the need to buy additional tickets. This also goes for the entire Rigi trip, and personally I really like this concept. You wiill have to buy additional discounted tickets for mountain transportation. For your stay, this mostly concerns the cable cars and trains up from Mürren/Wengen/Grindelwald. Please check www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity for details. The Swiss Half Fare Card, on the other hand, requires you to buy tickets for each trip, including bus trips made from your camping in Lucerne.

• You'll still have time to order your pass online and receive it before August 26. If you want to purchase the Swiss Travel Pass, the cheapest option for you is to do so via http://www.raileurope-world.com/pass/swiss-pass. Mind to select 'England' as your country from the drop-down list. Shipping takes about 8 working days.

• Prices for the buses in Lucerne are in the timetable: enter your departure point and destination, pick a connection and click 'Fare/Buy'. Tickets in the Lucerne region are called 'Passepartout' tickets. You can choose from single tickets or day cards, the latter allowing you to travel up and down as you like much on a specific legwithin one day. Further information is at the VBL website: http://www.vbl.ch/bill ette-abos/ (in German).

• Prices for trips on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz can be found by following the link to the BLS boat timetables (fares are listed there too) under 'More on other websites' at either www.myswissalps.com/bo atlakethun or www.myswissalps.com/bo atlakebrienz.

• VIP seats for the Golden Pass can be booked if you follow the link to Golden Pass seat reservations under 'More on other websites' at www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass/tickets. Not all trains have VIP seats, so you'll have to search well and select front carriages. Then see if seats in the very front, facing the front window, are still available.

• If you leave early and have an evening flight on your last day, then yes, you will be able to explore some of either Montreux or Geneva. Please see www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux and www.myswissalps.com/ge neva for tips.