72625 posts
Hello Arnami and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
Nice to hear you’re coming along to Switzerland for a relaxed stay with your family.
1. One good thing of Switzerland’s small size is that you can quite easily travel to various destinations without spending too much time traveling. To find out about detailed traveling times and connections I recommend you get familiar with the timetable below, a fantastic tool for any planning.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable
2. If or not the Swiss Travel Pass makes sense depends quite strongly on your detailed itinerary. Find a step-by-step instruction of how to choose the best pass below, incl. a fantastic spread sheet for detailed calcualtions:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass
For detailed input on the pass itself please see:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass
3. Make sure to check out below links about the areas you plan to visit to find more inspiration for your trip:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/geneva
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lakegeneva
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lakegenevawest
– http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken
http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion
– http://www.myswissalps.com/berneseoberland
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne
– http://www.myswissalps.com/basel
Also make sure to read:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself
Best,
Steph
29 posts
Thq Steph,
Yes we are reading forums and following my swiss Alps for some-time now. Thx for the links , I have planned an itinerary
Day 1: we arrive at Geneva in the late evening
Day 2: visit to cern ( will book fifteen days advance) and in the afternoon local sight seeing, jet, UN, broken chair etc
Day 3: chamonix by bus , augili di mudi, return to geneva by late evening
Day 4: Geneva to Interlaken by golden pass, stay in lauterbrunen and explore the surrounding
Day 5: good morning tkt to Jungfrau,( if available) visit the peak of weather is good or exploring the Alpine village , harder klum or schilthorn
Travel to lucern in the late evening
Day 6: lake lucern cruise and chapel bridge aight seeing , and travel to Basel euro airport for return flight in the evening
How doable is it do you think?
Do you think swiss pass will save a lot in my itineray?
72625 posts
Hello Arnami,
Your plan sounds quite fantastic and well planned, with time to explore each region sufficiently. Very nice!
I’m afraid you will have to use the timetable provided to check exact connections for each trip and also find a detailed answer to the rail pass question by using the spreadsheet.
Overall I can say, that the Swiss Travel Pass covers lots of your destinations entirely and the rest partially (discounted tickets) and is a very practical solution. There are alternatives available like the Swiss Half Fare Card or the Saver Day Pass, see below link for details. I’m aware that choosing the best rail pass/ticket option is often quite a task as the variety of offers is wide.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard
– http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/howtotravel
Happy calculating and get back to us for any further details anytime.
Best,
Steph
Btw: You’ll find details on most of your planned destinations by typing them into the search bar of this page.
72625 posts
Agree with Steph – a good plan
Your choice, but many consider Jungfraujoch itself to be over-rated because some of the features of the summit are a bit too much like a theme park (compared to the simplicity it once was), the train is inside the mountain most of the way and it is very expensive. Personally for great views I like to travel just as far as Kleine Scheidegg, and on the Mürren side
Other points:
If the French rail strike has ended, you may be able to reach Chamonix by train via the new Leman Express cross-Geneva railway
I pass it quite frequently and I’m still not sure that the broken chair is much to write home about. The UN building itself is fairly well hidden behind hefty security fencing nowadays
29 posts
Thank you so much. Ya me too thought Jungfrau is overrated and very expensive. Thx for the info of leman express, and UN building , broken chair. We will certainly reconsider our plan.
29 posts
Thanks a lot.
Just two more question,
1)if we don’t buy any pass, is there any option for my kid to travel free? She is 6 yrs old?
2) the lake lucern cruise starts 12.45 as I can see from viator or get your guide, and our return flight is from Basel euro airport at eight pm the same day. Can we take the cruise? Is there an earlier option for lake cruise?
Thanks in advance
72625 posts
Hello Arnami,
Thanks for your question!
1) The answer to your question is quite simply that your 6 year old may travel along with you FOR FREE, even on the journeys where you need to buy a discounted ticket. Please read the links below for your reference:
2) You can take an earlier cruise on Lake Lucerne ( http://www.myswissalps.com/lakelucerne). I will attach the schedule for your reference: http://www.lakelucerne.ch/en/timetable-fares/timetable/
Be sure to coordinate and check out train timetable too:
Good luck!
Suzanne