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We are planning to book the Gotthard Panorama Express from Lucerne to Lugano or Bellinzona then going on from there to Zurich.
1. What is the total time for the trip (estimate is fine)
2. Which would be the best place to catch the train to Zurich (Bellinzona or Lugano)
3. Can we take our luggage with us?
4. Do we pay separately for the Panorama Express and the train to Zurich?
Thanks
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Hello M and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
1. 5 and a half hours to Lugano which makes it about 5 to Bellinzona. See timetable. If you want to shorten the trip you can drop the boat and join the train at Arth-Goldau. (Hint: The boat is the best part if the trip so you could just do that and proceed to Zurich from Flüelen if you were short of time).
2. Makes little difference but you could maybe check out the castles at Bellinzona if you go from there.
3. Yes.
4. Yes. The Gotthard Panorama Express train is 1st Class only and you need seat reservations. If you want to access the upper deck and dining room on the steamer it is 1st Class only. No reservations possible on the steamer.
Thank you for this information. As we will have luggage, I’m not sure that we’ll be able to visit the castles In Bellinzona. I think we’ll just enjoy the trip to Lugano and take the most direct train to Zurich where we’ll fly out the next day for the USA. This will be after we’ve already been vacationing for two weeks. I am assuming we can just purchase a ticket for the fast train to Zurich at the station in Lugano. Is that correct?
“I am assuming we can just purchase a ticket for the fast train to Zurich at the station in Lugano. Is that correct?”
Yes or you can buy it on-line before-hand. You don’t have a travel pass, right?
For checking timetables and buying tickets see http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/checking-train-timetables.
Another option you could consider is to take a steamer (you can take an earlier departure that the one which meets the GPEX train) to Flüelen then proceed to Andermatt and follow the Glacier Express route to Chur and from there proceed to Zurich.
Just as a matter of interests when are you travelling?
Hi Msuzanne,
If time allows, you could ship your luggage to Zurich airport and collect it there the next day: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/luggage.
Rockoyster,
Thank you for being so helpful.
We do NOT have a travel pass.
We are travelling from Basel to Lucerne on September 8, spend the night in Lucerne then take the Gotthard Panorama Express to Lugano and catch a train from there to Zurich on September 9. We depart for USA on September 10.
Arno,
Thank you for the suggestion of shipping our luggage. But I don’t think time will allow. We depart for USA on the very next day 10 September 2020.
For your Lugano excursion you should find the http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass of value.
Thank you Rockoyster,
the saverday pass will get us on the Panorama Express as well as the fast train to Zurich?
I know that we have to have 1st class tickets for the Panorama train but I think we can upgrade, correct?
Yes the Saver Day Pass covers the boat, GPEX (but seat reservations are extra) and regular trains for your Lugano trip.
If you are travelling with a 2nd Class Swiss Travel Pass (or Saver Day Pass or you have a 2nd Class ticket) but want to travel 1st Class on any particular trip you can buy a Class upgrade at any SBB station or using the SBB Mobile App (bit.ly/2ICIUHi ) or here bit.ly/2rZEIXh. You need to buy a route specific upgrade.
If you buy on line you need to nominate a Half-fare Card reduction to get the correct price (using either website or SBB app). An upgrade will cost half the difference between 1st and 2nd class full-fares.
Having said that you may be better off buying a 1st Class Saver Day Pass for simplicity. Check the prices as soon as they become available 2 months out from you travel date. The di increase in price and can sell out as the travel date approaches.
Rockoyster,
You are so danged helpful, but now I’m more confused than ever. I have followed the links and see time slots but I cannot identify which trains the time slots pertain to. If I follow an earlier link for the GPEX specifically, I don’t see a route from Lucern to Lugano. I understand that I can purchase the pass and it will cover that one day and I can get my seat reservations for GPEX by upgrading at the SBB station. Maybe this isn’t working because it’s not the designated 2 months before our travel date. I know that the GPEX is popular and I’ll want the reservation as soon as possible. I think that a 1st class saver day pass with the added seat reservations may be the best option, as long as it will cover the time period we need to catch a train in Lugano for Zurich. Again, many thanks. This shouldn’t confusing, but some Americans are not very good at navigating European public transportation.
“I can get my seat reservations for GPEX by upgrading at the SBB station”
Don’t confuse seat reservations and class of travel. Tickets/passes and seat reservations are quite separate things. You should be able to get seat reservation 3 months out. SDP pricing won’t show up until 2 months out.
Attached is the GPEX timetable. Just hop on the boat (which is just a regular scheduled paddle steamer) at Luzern with your SDP. You will join the GPEX at Flüelen. At Lugano just hop on any train that suits to get to Zurich.
Attachments:Aww, thank you very much. Much clearer now. We have navigated trains in Amsterdam and Italy, I don’t why I cannot get this one straight in my head. I really appreciate your help.
Swiss trains are super simple. Somehow SBB have managed to make their one and only panoramic train offering much more complicated than it ought to be. Everyone gets confused with it.
Happy travels.
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