Help needed for planning our swiss trip

Hi , i've gone through this forum and found quiet useful.we are a family of 2 adults and 2 children(aged 13 and 10) .Our plan is like ths:
1.march 20th -flight from dubai to geneva... train to interlaken
2.Staying in interlaken for 5 nights.
3. march 21st -one day trip to Bern ( and zurich ) if possible on same day.
4.march 22 nd- trip to "jungfrachou"
5.march 23rd - golden panoramic train jounery.. to lucern..then mount titlis or mt pilatus.
6. march 24th.- pls suggest some intersting trip for this day.
7. march 25th- checking out to paris...2 nights in paris.
8. narch 27th - return from paris...stay in geneva for 1 night.
9. march 28th- afternoon flight to dubai.


my queris are:
1. travel from geneva to interlaken, and then interlaken to lucern for the mount titlis excursion...both can be travelled in the golden pass panoramic trains?
2. which rail pass can be the best choice for our itinerary? ( total 6 days in swiss)
3.also what about the 2 country rail pass?
4.is "glacier express " doable ? in my plan?
5. waiting for a clear idea ..so that our trip can be a memorable one in swiss.
6. will staying in interlaken itself for 5 nights help us ..so that v dont have to travel with our luggages to the other towns?

Hello prethiba, and welcome! As for your questions:

1. Yes, the route from Geneva to Interlaken and from Interlaken to Lucerne can be traveled in Golden Pass trains. Seat reservations are required.
2./3. I'd suggest either a Swiss Card (offering a free trip from Geneva from Interlaken on day 1, back from Interlaken to the Swiss-French border on day 7, and a 50% discount on your Swiss trips in between) or a 4 or 5 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass. If you'll only be traveling to and from Paris in France, I don't think the Eurail France-Switzerland Pass would be economical. You can best buy regular tickets for your trips in France.
4./6. No, you can't really make the Glacier Express trip from Interlaken. That is, not if you want to spend all nights in Interlaken. The Glacier Express runs in another part of the country, and you'd have to stay overnight in other towns once or twice. In my opinion, it's very relaxed to stay in one town and make day trips from and back to your resort each day.
5. There's a lot to see and do near Interlaken. I suggest that you take a look at the day trip overview. Please note that some of the trips mentioned there can be made in summer months only. By the way, you could also make a city trip to Bern or Zurich on day 6, as it would be a bit too much to visit both on day 3.

The timetable helps you to find out about traveling times.

Hello Annika!
Thank you for your reply which gave me an idea of how the trip can be planned.so now i've made a few changes in my plan...please suggest me whether this will work out?
1.march 20th - geneva to interlaken (golden pass panoramic train)
2.march 21st-day trip to bern..
3.march 22nd- trip to jungfrachou
4.march 23rd- trip to lucerne ( any one mountain either pilatus or titlis trip from there)
5.march 24th-glacier express from zermatt-st moritz ..night stay in st.moritz.( also if v can make a trip till only "chur"..stay there and come back?)...my family wants to make it to glacier express..for sure!
6.march 25th- glacier express back zermatt...then to geneva so that v'll stay in geneva overnite and catch the TGV to paris next morning.
7.march 26th- TGV -the earliest to paris from geneva ..
8.march 27th- stay in paris.
9.march 28th - catch the earliest train ( learnt thro the site 7:00 am train is there)..and rach geneva airport for flight.


so now my queries are:
1.will the glacier express and the visit be worth...for spending 2 full days? and also how about the trip in the month of march?
2.alternatively can v use those 2 day for places like zurich,mount schilithron, ?
3.we have plans only to visit paris city and disney land...so as per your advice v'll take only swiss pass.
waiting for your reply.regards,prethiba.

Hi prethiba,

The Glacier Express is definitely worth your time. That goes for March as well, but it depends on the weather on that particular day whether you get the best views or not. Your plan looks fine to me, except I would personally not spend March 25 on the Glacier Express again. I would stay on board until St. Moritz on the 24th, and travel directly to Paris the next day (takes 7-8 hours). That saves a whole day that you can spend somewhere else, e.g. in Interlaken. Please check the timetable for exact traveling times.

Hi,
Thank you for the reply, which gave me a better idea now to plan my trip.

• Yeah..as per your plan,v will not travel again by glacier express...and waste time. How about the journey between Brig- Chur in glacier express? v just want to experince the journey, so no plans to go till st.moritz.so that v can even return back to interlaken the same day (chur-zurich-interlaken train).
• From day 1 geneva airport-interlaken till day 6 interlaken - geneva station , we'll be travelling in swiss. after going through the full details , i think "swiss saver flexi pass" will help us the best...we 4 (2 adults and 2 children) will be travelling together at all time and also the days of travel will also be consecutive. what is the "family card"? ...which says children travel free? that means we'll buy the pass only for both of us and not for the children?
• "swiss saver flexi pass"- so if i get it for 6 days together ...does it mean that v are entitled for unlimited travel by train,bus through out the 6 days?
• Heard through my friend about markets in "bern" on tuesdays and saturdays..which is too good for quick shopping for gifts and small things.will the market be there at the time of my travel?so that i can plan accordingly?
• also v'll be flying in to geneva , swiss trip 5 days and then to paris for 2 days and return back to gevena for our flight to dubai. there are mixed news through internet about the visa arrangement.it'll be really helpful if u can point out the proper thing that can be done.
• we are indians ,living in dubai with u.a.e residence visa.
• thank you.

Hello prethiba.

• Yes, you can also make this part of the journey in the Glacier Express.
• The 6 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass could be an option indeed, but in your case an 8 day regular Swiss Saver Pass would still be a bit cheaper. An 8 day Swiss Saver Pass will cover all 6 days of your stay in Switzerland with unlimited traveling in regular trains, buses and boats. You only have to buy one for the adults. The children aged 10 and 13 will travel for free if you order the free Swiss Family Card along with your Swiss Saver Pass. Specifics can be found at the Swiss Pass page;
• The Bern tourism website may provide the market information you're looking for;
• The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs will be able to inform you correctly on visa issues.

hi,
thank you for the reply...still some doubts.

• Which part of the "glacier express" will be nice? is it ok from brig-chur? can u make clear in which route is the -(ALBULA ROUTE-UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE)., the rhine gorge?
• Also found that 8 day swiss saver pass would be cheaper for me.
• we'll be landing in geneva airport..and travelling by train to interlaken.if i use the "fly rail baggage " service, when will my lugage reach interlaken station, or if i'm going to carry my luggage with me, will it be fine..because there is change of train in bern on the way to interlaken?
• is boating operatinal during the month of march in lakes like thun,brienz,lucern?
• both my kids travel free....does it mean they can travel free in the mountain train journeys, cable cars, to the mt .jungfrau, titlis?

Hi prethiba,

Any part of the Glacier Express is beautiful if the weather is fine. The Albula route is indeed one of the highlights. It's between Chur and St. Moritz. The Rhine gorge is between Brig and Chur. All details about the Fly Rail Baggage service are on the website of the Federal Railways. Carrying it yourself is not a problem. The timetable shows you the platform numbers and times in case of a change. There will be little or no boats operating in March. The timetables are on bls.ch. Your kids travel along for free anywhere you travel with your Swiss Pass.

I hope this helps you do the planning!

Hi,
Thank you for taking time to answer my queries. Now that i've got a great idea...in planning the trip.
Waiting for march 20th..to land in the beautiful country.
Will come back to if needed...to the close of my journey.
Hoping to have a great vacation in :"Scenic Swiss and Magical Paris".