[Removed user]

17 June 2016 at 19:35:09 #809466

Dear Arno and Annika,

Hope you are doing fine. I am travelling Paris and Switzerland and following are my plans.

30th July – Travel Paris to Geneva by TGV (ticket booked).

30th July – Geneva to Interlaken (Rail Ticket not booked)

31st July – Interlaken to Jungfrau and then return to Lucerne. (Rail Ticket not booked)

1st August – Lucerne to Mt Titlis visit and return to Zurich. (Rail Ticket not booked)

2nd August – (a) Zurich City Tour – the Best of Zurich (Ticket not booked)

(b) Rhine Falls visit (Ticket not booked)

Kindly guide me for the following

(a) which pass will be useful for me.

(b) How to complete the Zurich trip of 2nd August on an optimum cost.

(c) Can I book the rail ticket more than a month before? I tried in SBB website but was not successful.

Would be grateful if you can provide guidance for the same.

Regards

Kaushik

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[Arno]

18 June 2016 at 6:35:23 #853194

Thanks for joining us Kaushik!

(a) I expect the Swiss Half Fare Card to be your cheapest option: myswissalps.com/ swisshalffarecard.

(b) You seem to be considering a guided tour (several are listed on myswissalps.com/ zurich/activities). So you can either book a tour, or do it on your own. If you do it in your own and you need transportation, you can buy a discounted day ticket with your Swiss Half Fare Card.

(c) You don’t need to book tickets in advance. Just buy your discounted tickets from the machines or ticket office when you need them. You may want to consider to buy the ticket to Jungfraujoch on the 30th if the weather forecasts for the next day are good. Please see here. As for the Swiss Half Fare Card: it’s convenient to buy it in advance as you can print it at home, so that saves you time on arrival. You can do so through the SBB web shop at http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick “Online Ticket” from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the pass (no delivery fees), so you can print it at home.

Normally you would not travel to Interlaken via Geneva, but now that you do, I recommend to reach Interlaken via the scenic Golden Pass line: Geneva – Montreux – Zweisimmen – Interlaken.

[Removed user]

20 June 2016 at 14:29:33 #853195

Dear Arno,

Thanks for your immediate response.I would like to seek you further help for the following details. I have made the entire travel plan and that was the reason it is not perfect.Now I am trying to make it better through your support.

1.Can you please send me the link to book ticket for the Golden Pass line. Is it a 3 separate ticket or 1 ticket will cover the entire journey. Similarly shall I need to change the train at Montreux & Zweisimmen or is it a direct train?

2. Please let me know Swiss Half Fare Card and Half Fare Travelcard (http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelca rds-and-tickets/railpasses/hal f-fare-travelcard.html) are same or different?

3. Do you have any suggestion for Hotel or B&B in Interlaken? I would like to stay there to catch the Good Morning train for Jungfraujoch on the 31st July.

4. My train from Paris will come to Geneve CFF and I need to catch Golden Pass train from Geneve as per your last post. Please let me know Geneve and Geneve CFF are the same station or different station.

5. If I dont visit Mt.Tiltis what are the other option to spent time at Lucerne?

Regards

Kaushik

[Annika]

20 June 2016 at 18:10:35 #853196

Hello Kaushik!

1. Mind that you don’t have to pre-book your tickets. You can just buy 50% discounted tickets at the spot before boarding, either from ticketing machines or manned desks. Seat reservations are something different. These can be booked in advance, but it’s optional and not obligatory for the Golden Pass. Please find information and links at http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass/tickets.

2. They’re different. The Half Fare Travelcard is meant for Swiss residents, the Swiss Half Fare Card is meant for tourists. So what you need is the Swiss Half Fare Card. Arno provided you with the purchase link.

3. Our preferred hotels in Interlaken are listed at http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken/hotels. If you’re not able to find anything that fits your needs, you’re welcome to ask for help at the accommodation forum.

4. Yes, they’re the same.

5. Tips for Lucerne and its surroundings can be found at the Lucerne page.