[Removed user]

11 June 2017 at 11:17:12 #812216

Hello,

I have been trying to figure out which pass will work best for my family and though I tried to use the excel file, I am not sure if I got it right. Can someone please suggest what is the best pass for me to avail? We are 4 adults (including 2 senior citizens in their early 70s) and 2 kids (age 4 and 10). My travel schedule is as follows:

Day 1 – Zurich Airport – Wengen (one way)

Day 2 – Wengen – Top of Jungfraujoch (return)

Day 4 – Wengen – Lucerne (one way)

Day 5 – Lucerne – Mt. Titlis (return)

Day 7 – Lucerne – Zurich Airport/HBF for a train to Munich

My second question is, since it’s our first trip to Switzerland, can you please suggest if we should instead take a taxi from Zurich Airport to Lauterbrunnen? My concern is that we need to change 4 trains with short connections and have kids and senior citizens with us so I hope there is not too much walking to change platforms or difficulty in figuring out how the system works.

Thanks for your help!

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[Removed user]

11 June 2017 at 14:08:59 #864916

Hi AMG07 and welcome to MySwissAlps!

No, I would definitely not recommend you take a taxi. For one hand I don’t think you could book a taxi for that distance, and on the other hand it would cost 1000’s of Swiss Francs.

The train connections are built so that you can indeed make the connection without running flat out (some rail stations are not too big). If you check the timetable here, most schedules give you only 2 connections, sometimes 3 (Bern and Interlaken, sometimes Spiez).
If by chance you miss a connection, you can take another train within 30 minutes or so (so not too long to wait).

I’m curious what did your excel calculations say was the most economical option? That is the only way to know for sure.

The Swiss Travel Pass would be the most convenient – it covers all areas on your trip (right up to the Swiss border with Germany). From there (St. Margrethen) you would need to buy a point to point ticket to Munich. Your children will travel for free on all trips in Switzerland provided you order the free Swiss Family Card for them when you buy the Swiss Travel Pass online.

Lucas

[Removed user]

12 June 2017 at 4:49:02 #864917

>> My concern is that we need to change 4 trains with short connections and have kids and senior citizens with us so I hope there is not too much walking to change platforms or difficulty in figuring out how the system works.

You can find out from the timetable what platform your train will arrive on, and what platform your next train will depart from. Short connection times means the platforms will be pretty close together. All the stations on the route from Zürich to Wengen will have stair-free access to platforms via ramps and in some cases lifts, so hauling luggage up and down stairs will not be an issue.

If you still are concerned with the short connection times, in the timetable you can click on “Advanced search”, then scroll down and change the “Duration of transfer” option from “Standard transfer time” to 10, 20 or 30 minutes. Then the timetable will generate a series of connections to get you from start to finish with longer transfer times.

Alpenrose

[Removed user]

12 June 2017 at 7:26:02 #864918

Thank you Lucas and Alpenrose for your detailed response! Appreciate it.

According to the excel calculation the Swiss Half Card was the cheapest (CHF 370) followed by the Swiss Pass (CHF 565). The Swiss Travel Pass seems hassle free though.

Similarly, when I searched for Taxi online I got a fare of about CHF 350 from Zurich Airport to Lauterbrunnen (on websites like this: https://swiss-taxi.com/en/transfer/zurich/lauterbrunnen/4/2017-06-27/FoRm ). However, I always prefer to follow the advice of local experts rather than rely on websites and in this case more so since I have myself not come across anyone taking a taxi 🙂

For the Swiss Travel Pass, I will buy online and take a print out. Since I would not like to specify a start date right now, do I just go to a counter at the Zurich Airport station and validate it before my first trip?

Thanks once again!

[Removed user]

12 June 2017 at 10:13:54 #864919

Hi AMG07,

Wow, that is much cheaper than I imagined – oddly cheap for a taxi of the distance (Zurich airport to downtown Zurich is about 45chf and it is only about 15-20 minutes).

In any case the trains are pretty easy to deal with and you are right the Swiss Travel Pass is the most convenient option.

You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass online here – but you must specify the start date when you order. So don’t order it until you know your start date. They will email you the pass between 1 and 3 business days (often the same day) so just give yourself enough time to get the email before you leave for Switzerland.

Lucas