I want suggestions on my 2 night swiss outing

Hello,

Im planning a euro trip this june . It will be my husband and myself with our 3 year old daughter and aged parents (beyond 70 yrs)

They have never been to europe so Im planning a trip to paris , switz , venice , rome and pisa.

I have been to all other cities except switz (I have see geneva though) .

I have a real tight budget and also my parents have a knee problem and are asthmatic so we would avoid trekking or cable cars to peaks.

However, I would like to show them the alps , some snow , beautiful valleys etc....

I plan a 2 night stay there.I will be coming into basel from paris.

I am thinking of getting a transfer ticket (basel train station - murren ) and ( murren to basel airport)

will 2 nights at murren be a good choice and with the same transfer ticket will I be able to get down at lauterbrunnen and see it too .

Will these two places give me a picture of switz ?

Pls. help me .....Im really confused.

Hello reckha,

Mürren is a wonderful place, and if you head up into the mountains you should be able to experience snow in June. A trip to the Schilthorn is very easy to do from Mürren. Jungfraujoch is another option.

Are you considering the Swiss Transfer Ticket? It only includes the trip to Mürren and back to Basel, nothing else. So you would buy additional tickets for trips during your stay. Depending on your exact plans, you may want to get the Swiss Half Fare Card Combi as explained here, so that you get a 50% discount on further trips.

If you want to travel to Italy after Mürren you should not travel back to Basel (which is away from Italy). Just get a train to Italy. They're all in the timetable.

Dear Arno,

Thanks a million for your real quick reply.

I plan on seeing only murren and lauterbrunnen as i have only 1 night in switz.

I thought the switz transfer ticket would suit this perfectly as I could come from basel to murren and the next day leave from murren to basel via lauterbrunnen and take a break there to see the place.

However , as you say going by train via spiez in definitely another option. How bout train fares?I got really cheap air fares through easyjet as that is why decided on going back to basel

Another concern is that will spiez qualify for the switz transfer ticket (is it a border city??)

Hi reckha,

The Swiss Transfer Ticket can be used to go back to Basel, but also to travel via Spiez and Brig to Domodossola (Italy). You can verify that if you check the map on the Swiss Transfer Ticket page Arno referred to (click "Where it's valid"). From there you would need a ticket to Venice, or a rail pass that covers Italy.

Mürren to Venice takes about 7.5 hours by train. Rome does not take much longer if you pick the best connection. I don't think you will get there quicker if you go all the way back to Basel and take a flight from there. Also the train ride is more scenic than a flight, more comfortable, and eco-friendly.

Since you're from Kuwait, the Swiss Transfer Ticket, a pass for Italy, seat reservations, etc. are all available here: www.raileurope-gcc.com (from January 2, as they're currently performing website maintenance).

If your parents can't go to peaks, it would be good to know which altitude is still comfortable/safe for them. In June, there will only be snow in higher altitudes. Of course the snowy peaks can be seen from the valley.

Kind regards,

Annika

Thanks Annika,

I will do as you mention.Take the transfer ticket . basel to murren and then murren to domodossola.

Will take the train from spiez , however will book tickets from domodossola to milan and then venice.I hope I am right!!I can book this is trenitalia site also right???

My last flight back to kuwait is from rome . So that will be after venice.

Annika, would I be able to break journey at lauterbrunnen with my transfer ticket ??

Hi reckha,

You can book the ticket through Trenitalia as well, but be sure that you will actually get a ticket there, and not just a booking number for collection at a Italian station. That would be inconvenient. Note that the local website I gave you is selling the tickets too (currently both sites offer prices from € 29). You need to get your Swiss Transfer Ticket in advance anyway, so you might as well get everything there instead of splitting your bookings across multiple websites. The ticket to Venice includes seat reservations and can therefor be booked 4 months before your travel date, not sooner.

The Swiss Transfer Ticket allows breaking your journey anywhere along the route, as long as you complete the trip the same day.