Is day trip only in any Swiss alps possible? Paris

hi everyone:) My husband and I are a bit scared on pushing a trip to Switzerland from Paris France.Im from Doha Qatar.Our point of entry is Paris on August 4,2014 until August 9. Exactly how can we visit Switzerland on day tour only? Where do we start? Is it possible? Staying one night might be an option.It is our first time to travel in Europe..no idea at all as to trains,etc.Our interest is just at least experience the swiss alps and a ride in a cog wheel train.The one alp nearest and accessible to train stations going back to Paris is very much important so we dont get lost :) Thank you very much in advance.

Hi teachermai,

A day trip to the Swiss Alps from Paris isn't a good idea. You will spend a lot of time on trains and only see a very little bit of the Alps. I would suggest to spend at least one night in Lucerne: take an early train from Paris to Basel. Then take a train to Lucerne. You can be there by noon. You'll have an afternoon and part of the next day to do two excursions. The next day you could depart between 2 and 5 PM, for example. Do a mountain excursion when the weather is best, either day 1 or 2. I suggest the Titlis (because there will be snow up there), but there are alternatives if the weather isn't good for that visit. See the Lucerne page for hotels and attractions. See here for how to plan for a trip to Switzerland. Train schedules are in the timetable.

Switzerland is safe and easy to navigate. If you prepare for your trips and print some maps you won't get lost. And if you do, you can ask for directions. Many people speak English.

thank you very much annika.your suggestion is very helpful so we decided to take a 2 day visit there.i have some few more questions.the travel date is now set to august 25 to 27.point of entry from doha qatar is paris france and then switzerland.we are thinking of zurich to doha qatar for our return instead of going back to paris which was the initial plan.how many hours is lucerne to zurich airport? for the itinerary,is it possible to book a tour on the day itself of our arrival in switzerland ?where? i mean i know its peak season,chances are it might be fully booked, but i am afraid of using online transactions plus i am not even sure if the hotel which i am still searching at the moment through booking.com(hoping you can give me suggestion...the cheapest please) will be of help.where can i get a cheaper booking tour? do you have any idea of how much will it cost for a tour in the alps (not the city tour,i think we can manage on our own) we are on a tight budget because of the paris trip first.i hope you can also give suggestion about the rhine falls or any falls for that matter .if budget permits,we would really like to visit one too.

with regards to the use of train,what kind of ticket would you suggest if there is any.. (from paris) basel to lucerne then lucerne to zurich airport?

if there is any cheap hotel that offers the kind of tour that we are interested then i think it would be easier. i just want this trip to be hassle free for me and my husband.please help. thank you very very much .

Hi teachermai,

Thanks for getting back to us! You don't need to book any tours. If you want to see the Titlis, then you just travel to Engelberg by train and buy a cable car ticket there (or online if you prefer). It's all explained on the Titlis page. Similar for the Rhine Fall.

There are direct trains from Lucerne to Zurich airport and that takes about an hour. See can see so through the timetable link Annika gave you.

You first need to determine what you will be doing. After that, you can select a train pass, if any. How to select one is explained here. A Swiss Half Fare Card might suit your needs.

Out hotel suggestions for Lucerne can be found here: www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/hotels

Don't worry, traveling and sightseeing in Switzerland is very easy and relaxed.

thank you so much for a very quick response. I am actually getting a lot relaxed now that i have useful information coming from you and annika..what a relief! i hope you don't get tired answering my queries :)

Id like to show you a sample of my itinerary and please share your idea if this will work out fine..suggestions will be highly appreciated.

day 1 : A.M. paris france to basel to lucerne (as annika suggested) P.M. lucerne city tour , swiss miniature in Melide

day 2 : A.M. titlis P.M. rhine falls

day 3 : A.M. easy hiking from engelberg via ober truebsee to the truebsee ( im really not sure about this,i just found it in one site.. ) / or any suggestion please ( anything that has to do with nature whether a hike or simple sight seeing) P.M. Zurich airport / going back to doha qatar

with regards to the rail pass,swiss half price may be cheaper but i would still have to pay the other half of fares,ticket entrance, etc.plus the long line if ever is not very convenient. im thinking of a swiss pass instead but im not very sure if i understand it correctly.the swiss pass costs CHF245/adult via the railway station.this is the 4 day unlimited ride valid for a month i suppose.what are the other numbers as to 8, 12 or up to one year means in the swiss pass summary?we will be there for almost 3 days so i guess this is ok. are there any requirement needed in buying this kind of railway pass?is this always available in the counter? im coming from paris,can i buy the swiss pass when i reach basel train station?will i be able to use it right away?

kindly give me a link where i can download a railway map and switzerland map with tourist areas if there is any .

again ...thank you so much .

Hello. We bave moved our trip on August 22-29.I also have made my hotel bookings in paris and switzerland. I just want to find out if the sample itinerary i mentioned in the my previous post is ok So i can finalize everything .Thank u in advance.

Hello teachermai. My apologies for our late response! We usually answers all questions within a couple of days, but somehow we overlooked your last post.

As for your questions: I'm afraid your itinerary is not realistic. Did you check the timetable Arno suggested to find traveling times? You really can't visit Swissminiature for example, which is all the way near Lugano. Visiting the Titlis and the Rhine falls in one day is a bit too much as well. You could explore Lucerne and maybe make a boat trip over the lake on day 1, plan the Titlis and a hike near the Trüebsee on day 2 and the Rhine falls on day 3 instead.

A Swiss Half Fare Card indeed requires you to buy additional discounted ticket for each trip. If you prefer ticketless traveling, a 3 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass would be most convenient (and slightly cheaper than a 4 day Swiss Saver Pass). You could use the 3 travel days for your 3 consecutive days in Switzerland. All purchase options are listed here. The pass will be available in Basel, but note that there's a discount when ordering online in advance.

I hope this helps you finalize your plans!

We are now 90% preapared for the trip.thanks so much.We are actually following all your suggestions! I just have one more question..when is the 3 day swiss starts and ends? Because im thinking if we can still use it on the 4th day early morning to zurich airport since we will start using it in the afternoon of our first day there . Thank you.

Hi teachermai,

You're welcome and I am glad we could help! The 3-day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass includes 3 actual calendar days. Starting to use it in the afternoon does not mean you're getting a few hours extra on the fourth day (see here for details please). However, a 4-day Swiss Pass is only € 9 more, so you'd better get that instead and you're all set.

The promotion on the pass is still valid so you can still get the discount: www.myswissalps.com/swisspass/promotions. Delivery takes 4 days.

Enjoy your stay!

Thank u thank u :)

Is there a swiss pass that i can purchase in paris railway station? Im thinking if there is..then i can already use the reduced/discounted price on my way to switzerland.

thanks again.

Hi!

Swiss Passes can be purchased at staffed rail stations in Switzerland and online (see here). The discounts I linked to in my previous reply are only available online, not in Switzerland.

Specialized travel agencies in other countries may sell Swiss Passes too, but I don't know addresses. I don't suppose you can easily get a Swiss Pass at rail stations in Paris.

engelbert -titlis ticket : one way is chf 63 / return is chf 89

engelbert - trubsee : one way chf 21 / return chf 30

i get confused. is the walk to the trubsee not yet included in the titlis ticket? what then are included? i've read one site which says its one of the many activities in the titlis ..but this one with the price seems like a separate fare. pls help . we are on a tight budget. these are the two most interesting activities that we would like to do in switzerland. thank you so much for commenting always.

Hello teachermai. Trüebsee is halfway up to the Titlis. So if you make return trip Engelberg-Titlis, you can get out at the station of Trüebsee and take a hike there, without additional costs. The separate fare of CHF 21 one way/CHF 30 return trip for Engelberg-Trüebsee is only mentioned for those who want to travel to the Trüebsee only, without visiting the Titlis.