Is upgrade compulsory for Wilhelm Tell express?

Hi!

We want to take the Wilhelm Tell express this august with our Swiss Travel Pass.

We are confused if we MUST buy an upgrade to first class or that we can just travel 2nd class with our Swiss Travel Pass for free.

Everywhere we read that the Wilhelm Tell Express is 1st class only and upgrade is required.

BUT on this website: www.myswissalps.com/wi lhelmtellexpress, this paragraph got us confused: You can also take the same boat and train without buying the upgrade, and travel in 2nd class without reservations. If you're looking for the very best experience, and maximum comfort, the Wilhelm Tell Express package is recommended.

We want to save money because we are travelling with a budget.

So our question is: Is it possible to take the Wilhelm Tell express and stay in the 2nd class of the boat and train?

Or do we need to search for other boats and trains if we want to travel without upgrade?

I hope someone can help us. Thank you in advance!

Hi AnnaE28,

The paragraph you quoted from our webpage is correct, you can indeed travel 2nd class with your Swiss Travel Pass without paying extra.

The Wilhelm Tell Express package is an optional upgrade.

Enjoy the trip!

Hi Annika

Thank you for your answer.

The train of the Wilhelm Tell Express going to Lugano, is a panoramic train right?Does the 2nd class of the train also have the panoramic windows (like the Glacier Express)?

And how do we know/ determine if we have a regular train or the panoramic train (from the 10 panoramic train routes)? We were looking at the timetable of the trains yesterday and that was quite confusing for us too.

Thank you in advance!

The Wilhelm Tell Express connects Lucerne to Locarno. The train also stops in Bellinzona; that's where you change for Lugano.

Whether trains have panoramic cars can be found in the timetable, but they don't indicate whether it's 1st class, 2nd class or both. As far as I know the Wilhelm Tell Express only has 1st class panoramic cars.

Apart from the nation wide timetable I just linked to, there are also specific ones for some trains. If so, we link to those from our scenic train pages.