[Removed user]

16 April 2017 at 10:26:52 #811422

Hi Team,

We are a family of 4 traveling and reaching Zurich on 21st April morning 8am and returning from Zurich on 25th early morning, traveling with kids aged 7 years & 8 months old. We are traveling to Switzerland for the first time and need help and advice regarding where to stay, what travel pass to go for, should we book a day trip or travel on our own

We would like to do the following

visit jaunfraujoch, Lucerne, Mount Titlis (if its a good idea), Zurich city tour.

We are open to suggestions, just want to make this trip memorable.

Thanks,

Praveen

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[Removed user]

16 April 2017 at 10:50:26 #861624

Hi Praveen,

I take it you are staying in Zurich for the whole trip? For these attractions I would advise staying in Luzern if possible.
It is relatively easy to reach Mt. Titlis, Luzern (local German spelling) or other attractions near Luzern on day trips from Zurich.

Jungfraujoch, from Zurich can be done in one long day – whether you want to do that yourself or on a tour is up to you – details and options can be found on the link above.

Your itinerary may look like this?:
Day 1: Zurich
Day 2: Luzern and Mt. Titlis
Day 3: Jungfraujoch (4 hours each way by train)
Day 4 leave Switzerland

For these 2 trips I would lean to a Swiss Half Fare Card (if you don’t do any tours) or maybe the Swiss Travel Pass. Have a read through my links to see about prices – with the Swiss Travel Pass you are totally covered for 3 or 4 days without the need to buy any other tickets (just hop on the trains and go) The only exception is going to Jungfraujoch where you must still buy a ticket to cover the portion from Grindelwald (or Wengen) to Jungfraujoch, which is 25% off with the Swiss Travel Pass.

With the Swiss Half Fare Card you get 50% off all routes you travel on, but then must buy tickets each time you travel, which can be ok but isn’t as convenient.

Lucas

[Removed user]

16 April 2017 at 11:51:33 #861625

Hi Lucas,

Thank you for the quick reply, I am flexible with my stay. I would prefer to stay in Luzern, if that is convenient. If we want to do jaunfraujoch How far is it from Luzern or do you suggest something else.

Thank you,

Praveen

[Removed user]

16 April 2017 at 14:53:45 #861626

Hi Praveen.

Yes, Luzern is more convenient for you for sure – have a look at some hotels we recommend here.
Jungfraujoch is a pretty special mountain but perhaps wait to decide until the day before – make sure the weather is good and not too cloudy to obscure your views!

You can check train times and schedules here.

Lucas

[Slowpoke]

16 April 2017 at 18:14:45 #861627

Hi Praveen –

I have not been in Switzerland in recent weeks, but, unless the weather has been unusually warm, you will generally be at the beginning of Spring in Zürich or Luzern.. At the Jungfraujoch and the high Alpine regions near by, it will be the tail end of Winter. Altitude is everything. So, if you go to high mountains near Luzern – Titlis, Pilatus, you may expect snow and not really “Spring-like” weather a the top.

I agree absolutely with the suggestion to make Luzern your base.

There is frequent fast service from Zürich airport. A train about every 30 minutes. One of them (at xx18) requires that you change in Zürich, the other (at xx47) stops in Zürich but is direct to Luzern. You might make the 1047, but the 0918 is more likely. See the attached screen grab.

On that train, you will come into Zürich main station on track 32, which is on a lowere level. You have 8 minutes to get to track 8 which is plenty for the connection. However, if you miss, catch the next train 1/2 hour later ( or, maybe sooner) .

There are luggage carts available which require a 2CHF coin to loosen them from the queue, and which return the 2CHF when you “plug in ” the cart after you are done at another convenient queue. (The similar carts at the airport are free). The carts go up and down escalators with your luggage on them. Don’t pile it too high, because the carts tip at an angle when they go on the escalator, and bags that are piled high can fall off.

I don’t now tha you will be hiking, but you might take a lake boat on Lake Lucerne. This link will give you some idea of what the lake is like, although you would see more snow:

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-swiss-path-and-southern-lake-lucerne

and an attached image or two.

There is a lot of useful information here for your trip. Check the links given on that page:

http://www.myswissalps.com/ab outswitzerland

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

18 April 2017 at 9:10:37 #861628

Hi

Thank you for all the input and suggestions, really appreciate them. We have almost finalized our plan as below

Arrive in Zurich airport on 21st April at 7 am.

Take the train to Lucerne

21st noon we plan trip to mount Pilatus by train from Lucerne (planning to go by ourselves)

22nd April – Day trip to top of Europe – planning to go through an organized tour

23rd April – Return to Zurich visit the city center and lake Zurich (Boat ride)

24th April – Day trip from Zurich to the chocolate factory and surroundings

Looking forward for your suggestions on the kind of train pass we should go for.

Regards,

Praveen

[Removed user]

18 April 2017 at 9:53:21 #861629

Hi Praveen,

With only 2 days of self-guided train travel (21st and 24th) I might at best buy the Swiss Half Fare Card, but perhaps just point to point tickets in your case.

Lucas

[Removed user]

18 April 2017 at 10:33:52 #861630

Hi Lucas,

Thank you for the advice.

Regards,

Praveen