Itinerary Murren Belalp Chur & rail pass feedback

Hello, my husband and his father and I will be in Switzerland in late June, and we've put together the following itinerary based on recommendations from friends and from reading guidebooks. I would love feedback on our plan, and perhaps a recommendation on rail passes? My husband and I will be in France prior to Switzerland, and we are taking two TGV trains while there, Paris to Nimes, and then NImes to Geneva. My husband's father is arriving in Geneva. After reviewing the individual ticket prices, I thought perhaps a 6 day France-Switzerland Eurail pass for each of us (with a half price card to cover the extra day and mountain trains) and the 4 day Swiss pass-half price combi pack for my father in law? We prefer to travel 1st class. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

• 21 June: Arrive Geneva from France
• 22 June: Train to Lauterbrunnen (hotel is in Mürren)
• 23 June: Lauterbrunnen area hiking, exploring, maybe Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn via mountain tram
• 24 June: Train from Lauterbrunnen to Brig, then postbus to Belalp
• 25 June: Hike from Belalp over suspension bridge to Riederalp
• 26 June: 2nd day in Riederalp: Moosfluh gondola to Aletsch Glacier viewpoint
• 27 June: Tram from Riederalp down to Mörel-Filet, train to Chur (Giger Bar)
• 28 June. Glacier Express: Chur to Zermatt
• 29 June: Zermatt sightseeing (Gornergrat?)
• 30 June: Train to Geneva
• 1 July: Geneva sightseeing
• 2 July: Depart Geneva

Hi KrisBabs,

Thank you for sharing your plans with us. I would not pick Eurail in this case. It does not include many of the trips on your list. Please see the below pages to compare what's covered in Eurail versus the Swiss Travel Pass:

• myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ validity
• myswissalps.com/ eurailfranceswitzerlan dpass/ validity

For just two trips in France, you can simply get regular tickets: myswissalps.com/ traintickets/ france

As for Switzerland, you would need a pass for 9 days (June 21 and July 1/2 do not require a pass). However, there's just an 8- and 15-day Swiss Travel Pass. But, regular tickets for either June 22 or June 30 are more expensive than the price difference of these passes, so the 15-day pass would make sense here.

I think the 4-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex Combi will turn out to be more expensive, but you can do the math to be sure. If you decide to do the math, you can also add the Swiss Half Fare Card to your comparison. Click 'Price' on the pass pages to see the purchase options.

Regarding June 27: I'm not sure which route you have in mind, but the one I recommend is Mörel - Brig - Domodossola - Locarno - Bellinzona, then by bus to Chur. That prevents you will see the same route again the next day from the Glacier Express. It's all included in the Swiss Travel Pass. The bus may require reservations. A few trains between Domodossola and Locarno require a surcharge.

Thank you Arno! I especially appreciate the alternate route to Chur, it's always fun to see new sights.

Cheers, Krisbabs

Dear Arno, Thanks for suggesting I do the math for the half fare pass pass, it looks like the best price overall, including our two travel days in France:

Swiss half fare pass: $134 pp (USD) + $399 (Swiss point to point train trips) + $182 (French train trips) = $715 total (not including cable cars, reservation fees, trams, etc., I think those will be less than $250 with the half price card)

Just thought I would check with you to see if I am missing something.

Thanks again, Kris

Hi Kris,

It's hard to say if these numbers are right without doing all of the calculations, but do make sure you are getting the correct full price of regular tickets. The timetable shows half the fare by default, as explained on the timetable page. If you followed all the steps on the page Arno linked to, you'll find the best (cheapest) pass.

Kind regards,

Annika