Itinerary for 15 days visit, please comment/advise

Greetings from Canada to Everybody!!

I've prepared an itinerary for a 15 days sightseeing of Switzerland, mainly by rail ( a surprise gift for my husband on our 45th wedding anniversary (sic!!). Could you please comment if it is realistic and confirm if Swiss Saver Pass 15-days is the best option. My plan is based mainly on scenic express trains and I have already made seat reservations on Golden Pass ( VIP seats) and Bernina Express in the 1st class because my husband is an amateur photographer and, I think, having more room to take pictures he will disturb less other passengers. Is it more economical to buy Swiss Saver Pass for 1st Class or only upgrades to 1st class on the scenic trains. We will be taking other trains as well, between the cities, and 2nd class will be fine.

Option A: if weather suitable
Day 1: Montreux to Interlaken by Golden Pass Panoramic
Day 2 and Day 3: visiting Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Murren,Schilthorn.
Days 4 and 5: Interlaken to Lucern (2 nights), Mt. Titlis and Mt. Pilatus (if doable).

Option B: if weather not suitable for sightseeing mountains
Day 1: Montreux to Zurich by Golden Pass Panoramic
Day 2 - 4: visiting Zurich, Basil, Bern (if doable)
Day 5: Lucern, perhaps Mt. Titlis or Mt. Pilats, whatever doable in a day

Day 6: Lucern to Lugano with Wilhelm Tell Express (boat and train)
Day 7 and 8: visiting Lugano, Locarno, Belinzona
Day 9: Bernina Express (bus and train) to Chur
Day 10: Chur, Davos Day 11: Glacier Express to Zermatt
Day 12 - 15: AM cable car up Kleine Matterhorn; PM: train to Interlaken to do Option A (Jungfraujoch etc..) if Option B done first; or the reverse take: train to Bern to do option B if Option A done first.
Day 15 pm: Interlaken or Zurich train to Geneva.

I would greatly appreciate your comments and advise on all aspects of my itinerary and the 1st class versus 2nd class issue.

Best regards, Abidagi

Hi Abidagi,

Thanks for posting your well thought out itinerary. What a great way to celebrate a wedding anniversary! Let's start with the 1st class versus 2nd class rail pass question: you'd best buy a 1st class Swiss Saver Pass. If you would do just the Glacier Express and the Golden Pass in 1st class with a 2nd class pass, the upgrade tickets would already cost more than the price difference of the passes. Further pass details, prices, resellers and promotions can be found on the Swiss Pass page.

As for your itinerary: it's very clever you've thought about bad weather alternatives, as the weather can always be surprising in the mountains. I am not sure when this trip will be, but if possible you may want to include a hike or two, which is a perfect opportunity for a photographer to take pictures. The best season for this is early Summer to early Fall.

You can consider replacing the Titlis or Pilatus trip for the Rigi. The Rigi is a bit lower than the other summits you have listed (Pilatus, Titlis, Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch). So it offers more variety (also for photography). The Rigi is included for free in the Swiss Pass, the others are discounted. The Stanserhorn is great for photographers too, as its cable car has an open upper deck.

Be sure to browse the manually selected hotels. Many of them are perfect for train travelers (close to the station).

Kind regards,
Annika

Thank you so much Annika. I will take into considerations all your suggestions. I plan our trip to start in mid-September. We are arriving in Geneva on the 12tht of September and will stay with our friends who have offered to show us the highlights of the city.

Actually if you don't mind, I have another questions. As per my present plan, we start the trip on the 16th of September and end on the 30th. But we are still going to have 2 more days at our disposal since we have to be back in Geneva latest on the 3rd of October. If we were to stay those 2 more days in Bernese Oberland area ( option B) or visiting the cities Zurich, Bale,Bern ( option A ) what additional Pass we would need to cover the additional local trips and our train back to Geneva which would be on the 17th day of our trip?

I truly appreciate all your suggestions and wish to add that this Forum platform is a very valuable planning tool and has been extremely helpful to me in preparing our trip. I must have read close to a hundred posts to get ideas for our trip!

Best regards,

Abidagi

Hi Abidagi,

I am glad to hear that our website if useful for you! Thanks for mentioning that. I would personally spend the extra days in the mountains, not in the cities. There are plenty of towns/regions along your way that offer a lot more to see and do than the time you have. So you could spend the extra days in the Bernese Oberland, but also in Lucerne, or insert an extra day or two in between day 9 and 10, in or around St. Moritz. This is an extraordinary region which you would only pass through with your current plans. You can browse the various regions on our website to see what appeals most.

One thing to keep in mind is that you will have two days without a rail pass, either before or after your Swiss Pass ends, or one before and one after. Costs wise, it helps if you don't plan cable cars or very long train trips on those days. Just buy a point to point ticket, as an extra pass would be too expensive. In you spend these days in or around cities, then some offer free or non-free cards to travel around town. In Geneva for example, you get free traveling if you book an hotel there.

Your itinerary looks very exiting. It would be great if you could post a trip report about your experiences.

Kind regards,

Arno

Thank you very much Annika and Arno for your suggestions. I will incorporate them in my plan. I might have a few more questions as I finalize the itinerary.

Take care,

Abidagi