Lucerne for 2-3 Days. Which Pass to Take?

Hello, hope ur doing well.

I'm planning to go to Lucerne on 22nd May & leave on 25th May. So, I'll have say half a day on 22nd & full days on 23-24 May to Explore the places Around Lucerne. I want to see a bit of Zurich, Mt. Titlis & Interlaken. Below is a tentative plan I have. Please feel free to suggest anything.

May 22 - Reach Lucerne. See Lucerne for half-day.

May 23 - Mt. Titlis Tour

May 24 - See Interlaken (Lucerne to Interlaken RoundTrip on the GoldenPass Panaroma train).

May 25 - Leave Lucerne, catch a flight back from Zurich to UK.

Also try to see in a bit of Zurich when I leave on May 25 or sometime in between. I also do want to visit and see Bernese Oberland from Lucerne, don't know if that's possible?

My Main question is Which Swiss/Rail Pass should I select? I have been thinking of a 3-day 2nd Class Swiss Pass, but so many options are there that it's confusing & even read somewhere TELL PASS is Cheaper.

So, please help me out according to my tentative plan above, which would be the Best Pass for me to go for? Thanks in advance.

Hi sunny13260,

I would pick a 2, 3 or 4-day Tell-Pass (depending on what you've planned on May 22 and 25), plus a regular ticket from Zürich to Lucerne and back. It includes Mount Titlis for free, and the Golden Pass train ride to Interlaken too. Also the boats are free, if you have time for that.

If you want to see more of the Bernese Oberland, you can travel from Interlaken into the Jungfrau region (e.g. Mürren), but that's not included in the pass. You can also get off the train in Meiringen and take the cable car up to the 'Alpen Tower'. It operates from May 23 to 25, and then again from June. It's included in the Tell-Pass.

The best hotels are listed here.

On May 22, I will travel from Zurich to Lucerne, and see a bit of Lucerne.

On May 25, if I have time maybe will take boatride in Lucerne, or check out bit of Zurich as I'll have my return flight to UK from Zurich.

Are you saying that getting a Tell Pass would be better for me than going for a 2nd Class - 3 day Swiss pass? Please confirm. Thanks.

Hi sunny13260,

Money wise, I don't expect much of a difference between the Tell-Pass and Swiss Travel Pass in your case. The main difference is that the Tell-Pass includes cable cars for free, so you can easily take another one without additional costs (e.g. Mount Pilatus on May 22, if the weather is fine). The Swiss Travel Pass includes the ride from Zurich to Lucerne and back, which is not included in the Tell-Pass. With a 3-day Swiss Travel Pass you would only get one way of that ride for free. If you want to do the math in detail, you can find instructions here.

I would pick the Tell-Pass if I was planning your trip, because of the flexibility of adding more trips into the mountains at no cost. Zurich can be explored on foot, so no pass is needed there. Since you live in the UK, you can get it through www.swisstravelsystem. co.uk and pay in GBP.