Lucerne to Glacier Express and Golden Pass

  • Removed user
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    72625 posts
    21 May 2019 at 5:14:20 #821749

    Need some help what I should do on 3 of my 6 days at Lucerne in October this year. I plan to purchase Swiss Travel Pass and I will stay in Lucerne:

    Day 1: go to Montreux to visit water castle “Chateau de Chillon”, how do I do it? How long will it take there? And how will I get back to Lucerne?

    Day 2: I want to the Glacier Express for the experience. Where should I get off to visit any attractions? How long is the ride? And how will I return to Lucerne?

    Day 3: excursions to Mt. Jungfrau and visit Grindelwald and Kleine Scheidegg ? How can I do it? Will I get discount with the STP? Should I go by myself (travel with one friend), or go on tour? If tour, which tour company would you suggest?

    Your suggestions and advice are greatly appreciated. Please help.

    Thanks,

    HP

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    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    21 May 2019 at 5:46:27 #912913

    Day 1 – Have a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass/gettingthere. Also http://www.chillon.ch/en/Z162 3/access.

    Day 2 – The Glacier Express is not the trip you want to take as a day trip from Luzern. Unless you join it at Andermatt and head towards St Moritz. If you do that it is probably best not to bother with the Glacier Express but follow the same route on regular trains. See http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress/gettingth ere

    Day 3 – See http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch/gettingther e. With a Swiss Travel Pass you get 25% discount from Wengen or Grindelwald. You need to get your head around the map at http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity. The journey to either of those start points is covered by the STP. It is straightforward to do by yourself you don’t need a tour.

    Use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B) or the highly-recommended SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi) to plan your travel, find fares* and buy tickets if required. If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions on this page – http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable. *SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, mobile app allows you to nominate full or half-fare and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass) if that offers the best fare.

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    21 May 2019 at 10:50:40 #912914

    Hello HF6978,

    I hope you’re getting along with your planning.

    There are also guided tours from Lucerne to the Jungfraujoch if you prefer this option. Any Swiss tour operator company is recommendable to travel with!
    http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch/packages

    Best,
    Steph

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 May 2019 at 0:25:15 #912915

    Hi Steph,

    Thanks for your suggestions and advice. I may need to adjust my planning now.

    Btw, what do you think of the Golden Round Trip instead? What company would you recommend if I go on this one day trip?

    Thanks,

    HP

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 May 2019 at 0:26:46 #912916

    Rockoyster,

    Thanks so much for your lengthy suggestions and advice. I may need to adjust my planning now.

    Btw, what do you think of the Golden Round Trip instead? What company would you recommend if I go on this one day trip?

    Thanks,

    HP

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    22 May 2019 at 2:36:14 #912917

    Hello HP,

    I presume you mean the Pilatus Golden Round Trip?

    If so, then I think it is great and well worth doing. You don’t need to go with a company. With your Swiss Travel Pass the transport from Luzern to Kriens or Alpnachstad is “free”. Once at either of those places buy you 50% discount up one side and down the other. For more details look at the “Route” tab on the link above.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 May 2019 at 4:42:17 #912918

    Hi Rockoyster,

    Thanks for your quick response. Yes, that what I meant and Thanks for the great suggestion. Should I purchase the tickets beforehand or when I am there at Kriens or Alpnachstad?

    One last but not least question and hope you don’t mind. I will arrive arrive at Lucern late afternoon on 08/10 and leaving on 14/10, which means I only there 5 and a half days, should I buy 4 or 8 days STP?

    sorry for too many questions and Thanks, HP

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    22 May 2019 at 5:00:04 #912919

    Hi HP,

    Buy tickets at the ticket office when you get there. You need to get a magnetic stripe card to travel anyway and you can only get that from the ticket office.

    As to the best pass that is going to depend a lot on your overall plans. You will have to make that call. You should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math.

    If could be that a Swiss Half Fare Car may be better for you. If you were not going too far from Luzern I would suggest you take a close look at the http://www.myswissalps.com/te llpass which covers just about everything in and around Luzern.

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