[Jinjinny]

29 April 2017 at 3:51:40 #811595

Hello,

As I am planning to visit Switzerland-France in Mid of October 2017, I got some question and need your help to advise on my itenary.

I and my friends will start the trip from Zurich (1)-> Strasbourg (1)-> Lucerne (1)-> Interlaken(2) -> Zermatt(1) -> Montreux -> Chamonix (1)-> Annecy (1)-> Paris (3)

1) Should I buy Europass or Swisspass or both since i plan to take cruise along Lake Thun , Gornergrat -Matterhorn, but not Jungfrau. which Swisspass will get 50% off for ticket. But since I will travel quite a lot during my trip,I have check ticket price point to point which quite costly. Pls help advise what would be the good option for the railpass.

2) Between Lake Thun and Brienz, if I have to pick one, what would be the recommended.

3) Train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnan and Grindelwald ? Is it free with Swisspass or any discount for Europass?

4) Any comment on my itenary plan or should I adjust or add any for my 11 days trip ?

Thank you for your kind help again.

Jin

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[Arno]

29 April 2017 at 8:26:06 #862442

Hi Jin,

1) Regarding the pass names: SwissPass is for Swiss citizens only. The Swiss Travel Pass is the pass for tourists. The other pass you are considering is the Eurail Select Pass I think. My best guess is that the Swiss Travel Pass is your best option for within Switzerland as that’s where you’ll do most of your trips. For the few trips in France you can buy point to point tickets. Please see the links for all the details.

2) Both are absolutely wonderful. Lake Brienz is smaller and takes less time, if that’s important. You can check our Lake Thun and Lake Brienz pages to compare.

3) This is free with the Swiss Travel Pass and 25% discounted with the Eurail Select Pass. The above pages I linked to allow you to download a map of what’s included.

4) My main comment is that 1-day stays do not allow you to see much. You will spend quite some time on traveling and changing hotels. Personally I would prefer one full day in each place at the very least, but possibly more (3 days will work). The weather is a factor too. If you stay longer you have a better chance of visiting a peak in nice weather to enjoy the views. To put things in perspective: you could stay in Lucerne for all of your 11 days and do something new every day. There is a lot to do and see 🙂

[AlanPrice]

30 April 2017 at 23:37:23 #862443

Hi JinJinny,

I agree with Arno about 1-day stays. If you try and see too much, you wind up seeing the inside of a lot of trains and less of your destinations. I would question your visit to Strabourg. It is a beautiful city, but it doesn’t fit in neatly with the rest of your itinerary and going Zurich – Strasbourg – Lucerne will involve hours of travelling.

If I had to decide between the Thunersee or Brienzersee, I’d pick Lake Thun, I find it more interesting than Lake Brienz with sights like Schloss Oberhofen http://www.schlossoberhofen.c h/de/home right on the water.

Have fun

Alan