[Removed user]

14 June 2011 at 8:29:56 #804402

Hi,

I will be travelling from Paris to Lucerne on 07th of July’ 11 along with my wife and daughter (6 yrs). Do I have to
purchase separate rail tickets for this journey or swiss pass will be enough?

I will be in Switzerland for 10 days (07th July – 16th July) and I will be holding a Swiss family card. I will not be travelling by rail/bus all these days. I have 2 queries in this regard :

a) For excursion to matterhorn, gorengrat, pilatus, titlis, jungfrauch etc. do I have to pay 50%/75% of ticket for my
6 year old daughter also or she will go free by virtue of swiss family card?

b) The days on which we will be going to these excursions will be counted as days spent on swiss pass as well?
If not, then which type of swiss pass will be the best suitable for us considering the 5 places of excursion named
above for 1 day each. And if so then which will be the best swiss pass option for us? Please advise.

Sorry for getting lengthy. Last query.
for travelling from Zurich to Innsbruck will I have to take a separate ticket or swiss pass will do?

Thanks for your patience. Hope to get your reply soon.

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[Annika]

14 June 2011 at 11:01:40 #833191

Hello duttashoven13, and welcome!

If you want a Swiss Pass valid for all 5 days of your stay, you actually need an 8 day Swiss Saver Pass (as there are only 4 day or 8 day variants) for yourself and your wife, and an STS Family Card for your daughter. She will be able to travel for free on all excursions, including the mountain railways.

The Swiss Saver Pass offers free travel by train, bus and boat throughout the country and 50% (or in some cases 25%) reduction on mountain railways and cable cars. For your itinerary, this means that your inbound trip from Paris is free from the Swiss border onwards. You’ll have to buy a regular ticket for the French part of the trip. The same goes for your outbound trip to Innsbruck: the Swiss leg is for free, and a separate ticket is required for the Austrian leg.

I assume you have a (hired) car, since you don’t intend to do any rail or bus travelling? Some rail journeys are involved anyhow, at least for the trip to the Jungfraujoch. But if you only need your pass for mountain excursions and not for the journeys to the valley stations from Lucerne, you may be better off with a Swiss Half Fare Card, offering a 50% reduction on all trips in Switzerland, including the Swiss legs of your inbound and outbound trip. An STS Family Card can be issued with a Swiss Half Fare Card too, so your daughter can still travel for free.

Please note that the Gornergrat and the Matterhorn (do you mean viewing point Klein Matterhorn?) can both be reached from Zermatt. If you want to visit both, you should do so on the same day, as it’s a long journey from Lucerne. You can also choose to visit the Gornergrat only, as this offers great views of the Matterhorn and other mountains.

[Removed user]

15 June 2011 at 1:29:36 #833192

Hi Annika,
Thanks for your quick response. I think my 1st mail was not clear enough to get the exact reply from you. I am giving my Swiss itinerary below for your
suggessions / advise :

07.07.2011 – Paris to Lucerne 08.07.2011 – Titlis or Pilatus and back 09.07.2011 – Lucerne to Interlaken 10.07.2011 – Jungfrauch and back 11.07.2011 – in Interlaken only

12.07.2011 – Interlaken to Zermatt 13.07.2011 – Zermatt to Gorengrat / Matterhorn and back 14.07.2011 – Zermatt to St. Moritz 15.07.2011 – In St. Moritz only

16.07.2011 – St. Moritz to Zurich 17.07.2011 – Zurich to Innsbruck.

I don’t have any (hired) car and we will be travelling by STS only. Please advise me on the following :

a) The days on which we will be going to the excursions mentioned in the itinerary will be counted as days spent on swiss pass as well?
If not, then which type of swiss pass will be the best suitable for us considering the itinerary given above. And if so then which will be the
best swiss pass option for us as per our itinerary?

b) Can we buy tickets for (mountain top) excursions at the respective (valley) stations or it is better to book them online while buying Swiss Pass?

Looking forward to your early reply. I may come back with some more queries.

Thanks & Regards

[Annika]

15 June 2011 at 6:16:36 #833193

Hello duttashovan13. If you do want to make all your trips by public transport, that changes things.

As for the Swiss (Saver) Pass: it’s valid on consecutive days, so an 8 day Swiss Saver Pass offers 8 consecutive days of free traveling and it doesn’t matter whether you make long, short or no trips at all; the pass is valid anyway. Your question on ‘days spent on the Swiss Pass’ may be more relevant to the Swiss (Saver) Flexi Pass, which offers a number of non-consecutive days of free travelling and other days with discounts. With the Swiss Flexi Pass, you can choose yourself which days you want to count as free travel days, and which days you use for discounted travel. You’ll find all details on the Swiss Flexi Pass page.

Looking at your updated itinerary, I think a 5 or 6 Swiss Saver Flexi Pass is the best choice. You should use your free travel days for
07.07 Swiss border-Lucerne
(08.07 Lucerne-Titlis/Pilatus. This depends on your exact plans. For example: the Pilatus can easily be reached from Lucerne, but it can be combined with a round trip including a boat as well. If you opt for the round trip, you may want to profit from free traveling on train, bus and boat this day.)
12.07 Interlaken-Zermatt
14.07 Zermatt-St. Moritz
15.07 St. Moritz-Zurich
(16.07 Zurich-Swiss border)
and discounted travel days for the remaining days.

You can either purchase your discounted train and cable car tickets in advance, or at the spot at the valley stations. That’s up to you. If you want to have the flexibility to change your plans (for example, in case of bad weather), it may be better not to book them in advance.

[Removed user]

15 June 2011 at 14:55:53 #833194

Hi Annika,
Thanks very much for your detailed reply. It was indeed very helpful.
Please let me know what would be the weather mostprobably like during 1st and 2nd week of July and what would be the ideal clothings/woolens/
rain and wind cheaters we should carry for this period. (family with child)

Thanks & Regards

Shovan
UAE

[Annika]

16 June 2011 at 12:23:35 #833195

Hi Shovan. It’s very hard to predict what the weather will be like. Conditions in the Alps during summer months can range from warm, dry and sunny to (relatively) cold and wet. It’s best to check weather forecasts each day once you’re there. What your gear should be, depends on your plans. If you don’t plan on hiking but only on making (rail) journeys and viewing point visits, solid shoes, a warm sweater and a rain proof jacket will suffice in most cases. It may be pretty cold up at the Jungfraujoch, so extra warm clothes will come in handy. Don’t forget your sunglasses either.

[Removed user]

18 June 2011 at 7:01:45 #833196

Hi duttashovan13

We always make use of the Swiss Saver Passes or flexi passes and you can choose to buy 1st or 2nd Class. The 2nd Class are just as wonderful as the first Class and much cheaper. You just look for the no 2 on the trains and hop in. Enjoy your vacation.

Greetings

Elize

[Removed user]

18 June 2011 at 7:06:47 #833197

Thanks Elize for your kind info.
Regards
Shovan