Questions on Swiss pass and itinerary

Hello,

I am planning to travel around Switzerland in early May, and the below is my tentative itinerary:

Day 1: arriving Zurich

Day 2: Zurich to Interlaken (via Lucerne - Golden Pass)

Day 3: Interlaken to Jungfraujoch

Day 4: Interlaken to Zermatt

Day 5: Zermatt to St. Moritz (Glacier Express)

Day 6: St. Moritz to Zurich (via Chur - Bernina Express)

Day 7: leaving Zurich

I am wondering if it is worthwhile to get the Swiss half-fare card or get a 4D Swiss pass and pay the extra day of travel instead? Any thoughts on my itinerary? Will it be too ambitious? Thank you so much! :)

Hello anthonya, welcome to MySwissAlps,

If you like train traveling and want to see a lot of Switzerland in a few days, your itinerary is fine. It includes some of the best rail journeys. If that's your main goal, you may want to look into this sample itinerary, which includes lots of trains in one week. Do take into account is that the weather in the mountains is hard to predict and can change quickly. Traveling to a mountain top is only worth it if the sky is clear, or at least partly clear. You only have one day to visit the Jungfraujoch, although you could visit it in the afternoon of day 2 or in the morning of day 4 if you arrive in Interlaken early or depart late. The same goes for Zermatt (and St. Moritz): your time is limited there, so you may or may not be able to visit the Gornergrat or one of the other viewing points.

On day 6 the Bernina Express will take you along the same line you already did with the Glacier Express. For more variety, you can skip the Bernina Express and instead travel from St. Moritz via Scuol (or Sagliains), Klosters and Landquart to Zurich. The timetable reveals all the details.

Once you have your final itinerary you can calculate which pass works out to be the cheapest as explained here. At first glance I would say that a Swiss Pass is not worth it. Rather consider the 4-day Swiss Flexi Pass or the Swiss Half Fare Card. You could use the Swiss Flexi Pass on day 2, 4, 5 and 6. You'll get discounts on day 3. You don't need a free travel day for such a short trip. I think the Swiss Flexi Pass will be the cheapest, and also it's more convenient as you don't have to buy tickets for each trip.

Airport hotels in Zurich can be found here, should you need one. Other hotel suggestions are here.

Hi Annika,

Thanks so much for you inputs! So I am thinking if I head to Lucerne on Day 1, would it make my itinerary less rush?

Hi anthonya,

Lucerne is closer to the Alps and a really nice town, so I think it makes sense to stay there instead of Zurich. You can read all about Lucerne here.

Hello Annika,

Thank you so much for your valuable inputs! I have fine-tuned my itinerary. I am wondering if I should stay in Chur or St. Moritz on Day 5. Would you please give me some comments once again? :)

Day 1: arriving Lucerne from Munich

Day 2: Lucerne to Interlaken (via Lucerne - Golden Pass)

Day 3: Interlaken to Jungfraujoch

Day 4: Interlaken to Zermatt

Day 5: Zermatt to St. Moritz (Glacier Express) // Zermatt to Chur (Glacier Express)

Day 6: St. Moritz to Zurich // Chur to Zurich

Day 7: leaving Zurich (4pm)

Hello anthonya,

Chur is a really nice town, the oldest in Switzerland actually. In spite of that, my personal choice would be to complete the Glacier Express journey as the last section to St. Moritz is beautiful as well. You won't have much time left for other activities on day 5 anyway, so you might as well see a bit more of Switzerland. I would do the way back to Zurich as suggested in my first post. Just make sure to leave early to be in Zurich in time. Our hotel suggestions for St. Moritz are here.