Rail pass for 3 days in Switzerland

Hey, my friend and I will travel to Switzerland for 3 days, from 1st February 2016 to 3rd February 2016. We are 2 youths, aged 24.

Here is our itinerary.

Day 1, 2/2/2016: Arrive Interlaken ost around 9.30am. Visit Jungfarujoch. Overnight at Wilderswil.

Day 2, 3/2/2016: Spend a day in Zurich.

Day 3, 4/2/2016: From Zurich, depart to Heidelberg.

Questions:

1. Which rail pass is more economical to buy?

2. In Zurich, are the city tourist attractions places reachable by walk or public transportations are needed?

Thank you.

Hi Catherine -

Welcome to the forum.

I leave questions about which pass to buy to the experts - the forum moderators Arno and Annika. They know everything about them. ;-)

Regarding Zürich - I love the town. It is normally not the first choice for tourists. However, I always stay there a few days when I am in Switzerland and walk in the old town (both sides of the river) and explore the museums, churches, stores, and walk in the parks along the banks of the lake on either side.

The walks may be a bit cold in early February, however. And, they might not fill a day. However, it gets dark early in winter.

In another rather long thread I posted some maps of interesting areas in Zürich for walking.

www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/swiss-itinerary-for-december-2015

Scroll down that thread and you will find some maps, as well as discussions of Zürich, the public transport network, and surrounding areas.

You will also find links to maps and rail timetables, as well as this link:

www.myswissalps.com/zu rich

You can walk easily to many attractions in Zürich.

However, the trams and buses are very convenient. Since the town has hilly areas, a tram ride is sometimes welcome. Also, on a cold day. Note the discussion in the thread I linked to above. A Swiss Travel Pass (if you choose that pass) will include free travel on the Zürich public transport network. Or, you can buy a day card or a "24 hour card." or others. That is why I pointed to the office of the "ZVV" in that thread. ZVV is Zürich Verkehrs Verein - Zurich transport Association. You can get a map of the tram network.

That said, many first time visitors find that Luzern is a better city to visit for a quick trip. It is discussed and linked in that thread above. Also, here:

www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

Luzern can be accessed by trains to/from Zürich at least twice per hour which take about 45 minutes.

In both Zürich and Luzern, the tourist information offices in the main train stations are very helpful with suggestions. In Luzern, it is by track #1.

I'd suggest that you give serious thought to Luzern, rather than Zürich.

Have a great trip.

Slowpoke

Hey Slowpoke, thank you for your reply and advice.

I had booked a hotel at Zurich, therefore I must overnight there on 3/2/2016. How if I spend a day trip to Lucerne, then at night by train I travel to Zurich? Is the transportation from Wilderswil to Lucerne convenient?

<<"Hey Slowpoke, thank you for your reply and advice.I hadbooked a hotel at Zurich, therefore I must overnight there on 3/2/2016.How if I spend a day trip to Lucerne, then at night by train I travel toZurich? Is the transportation from Wilderswil to Lucerne convenient?">?

Hi Catherine-

I looked up the journeys on the Swiss Raill web site (SBB.CH) which you can also access via this My Swiss Alps web site. For the most detailed information, I believe that viewing the site on a laptop or desktop gives more "extra" details...or, at least, so it seems from discussions with others.

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Here is what I found for February 3rd:

Trains to Luzern leave Wilderswil once an hour at XX49, and you have one change at Interlaken Ost, where you pick up the main line. Transit time - 2 hours and 6 minutes. The route via Meiringen and the Brünig Pass is very scenic, and is called the Luzern Interlaken Express.

On the other hand, if you go to Zürich, you can leave Wilderswil at XX19 or XX49, take 2 hrs and 9 minutes, and have to change trains either two times (IO and Bern) or 3 times ( IO, Spiez, Bern.)

It seems that the transportation from Wilderswil to Luzern is more convenient that the route to Zürich. ;-)

Slowpoke

Hey Slowpoke, thank you so much for your information. :)

Hi Catherine!

As for which pass to buy: it depends on the details of your trip. For example: where do you come from before arriving in Interlaken? What exactly do you plan to do in Zurich? Some people consider the Rhine Falls to be part of Zurich, but it's actually an hour traveling out of town, so that would add quite some traveling to your itinerary. If you actually stay in town you won't be traveling a lot that day.

I would say that either a Swiss Half Fare Card or a 3-day Swiss Travel Pass (the discounted Youth version) is worth it. The Swiss Travel Pass is more convenient as you don't have to buy tickets all the time. Which option is cheaper can be determined as explained here. In either case you can buy it through www.swissrailways.com/ en and print it at home (choose Online Ticket when delivery options are being shown).

Hey Arno, thank you for your reply. I will think wisely about it. Really appreciate. :)

There are luggage lockers by Track #1 ( way out along the track) or there is a Left Luggage office.

It used to be in the lower level, but some offices of the SBB have recently relocated to the balcony level, so I don't know where the Left Luggage is located now.

Slowpoke

hey slowpoke, thank you for your information.

I will check it out myself. Thank you so much. After seeing your reply, I think I will really consider to stop by Lucerne. :)