[Removed user]

28 May 2011 at 14:13:21 #804362

We are planning to visit Switzerland from Oman for a short trip for 4days, (From 29th june to 03 rd July) through an arranged Tour package.Up to july 3 rd all our Expenses will be covered by the package .

After this i would like to travel to Paris through Rail and spend a couple of days .Which i am planning to arrange by myself .My query is.

A)Which Swiss Rail Pass will fetch me the maximum discount for a round trip from Swiss to Paris and back.
I can start my trip either from Lucerne or Zurich.

B)Is it possible for me to fly back to Oman directly from Paris with out going back to Swiss again.
This will be a deviation from the itineray supplied from my Schengen Tourist visa application.

Pls advice

Regds
Reshmi

Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions. Sign up

[Annika]

29 May 2011 at 13:34:39 #833041

Hello Reshmi. Swiss rail passes are only valid up to the border, so you would need regular train tickets from the Swiss border to Paris (and back) anyway. If the trips from Lucerne/Zurich to the Swiss border and back are the only trips within Switzerland you need to cover, you can best buy regular train tickets for the entire journey Lucerne/Zurich-Paris. A Swiss rail pass won’t be cost effective in that case.

I’m not sure about the Schengen visa. As far as I know you have to leave from the country you applied for, but I think you should follow the advice Arno provided in your previous topic and ask your embassy to be sure.

[Removed user]

29 May 2011 at 15:56:55 #833042

Hi Annika

Thanks so much for the timely advice. Two more queries pls.

a)Is it necessary to have an advance reservation for this trip or it is better to buy the ticket from the railway station itself.

b)How much it will cost me from Lucerne to Paris.(second class)

Regds
Reshmi

[Arno]

30 May 2011 at 6:39:36 #833043

Hi Reshmi,

a) Yes, you need to book seats for most of the trains that cross the Swiss – French border. The timetable shows whether it is necessary to book seats for a particular train.

b) That varies with the date and time of traveling, and when you book (last minute is usually more expensive).

[Removed user]

2 June 2011 at 17:36:54 #833044

Hi Arno/Annika
Thanks for the information,i hope you don’t mind being asked a few more doubts.

As per our tour programme(Top of Switzerland-Raileurope) We are reaching Zurich Airport on 29 th morning

Day1- Travel from Airport to Interlaken
a) Is the Railway station near by Zurich Airport (walkable or by Taxi)
b) In Interlaken we are going to stay in Hotel City Oberland, for reaching there ,which station we have to get down in Interlaken?
c)Do we require a taxi from Station to Hotel?

Day 2.

a)Excursion to Jungfraujoch by mountain railway -( Is it starts from the same Railway station which we arrives in Interlaken ,if not pls specify)
b)How much time it wil take to complete this Excursion?

Day 3

Travel from Interlaken to Luzern by Golden Pass Panoramic
a)In luzern we are staying in Hotel N H luzern, for getting there which station we have to get down?
b}Is this Hotel near by Station or it require a taxi to get there?
c)a boat ride or train trip from Interlaken to Brienz is mentioned in Itinerary for Day three . When we can plan this trip and how long it will take?

Day 4
Excursion to Mount Pilatus(Round trip Lucerne- Alpnachstad- Mt Pilatus -Kriens -Lucerne) by Cogwheel Railway

a} Itinerary has mentioned a cable car ride during the trip from Kriens .Can u pls specify the ruote?
b)How long we can stay at Mt.Pilatus suppose we start the trip by Morning?

Sorry for asking too many questions.

regards
Reshmi

[Arno]

3 June 2011 at 3:57:37 #833045

Hi Reshmi,

As for your questions:

1a) The rail station is at the airport within walking distance.
b & c) You can best check the map at map.search.ch. It’s less than 10 minutes on foot from the Interlaken West station.

2a) It starts from Interlaken Ost (refer to the map), about 15 minutes on foot.
b) The timetable shows the traveling times. I would say that you need at least 2 hours at the Jungfrau itself.

3c) You don’t have to book in advance, so you can decide that same day if you want. The timetable is at the BLS website.

4a) The section from Pilatus down to Kriens is by cable car.
b) You can stay until the last ride down around 4:30-5:30PM. The timetable is at the Pilatus website. But 2 hours or so on the summit is plenty of time to enjoy the view.

I’m sure it will be a great trip!

[Removed user]

4 June 2011 at 14:10:30 #833046

Hi Arno

Thank you very much, we firmly believe that the travel tips provided by you will be very much useful for our forthcoming tour.
one more query pls.

(Top of Switzerland-Raileurope- From 29th june to 03 rd July)

a) Will the bus fare for local travels in this region is chargeable for us ?

b) If not, which will be better us? ie, to buy tickets for each trip or to buy some travel pass for four days.(anyway we are not be use bus that often)

Regds
Reshmi

[Arno]

5 June 2011 at 4:03:52 #833047

Hi Reshmi,

If you mean this Tops of Switzerland package, it says you’ll get a Swiss Transfer Ticket with 5 rail travel transfers. A regular Swiss Transfer Ticket would include 2 transfers, this one includes 5. But other than that it’s still a Swiss Transfer Ticket as described on the page I linked to. It does not include any other discounts. If you just do some short bus trips, it wouldn’t be economical to buy another pass for that.