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Looking for suggestions!
I would like to reserve a seat on the Gotthard Panorama Express. I have a 1st class Eurail 3 Country Select pass, but understand it doesn’t work for this.
What is the best way to reserve and what does it include? If you miss a connecting train, will you be able to get on the next one? Does it include the boat ride, food on the boat etc.? Is it ok to bring food with you on the train and boat?
It is too early to reserve now, correct? If it says you need to reserve 90 days in advance, does that start at midnight and in which time zone in Europe?
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Hi Langeland, and welcome to MySwissAlps!
>> I would like to reserve a seat on the Gotthard Panorama Express. I have a 1st class Eurail 3 Country Select pass, but understand it doesn’t work for this.
Your Eurail Pass will cover the train trip, and provide 50% discount on the boat sector, but no matter what sort of ticket or pass you have, the reservation for the train sector is compulsory and always an additional cost.
>> What is the best way to reserve and what does it include?
The reservation fee includes
- Seat reservation on the train between Flüelen and Lugano (or the reverse).
- Presentations in the Gotthard Tunnel.
- Accompaniment by a travel guide (only in the 1st class panorama coach)
- App or travel guide with information on the sights of interest along the route.
Food is not included, and no reservations are possible for seating on the boat. People move around constantly on the boat anyway.
You can find out how to reserve here:
http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress/ tickets
Alternatively, you can reserve on the SBB site
http://www.sbb.ch/ticketshop/ b2c/adw.do?sprache=en&artikelnumm er=1993
>> If you miss a connecting train, will you be able to get on the next one?
A reservation is made for a specific seat on a specific train and can’t be used on a different one. In any case, the Gotthard Panorama Express only runs once per day in each direction.
>> Does it include the boat ride, food on the boat etc.? Is it ok to bring food with you on the train and boat?
Your Eurail Pass gets you a 50% discount on the boat ride, and reservations aren’t possible. Food is not included, but you can bring your own food on both the boat and train.
>> It is too early to reserve now, correct? If it says you need to reserve 90 days in advance, does that start at midnight and in which time zone in Europe?
I imagine the 90 days starts when it is midnight in Switzerland.
On what date do you plan to do this trip?
Operating details for the Gotthard Panorama Express are below. If these dates don’t suit you, you can do the same trip on regional trains and the boat, without the need to get a reservation.
- 30 Mar-2 Apr 2018: daily (preseason – Good Friday to Easter Monday)
- 3 Apr-20 Apr 2018: not operating
- 21 Apr-14 Oct 2018: Tuesday to Sunday (not Mondays, except for 21 May 2018)
Alpenrose
Hi Langeland,
If you take a look at the first link Alpenrose gave you, you can click over to the reservation retailers. Currently HappyRail allows you to buy way ahead of time (more than 90 days even). They may issue the reservation later if you order well in advance, but you can already secure it. In most cases you’ll receive it within a business day: http://www.happyrail.com/en/p ass/europe/switzerland /passholder-fares-gotthard-panorama-express.
Enjoy the ride!
Wow! Thank you both for such good information! I really appreciate it.
Alpenrose,
Just saw your post advising that the Gotthard Panorama Express does not operate on Summer Mondays (except 21 May). I was planning to use it on 14 May. Guess I need to change some plans.
Does the Bernina Express have similar no-run days? Thanks.
>> Just saw your post advising that the Gotthard Panorama Express does not operate on Summer Mondays (except 21 May). I was planning to use it on 14 May. Guess I need to change some plans.
If it were me, I wouldn’t necessarily change plans. You can follow exactly the same route on regional trains, and also include the boat sector. You will see the same scenery and save on the reservation fee.
You would have to do two separate timetable searches to include the boat: one search for the boat sector, and another search for the train sector. As boat departures are less frequent, I would first choose the boat (from Luzern Bahnhofquai to Flüelen (See) or vice versa), and then choose a train to connect with the boat at Flüelen (from Flüelen to Lugano via Göschenen or vice versa). If you don’t put in “via Göschenen”, the timetable will generate the fastest route, which will be through the very long Gotthard-Basistunnel, and you will miss the scenery.
When searching for the boat trip, use advanced search and limit the “Transport type” to “Ship”. Ships are indicated in the timetable by BAT (ship) or BAV (steamship). For the train sector, expand your preferred connection to see the intermediate stops. If one of the intermediate stops is “Gotthard-Panoramastrecke” this confirms it is the Gotthard Panorama Express route, avoiding the Gotthard-Basistunnel.
>> Does the Bernina Express have similar no-run days? Thanks.
The Bernina Express train (Tirano – Chur)runs daily, but there are seasonal variations in the routes and timetable.
The Bernina Express bus (Lugano – Tirano)doesn’t run in the winter, and only runs Thursday to Sunday in the spring and autumn. It runs once daily in each direction from 2 April until 28 October.
If you have any follow-up questions, it would be less confusing if you could start a new topic 🙂
Alpenrose
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