Reservation in panoramic train with swiss saver pa

Hi :

I am travelling with family from 19th Oct to 24th Oct. Our itineneary is below:
1. three days in Interlaken ( base)
2. two days in Luzern ( base)

- On first day we will reach Interlaken around 06PM . So kindly suggest what we can do for the rest of the evening & upto what time souvenir shops are open there.

- second day to Jungfrau.
- third day to Geneva via Gstadd & back to Interlaken. We would like to travel by Panoramic train in Golden pass. Kindly tell whether reservation is compulsory or not in this route. If yes then what benefit we will get from our saver pass ( 2nd class) and how much we need to pay. Can it be booked in Interlaken on the day of journey ?
- fourth day to Lucerne , then Titlis in the afternoon . Do you recommend Titlis in the afternoon , say around 2PM from Lucerne or it will be late ? Also if we travel by Panoramic train from Interlaken to Lucerne , it is compulsory to reserve seat ?
- Fifth day is free. What you suggest Andermatt/Lugano or local sight seeing ?
Also please tell what will be likely weather during 2nd half of October and how many hours of daylight (i.e visibility) will be available ?
Waiting for your kind suggestions and information.
regards,
C.R.Sahoo
India

Hi sahoocr, and welcome to this forum!

October is low season in Switzerland. I expect most souvenir shops to close around 6 PM. There's a large COOP supermarket right across the east rail station (Interlaken Ost) which is open until 7 PM. They usually sell souvenir items as well. But I would recommend to look for souvenirs during day time, and spend the evening in a restaurant. The Top o'Met restaurant has a nice view over town and at the Jungfrau, but please note that sunset will be around 6:45PM, so you might want to do that a bit earlier on another day. Sunrise in mid October will be around 7:45AM.

You can use the Swiss timetable to find out whether seat reservations are necessary for a particular train. For most GoldenPass Panoramic trains, seat reservations are recommended but not required. For good seats, it's best to book as early as possible, which can be done online as well. You can book just before departure, but then you would risk to not get the best seats, or no seats at all in the worst case scenario (I would not expect that in October though). Please note that a Swiss Saver Pass (or any other rail pass) does not include seat reservations. You need to pay for it separately.

Leaving Luzern at 14PM to visit the Titlis is really quite late. I would recommend to leave 12PM at the latest, but please check the timetable for this as well. Enter "Kleintitlis" as your destination.

If Luzern is your base, I would personally prefer local day trips such as the Rigi cog railway or a boat ride. Both are included in the Swiss Saver Pass.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your stay!