Short term trip planning – 7 days in Interlaken

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    30 April 2017 at 13:57:40 #811615

    Hi

    I am travelling with my wife and two sons of age 15 and 9 respectively. I am traveling from 8th may I am landing zurich, and leaving swiss on 15th may from zurich.

    My questions are?

    1.Is it too less a time to plan my trip , which is technical 5 working days from today..

    2.i have booked my stay at interlaken for 7 days, is it advisable to split my stay to 2 or 3 different locations? like montreux for last 2days, ie.13th and 14th night?

    3.I have ordered my swiss family pass to my travel agent and he is telling I will get it only on tuesday, ie.2nd may.

    4.Will i get a reserved seat on glacier express on any day in next week since I just have one week?

    regards

    Sakthi

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    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    30 April 2017 at 19:49:27 #862537

    Hi Sakthi,

    1. Don’t worry, if you’ve arranged for your hotel bookings you’ll still have enough time to do some planning. A good starting point is myswissalps.com/plantr ip/doityourself/compos eitinerary.

    2. That’s all about personal preference. The Interlaken region offers more than enough to keep you busy during all 7 days of your stay, and personally I feel it’s quite relaxed to have one base town and hotel only. If you like, and if you don’t mind a longer travel day, you could make a day trip to Montreux and/or Lucerne from Interlaken. Please follow the links I included, and pay special attention to the “What to do” tabs, to find out what activities can be done near the towns. There are “Hotel” tabs as well, in case you’d like to change your current booking.

    4. I’m not sure. It’s still low season so you could be lucky. You’d best try through the links provided at myswissalps.com/glacie rexpress/tickets, or visit a railway station once you’re in Switzerland and ask for the options there.

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    30 April 2017 at 23:11:23 #862538

    Hi Sakthi,

    Depending on what time you are departing Zurich on 15/5 you could consider Glacier Express Brig to Chur on your last day. Then Chur to Zurich. You would need to leave Interlaken around 8.00am to make the connection in Brig.

    AlanPrice
    Participant
    279 posts
    1 May 2017 at 0:28:05 #862539

    Hi Shreetoran,

    7 days in Lauterbrunnen is great. Lauterbrunnen is in the heart of the Oberland and all the major attractions are within easy reach. A lot of people who write to this forum have itineraries that are over full and I worry that they are going to spend too much time on trains and not enough at their destinations. A week in Lauterbrunnen is perfect. I myself prefer Grindelwald, but that’s just my preference. Switzerland is full of places to see, but I think you get more from the experience if you stay in one place and absorb the atmosphere.

    Enjoy your trip

    Alan

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    1 May 2017 at 14:20:58 #862540

    Thanks a ton @Annika @rockoyster @Alan

    Sorry guys I made a mistake in my itenary, on 15th I am leaving from Geneva out of swiss and not zurich.

    @Annika , point 4…I went through the link provided by you for reserving my seats for glacier express, but a few doubts but before I reserve my seats…

    1.As I have a Swiss family pass, will i be charged for reserving seat in glacier express?

    2.COntd. to point 1, I tried reserving and it takes me to Rail europe site, and for a journey between Andermatt and Zermatt and vice versa was showing me a cost of around 320 CHF for a flexible fare(one way) for a family of 4 along with a swiss pass…Is that a fair price?

    3.How do I cover the glacier express, the best distance that I should not miss, and can I cover the journey in a day and be back to my departure city…and what should be the most idle beginning point of my journey?

    4.reply to point @2 …When I say at 2 places, like 13th and 14th May If I stay in montreux , would it be idle to go to Geneva on 15th and also I can experience one more place?

    @rockoyster since its not Zurich on 15th and its geneva, whats the most ideal itenary…do I take the glacier in the beginning of my swiss holiday of 9th May or to the end of my tour i.e 13th or 14th….or just a day whenever I am lucky to get the glacier express reservations?

    @ Alan , you mean to say Lauterbrunnen is better than Interlaken to keep my base?

    Appreciate all your inputs!

    Best

    Sakthi

    Removed user
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    1 May 2017 at 14:34:20 #862541

    Hi Sakthi,

    1. Yes, everyone needs to pay for seat reservations unless they are an infant and in your lap
    2. No, that would be a cost for tickets and reservations. You should be able to select the Swiss Travel Pass and Family Card at the start of the process so you only pay for a reservation
    3. It depends on what your base town is. If it is Interlaken you could just do the Brig or Visp to Zermatt section (easiest) or travel to Chur first and do the whole trip to Zermatt – this would be long day on trains though.
    4. You can certainly head to Geneva, or Lausanne for day trips from Montreux. There is also a chocolate train and you can visit the Cailler chocolate factory and a cheese factory in Gruyeres.
    5. You could then take the Glacier Express on your last (or 2nd to last) day before leaving from Zurich. The trip ends in Chur and you can easily get to Zurich and Zurich airport from there in about 1.5 hours.

    Lucas

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    1 May 2017 at 14:47:48 #862542

    Thanks a ton Lucas,

    For point 5, I just clarified in my 2nd post, my departure from swiss is from Geneva station and not Zurich, so please guide me accordingly.

    Other things point 1 to 4 I will check and get back.

    Best

    Sakthi

    Removed user
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    1 May 2017 at 15:18:19 #862543

    Ah yes ok, I missed that.

    So it is most convenient, I think, to those trips that start in Chur when you are in the Zurich area if at all possible (at beginning of trip then). They are certainly possible from other towns as well – perhaps on the day before you arrive in Geneva (If you end in Zermatt it is fairly direct to get to Geneva).

    Lucas

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    1 May 2017 at 17:17:27 #862544

    @lucas

    on your point 3. )

    if from interlaken i just do brig to zermatt section then how do i get back to interlaken the same day ???? is it possible ?? or when i am leaving to montreux on 13th May can i do the same glacier express train along with my baggages to zermatt and then to leave for montreux the same day ??? we generally dont travel light :):) or do u advise me to stay in zermatt rather than montreux for 13th and 14th ???

    also the golden pass train cover the same as the choclate train(a bit confused on this) … since 13th and 14th weekend we are at the montreux can we do the chocolate train (heard may and june it runs only mon to thurs) ??? we want to take a stopover at gstaad for sometime during the chocolate factory visit..pls advise the same

    is reservation required on the chocolate train???

    in conjunction with swiss pass how much discounts do i get till the jungfrou from interlaken

    thanks in advance

    best

    which is a better place to do activities like paragliding, hiking etc (grindelwald or interlaken itself) pls suggest

    AlanPrice
    Participant
    279 posts
    1 May 2017 at 19:50:57 #862545

    Hi Shreetoran,

    Sorry, my mistake, I misread Interlaken for Lauterbrunnen. Interlaken would make a great base for a week. The town itself doesn’t have the same atmosphere as some of the smaller villages, but it is in the middle of the Oberland and there is a lot to see.

    As far as activities are concerned, I know you can do tandem paraglides from Interlaken and Grindelwald, but I’m not sure about Lauterbrunnen. I’ve done a tandem flight from near Interlaken and it was fantastic! For hiking, I prefer Grindelwald, but that’s just my preference because I think the views are a bit better than from there and there is a bit more variety.

    Have Fun!

    Alan

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    1 May 2017 at 22:37:52 #862546

    Hi Sakthi,

    My suggestion of Glacier Express was as an alternative scenic way of returning to Zurich. If you are leaving from Geneva then I would forget about GEX.

    You could do a short stretch Visp to Zermatt but hardly worth booking on GEX.

    You can take regular trains Interlaken to Zermatt. It’s just over 2 hours one way. But seems like a waste with so many things to see and do in Bernese Oberland.

    Golden Pass to Montreaux will give you a scenic journey.

    Removed user
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    2 May 2017 at 5:23:36 #862547

    Hi Lucas

    I tried reserving my seats for glacier express on happyrail web site, it doesn’t show the train timing… http://www.happyrail.com/en/c art , it just shows number of passengers, passenger details and says my pass is valid till May12th being the last day for winter…..for 18 euros for each of us… I am not getting the exact train and timing of the train that I want to travel in from andermatt to zermatt…(in the glacier express)..

    Is that a good journey for andermatt- zermatt scenic?

    please suggest and advise on the same.

    Removed user
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    2 May 2017 at 6:49:15 #862548

    Hi

    Not able to reserve my seat in glacier express in conjunction with swiss pass….please guide me in more details..as the link is taking me to the general flex fare.

    Thanks

    sakthi

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    2 May 2017 at 7:07:23 #862549

    Hi Sakthi

    Does the Glacier Express still fit in with your plans now we know you are departing Switzerland from Geneva? How are you planning to get to Andermatt in the first place? If you go Interlaken Ost – Luzern – Göshcenen – Andermatt – Zermatt – Interlaken Ost then you are in for a long day of sitting in trains.

    Removed user
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    2 May 2017 at 7:32:59 #862550

    Hi

    I am trying to reserve my seats for glacier express from 8th may onwards until 12th all show the below:

    onfirmation of reservation

    The following seats have been reserved for you

    Outward journey

    From/to Date/time Reservation Seats Price

    Luzern –

    Arth-Goldau Thu, 11.05.2017

    10:18 – 10:46 Reservation possible Open

    1 Aisle seat , 1 Window seat , 1 Window seat , 1 Aisle seat

    (2nd Class) 15.00

    Arth-Goldau –

    Erstfeld Thu, 11.05.2017

    10:53 – 11:24 Reservation not possible

    Erstfeld –

    Göschenen Thu, 11.05.2017

    11:30 – 11:55 Reservation not possible

    Göschenen –

    Andermatt Thu, 11.05.2017

    12:11 – 12:21 Reservation not possible

    Andermatt –

    Visp Thu, 11.05.2017

    12:37 – 14:50 Reservation not possible

    Visp –

    Zermatt Thu, 11.05.2017

    15:08 – 16:14 Reservation not possible

    My questions are:

    Why for most of the distance it shows reservations not possible?

    The shortest journey Arth-Goldau gives me a reservation?

    Awaiting reply for all previous treads also.

    Best

    Manoj

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    2 May 2017 at 8:12:07 #862551

    Hi Manoj,

    Trains that aren’t Panoramic (IE not the Glacier Express) don’t take reservations. You can travel the same route as the Glacier Express on a regional train and not need to make any reservations. In your case, for only a small portion of the route of the Glacier Express I would travel by regional train – no reservation needed and you are seeing the same scenery (just not large panoramic windows).

    This way you can just pick the train schedule that works best for you and just hop on the trains and go with your Swiss Travel Pass.

    Lucas

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    2 May 2017 at 10:55:20 #862552

    The actual Glacier Express train 903 departs Andermatt 13:54 arrives Zermatt 17:10. I think it is perhaps already fully booked.

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