Suggestion on the free traveling day's itineraries

Hi Arno & Annika, Good day!

time flies and our long waited trip will be next week! can't wait~Sorry for the long list of questions again! appreciate your expert suggestions below as we would like to fully maximize the unlimited traveling on the 3 free day that we've purchased earlier - swiss travel pass flex combi with 3 free traveling days.

Day 1) Lucerne - will be traveling on regular ticket.

Day 2) 1st day on swiss travel pass - Lucerne to Murren (our base in Jungfrau). We would like to visit the oldtown nearby as well as the 'valley of 72 waterfalls' - Trümmelbach falls. Can you please recommend which oldtown is nice visiting? Understand that we need to pay for an admission fee for Trümmelbach falls entrance. Do we entitle for any discount using half fare card or does swiss travel pass cover it? Also, would you recommend to visit Isenfluh and Sulwald as well? If not mistaken, this route is not covered in swiss travel pass. Any other places that is nice visiting that we can cover on the free traveling day, appreciate your recommendation!

Day 3) On half fare card - to Jungfraujoch from Murren and we plan to go up via Wengen and come down via Grindelwald. Is this the best route to take? Do we need to buy a separate ticket from Murren to Alps via Wengen and come down via Grindelwald? Also, can we hop on and off the train on the way to/from the alps? So we could dropby to visit Wengen, Kl. Scheidegg and Grindelwald.

Day 4) 2nd Day on swiss travel pass. Traveling from Murren to Zermatt.Visit the oldtown and Matterhorn Museum (free entrance on swiss travel pass?) Any places we can visit nearby?

Day 5) On half fare card up to Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn. Any places we can stop by to visit?

Day 6) 3rd Day on swiss travel pass. Traveling back to Zurich. Along the way to Zurich, any places worth stopping by to visit? Chur? Any chances we can slot in the free rides to Lake Brienz or Lake Thun on Day 4? How long the return rides takes?

Thanks in advance! =)

Hello Ellentan,

Good to hear you're leaving next week! Let's take a look at your schedule:

Day 2 - A good use of your free travel day would be to travel via Meiringen and Brienz, using the Golden Pass route. You may want to get out in Brienz (which is a nice little town) and take a boat tour to Interlaken Ost. Next, you can continue your trip to Mürren. The Trümmelbach falls aren't covered indeed, so you'll pay the full entrance fare there. Isenfluh-Sulwald isn't covered either, and I think it would be a bit too much to get up there after your trip from Lucerne. Please refer to www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity for information on what's covered. Alternatively, if weather is good you can take the lovely hike from Grütschalp to Mürren. Yet another and very different alternative is to first visit the Rigi from Lucerne (entirely for free on a free travel day), and then head for Mürren in the afternoon.

Day 3 - You can indeed best purchase a ticket Mürren-Wengen-Jungfaujoch-Grindelwald-Mürren (via Zweilütschinen). It's easiest to get to a manned desk at the railway station, explain your needs and show your Swiss Travel Pass Flexi Combi. The staff will get you the right discounted ticket. Such tickets are not valid for specific trains, so it's no problem to get on and off board whenever you like.

Day 4 - Entrance to the Matterhorn museum is for free. Please follow the link at www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/details to find which museums are included.

Day 5 - You could combine your Gornergrat trip with a hike, like Rotenboden-Riffelalp, or a hike allowing you to explore Zermatt.

Day 6 - Traveling times from Zermatt to Zurich can be found in the timetable. Chur is way off the standard route, unless you'd decide to make a long detour and follow a part of the Glacier Express route. The quickest route will lead you back towards the Bernese Oberland. You could include a boat ride from Interlaken Ost to Thun, and then pick up the train connection to Zurich.

Hi Annika, thank you so much for your reply and all the suggestions and useful infos shared!

Can i ask is the golden pass line also called as LUZERN-INTERLAKEN EXPRESS? As this is the only train found in the timetable. And If we were to take the boat tour as well, can we take the golden pass route and alight at Brienz station? I supposed we are allowed to take the ride with our luggages along. Please advise if otherwise, thanks in advance! May i know how long does the above route (golden pass line + boat tour) takes to reach Murren? If to consider the above route, Will there be enough time for us to cover Lauterbrunnen valley as well as the suggested hike to Grütschalp?

Day 6 - Based on the timetable, it shows the route back to zurich will be via Visp and the traveling time would be approximately 3 hours. Is this the quickest route to Zurich?

By the way, I've read some of the forums here about the weather forecast with useful link shared but couldn't find it now. Can you please advise which website shows the most accurate weather on the day as we need to check for our Alps trip.

And appreciate your suggestion where can we try out the tasty cheese fonque? Can we get any good ones in the places we are visiting?

Appreciate your reply soon and thanks in advance!

Hi Ellentan,

That's indeed the name they tend to use for the trains on the leg Interlaken - Luzern. Luggage is allowed everywhere in Switzerland. You can get off in Brienz like Annika explained.

The timetable always shows the quickest travel option by default. The advanced search option allows you to select "via-stations" or preferred modes of transport. So the timetable enables you to check which trips fit in one day.

The weather forecast can be found here. You can get cheese fondue in many restaurants. Just check the menu; you can usually find it near the entrance.

Thanks Arno & Annika for all the infos shared!

We will be taking off today and wil definitely our trip experience here! Thanks again!