[Removed user]

23 August 2010 at 12:08:21 #803971

I will be arriving at the Zurich airport 3 hours later than my adult daughter in a couple of weeks, and our itinerary is to take a train to Lucerne for a few hours, then on to Lauterbrunnen where we will stay for 10 days. I plan on meeting her at the fat blue angel at the train station downtown. Please advise me on which of the following would make the best sense:
#1 Purchase our half fare card and ticket to Lauterbrunnen at the Zurich airport, take the train to downtown, browse at the shopping mall, and take a selfguided tour of Zurich. Continue on to Lucerne for a few hours visit, then to Lauterbrunnen.

#2 Take the train from the airport to the train station downtown, purchase the half fare card and ticket to Lauterbrunnen there, after touring Zurich for a few hours. Continue on to Lucerne for a few hours, then to Lauterbrunnen.

I am assuming that with a Zurich to Lauterbrunnen one way ticket with a half fare card, I can stop in Lucerne for a few hours before continuing on to Lauterbrunnen. We also plan on sending our backpacks ahead onto Lauterbrunnen so we don’t have to carry them as we are doing some sight seeing along the way.

Thank you for any advice you can render me.
Kauaisam

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[Annika]

24 August 2010 at 11:15:27 #831727

Hi kauaisam. If you purchase your Swiss Half Fare Card at the Zurich Airport railway station, you can use it for the trainride to the central railway station of Zurich as well. Although this is a short and inexpensive train ride, it would of course be even cheaper to use the Swiss Half Fare Card for this leg of the trip already, instead of purchasing it after your arrival at the central railway station.

Please note that you can also order your Swiss Half Fare Card online, which will allow you to start using it right away without having to spend time at the ticketing desk. You can easily purchase your discounted train tickets from ticketing machines, that have clear instructions in English.

As for your trip from Zurich Airport to Lauterbrunnen: the most direct route doesn’t include Lucerne, but runs through Bern and Spiez instead. So make sure to purchase a ticket from Zurich Airport to Lauterbrunnen via Lucerne. You can enter a via-station at the ticketing machine, so this won’t cause any problems. With such a ticket it’s no problem indeed to get out at Lucerne and spend a couple of hours there.

[Removed user]

24 August 2010 at 21:31:23 #831728

Can I have my daughter purchase the Half fare card and the tickets to Lauterbrunnen via Lucerne for both of us without me being there, and she just charges them to her credit card, or can she only purchase her own card and tickets?

Thank you!
Kauaisam

[Annika]

25 August 2010 at 13:20:14 #831729

Hi kauaisam. Your daughter will be able to purchase the regular discounted train tickets, but for a local purchase of the Swiss Half Fare Cards, a passport is required. So this should wait until you’ve arrived as well. For an online purchase, passports aren’t required.