[Removed user]

24 September 2017 at 3:17:34 #813341

Hello

Me and my husband are planning a trip to Switzerland in January ending for 7 nights. we land in Zurich and plan to go straight to Grindelwald for 2 nights. After that we want to go to Zermatt for 3 nights but not sure if we should stay one night in Leukerbad first. Will it be possible to use the thermal bath in winters ?. what all can we do in Zermatt if we do not ski. After Zermatt we want to comedown to Zurich for 2 nights making it our base to take day trips to Lucerne and mt titlis. Does my plan sound reasonable and which rail pass would be best for me trip ? Please advice.

Thank you

Rimmy

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[Removed user]

24 September 2017 at 8:45:24 #870114

Hi Rimmy and welcome to MySwissAlps!

Yes, the thermal baths are open 365 days a year and they look like a great time!
We have a list of activities to do in Zermatt listed here. Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn stand out as good ideas as well as snowshoeing if that interests you.

I would suggest basing yourself in Lucerne rather than Zurich for you last 2 nights unless you have a specific need to stay in Zurich?

For a rail pass I would look at the 8 day Swiss Travel Pass as it should cover almost all your trips for free – see here for a PDF map of the coverage area and more details.

Lucas

[Removed user]

24 September 2017 at 11:13:27 #870115

hi. thank you so much for your reply. Yes i am taking up the advice of making lucerne my base. i think i will cut out the leukerbad and make lucerne 3 nights so that i can visit bern as well. would that be a better option ?

[Removed user]

24 September 2017 at 11:43:29 #870116

one more thing if from Zermatt i want to take a golden pass train for the scenic route to lucerne will it be possible ?

[Removed user]

24 September 2017 at 15:02:13 #870117

Hi Rimmy,

I can’t say if Bern would be a better option than Leukerbad – two different activities! If you aren’t interested in Leukerbad then Bern is a nice city visit if that is what you are looking for.

The Golden Pass route runs from Montreux to Interlaken and on to Luzern. It would make a for a bit of a long day certainly….perhaps as a way to get to Zermatt it is a viable option…I wouldn’t do it as a round trip from Zermatt for sure.

Lucas

[Slowpoke]

24 September 2017 at 15:16:34 #870118

Hi rimmy-

Lucas gave you the answer. To amplify a bit….there are variuos train routes from Montreux to Luzern. The Golden Pass route is the slowest, and most scenic.

Routes via Lausanne and Bern are substantially faster.

From Zermatt, you can also take the route under ( fastest) or over (more scenic) the Lötschberg pass. and pick up part of the Golden Pass Route at Spiez, take the short trip to Interlaken Ost, and follow the Golden Pass route on the Luzern-Interlaken Express from IO to Luzern.

To visuaize this, use this map and zoom in until you can see the train lines:

map.search.ch/?pos=628048,98328&z=32

I have done that at Zermatt.

The time table will help you with times along various routes:

http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Slowpoke