[Pameladc68]

22 June 2020 at 17:21:33 #825592

Hi,

My husband and I are planning a visit to Switzerland in June 2021. We plan to arrive in Zurich and want to do all the panorama train routes. We would like to stay in places 2 or 3 nights so we can see the local areas. I was planning on getting us the flexible rail pass since we hope to travel for about 21 days. My draft itinerary is:

1. Arrive Zurich. Stay 3 nights Use local transportation pass from hotel. Train on third day to St. Gallen. Stay 1 night.

2. Take Voelpen Express to Lucerne. Stay 3 nights Use local transportation pass when possible for Lucerne sights.

3. Take Gotthard Panorama Express to Lugano. Stay 3 nights. Use local transportation pass when possible for Lugano sights.

4. Stay 1 night in Tirano Take Bernina Express to St. Moritz

5. Stay 2 nights in St. Moritz. Use local transportation pass when possible. Take Glacier Express to Zermatt

6. Stay 2 nights in Zermatt. Use local transportation pass when possible. Take train to Interlaken.

7. Stay 2 nights in Interlaken. Take train to Bern

8. Stay 2 nights in Bern. Use local transportation pass when possible. Take train to Montreux.

9. Stay 3 nights in Montreux. Use local transportation pass when possible. Take train to Geneva

10. Stay 3 nights in Geneva. Use local transportation pass when possible. Fly home from Geneva.

My questions are: (1) will I need to get an additional swiss pass to cover these sites (i.e., in order to use cog railroad , chocolate train and other day trips such as gruyere.) I am concerned that I may exceed the 15 day limit on my first swiss pass; (2) are there places I could stay longer and do day trips to some of the towns/cities I have initially planned to stop; and (3) does this itinerary make sense or is there a better route to include the areas we want to visit. I do have the option of switching the start and finish points or alternatively switching to using Zurich as the start and the finish point. As a note, we enjoy museums, music, history, and nature. We are walkers but not big hikers and I am not a fan of heights such as suspension bridges and bunging jumping. Thank you so much for any help and ideas you can provide.

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[Removed user]

23 June 2020 at 9:30:41 #932655

Hello Pameladc68 and Welcome to MySwissAlps,

Nice to hear you’re planning a trip to Switzerland for next summer!!!

Nice itinerary that you’ve set up, covering lots of lovely destinations and routes.

You will find input on all your destinations by typing them into the search bar of this page. There is lots of information on the different tabs of each place, such as e.g. “What to do”, “Hotels”, etc. Make sure to check them all.

Additionally you will find input on the scenic trips and destinations here:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/voralpenexpress
– http://www.myswissalps.com/gotthardpanoramaexpress
– http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress

As for the best rail pass, I suggest you read below link for helpful input, incl. a fantastic spreadsheet for calculations:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass

The Swiss Travel Pass is for sure a valid option, also look into the Swiss Half Fare Card or Saver Day Passes:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard
– http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass

For further input on your interests also see the following links:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/

Last but not least it’s recommendable to become familiar with the Swiss train timetable below:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable

Hope this provides some valid input and information to continue planning.

Get back to us anytime for more information.

Best,
Steph

[Annika]

24 June 2020 at 7:06:35 #932656

Hi Pameladc68! In addition to Steph’s helpful comments, here’s some more input on rail passes. So you’re considering the 15 day Swiss Travel Pass Flex (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassflex), using travel days for your town-to-town transfers? In that case: yes, it’s good to figure out which options are best for the day trips made from your base towns, as regular tickets are pretty expensive. Some towns do issue local travel cards, but those are usually restricted to some urban transport and discounts on (very) local activities. You can look into these options:

• instead of getting a 15 day Swiss Travel Pass Flex, consider a 15 day + 8 day regular Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass), covering pretty much all of your days. If you’re planning lots of side trips, this is absolutely the easiest and most flexible solution, as you don’t have to buy tickets for most train/bus/boat trips and just hop on and wherever you like;
• get an additional Swiss Half Fare Card (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard) to buy 50% discounted tickets for your trips on non-free travel days;
• get Saver Day Passes (http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass) for your non-covered travel days. You’ll carefully have to check whether they’re actually cheaper than regular tickets though. They don’t include mountain transport and are usually best for longer transfers by regular trains/buses/boats.

Als refer to “Alternatives if you stay longer than 15 days” at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/details.

If you want to be absolutely sure which option is most economical, you should do the math, using the link provided by Steph.

I hope this helps you out!