[Removed user]

11 February 2020 at 13:43:38 #825190

Hello,

My family and I will be staying in Montreaux for 4 days next week. My husband and I will be traveling with our 2 young daughters ages 5 and 8. We will be staying at the Fairmont in Montreaux. I understand we will be getting a complimentary Montreaux Riviera pass. Several of the main activities we plan to do are Chillon Castle, Gruyeres, Broc and Glacier 3000 during our stay. We are also considering to visit places like Zurich and Lucerne. I told my husband we would benefit from a Swiss Travel Pass. He thinks otherwise and states it will he more cost effective if we use the complimentary Montreaux Riviera pass and we pay for each train ride and attraction as we go. Any input or recommendations on this matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

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[rockoyster]

11 February 2020 at 19:43:02 #930013

Hello Allsmilez and Welcome to MySwissAlps,

The Montreux Riviera Card has very limited coverage compared to the Swiss Travel Pass.

Is you husband any good at spreadsheets? 😉

Based on your personal itinerary you should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math. The spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” page for all available passes. Be sure to check those pages for each pass you are considering. Study the map AND read all the text on those pages to fully understand what is covered by the respective pass.

For checking timetables see http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/checking-train-timetables.

If you have children (>5<16) they will travel free with a Swiss Family Card (http://www.myswissalps.com/swissfamilycard) which is available for free when acquired in conjunction with a Swiss Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass) or Swiss Half Fare Card (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard). Kids under 6 travel free.

This trip report may be of interest. Different season, but covers some of the places you plan to visit.

[Removed user]

12 February 2020 at 1:37:34 #930014

If you want to do all the trips stated you will need a Swiss Travel Pass, although 4 days might not be enough to fit in all the trips on your list!

Please note there is no ‘a’ in Montreux

[Peterli]

12 February 2020 at 2:06:36 #930015

Hello,

I like to have more of the total picture before I jump into a thread and offer advice. I read that you are staying in Montreux for four days (I assume four nights as well), that you will be receiving a complementary Riviera Card from your hotel, that you have some tentative destinations in mind (most of which are not covered by the Riviera Card), even including the more distant cities of Lucerne and Zurich.

Is four days the total amount of time you will be in Switzerland ? Arriving in Montreux from where ? Departing Montreux for where ? Four days will go by very quickly, and so you may have to trim your list of places you want to see/visit.

[Removed user]

12 February 2020 at 2:08:48 #930016

Hi Rockoyster,

Thanks for taking time to provide me with your recommendations. I appreciate it. The links are all very helpful. Myswissalps.com is a great source of useful information for planning a Switzerland trip.

[Removed user]

12 February 2020 at 2:12:39 #930017

Hi 1960man,

Thanks for the tip. Much appreciated. Mea culpa. Yes, I stand corrected. Montreux does not have an “a.” I’ll be more careful spelling it moving forward.

[Removed user]

12 February 2020 at 2:41:06 #930018

Hello Peterli:

We arrive into Montreux early in the day on 02/16/2020 by train from Geneva. We are staying at the Fairmont Le Montreux. Upon arrival, we just plan on settling in and walking around the promenade. Check out the Freddie Mercury statue. My husband will want to check out the casino. We plan to go to Chillon Castle. Then on Monday, we want to travel to Gruyeres and Broc. Depending on the weather, we plan to go to Gstaad and Glacier 3000 either Tuesday or Wednesday. Most likely Gstaad and Glacier 3000 will be an all day event. For our last full day, it is pretty much open. We want to either due some kind of day trip to Zurich, Vevey, Lucerne, etc. We check out on Thursday and head off to the airport. Our travel plans have to be flexible and not too jam packed because we are traveling with our 2 young daughters.

[rockoyster]

12 February 2020 at 2:53:03 #930019

You can go to Glacier 3000 via Aigle and Les Diablerets. No need to go to Gstaad.

”We want to either due some kind of day trip to Zurich, Vevey, Lucerne”

That’s quite a range in terms of travel times. Vevey is a short bus or train ride. The others not so much. Do you have a reason for visiting cities more than half-way across Switzerland?

Have your considered a day trip to Zermatt or is that one mountain too many? Bern perhaps?

[Peterli]

12 February 2020 at 3:27:03 #930020

Hello again,

That certainly is a short visit to Switzerland. Arriving Feb 16 and departing Feb 20. First of all, I would say that Montreux is an excellent choice of where to stay since your airport is Genève. Personally, with such a short time, I would cut out Zurich and possibly Lucerne and concentrate more on places closer to Montreux. I kind of hate giving this advice, especially about Lucerne, because it and its lake and surrounding mountains are absolutely beautiful. I only say this because your time is so short. Perhaps you can come back to Switzerland sometime soon (and perhaps during a different season) and set up a base in Lucerne ? A shorter and perhaps more do-able round trip for either Tuesday or Wednesday could be Montreux – Spiez – Berne – Fribourg – Montreux. You can also check out what might be interesting for your family which is covered by the Riviera Card. Is Chaplin’s World on your list ? Maybe you all would enjoy the AquaParc in Bouveret ? I am not convinced that a Swiss Travel Pass is the answer (financially), but perhaps the Half Fare Card (as suggested by Rockoyster) might be a good idea. The closer you stay to Montreux, the less attractive the Swiss Travel Pass (in my humble opinion) would be, and the less “jam-packed” your visit will be.

[rockoyster]

12 February 2020 at 4:57:34 #930021

Just to be clear on the Montreux Riviera Card coverage, it only covers you to the last station or bus stop shown in the coloured zones in this map. The locations pointed to by arrows at the extremities of the map are not covered.

[Removed user]

12 February 2020 at 6:18:49 #930022

Hi Allsmilez309,

if you are visiting Montreux, Gstaad (http://www.myswissalps.com/gstaad), Gruyeres, Broc etc, as you wrote, have a look at Regional Pass Lake Geneva – Alps: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpasslakegeneva. Although you are staying just for 4 days it might be a good pass for you. Download the validity map and study it carefully: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpasslakegeneva/validity.

A link to information on to the Montreux Riviera Card can be found under “More on other websites” at http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux/hotels.

Have a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/last-day-in-montreux-what-to-do, you might find some useful tips there for your last day.

Ildiko