MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Zurich & Lucerne trip report August 2017
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Tips b4 going to switzerland :
Switzerland is Expensive to your pocket but very developed no pollution, not crowded and has a v sophisticated transport system .
Do hire a travellers wifi. Its battery gets low after few hours so u should have a usb battery charger to recharge it.
Sunday most shops are closed n also some restaurants. If u r going to have self catering u wont be able to get essentials as grocery stores will be closed.
Electric chargers are different from rest of EU so do get them b4 ur journey as they are v expensive to buy.
We had self catering still we had spent so much on food. And food wasnt of great quality. If u r getting self catering apartment it would be a budget deal. Try to bring tinned food n confectionary with u and go to coop for rest of grocery n get frozen pizza n cook pasta. Make sure where u r booking, building has cooker n oven n microwave oven too. As our apartment had no oven n due to terms n conditions i could only boil on cooker no stir fry . I cant imagine organic eggs i get for max 50 pence n u would get ordinary egg for 50 p. Cereals cost £2 here n there 5chf. Indian food we have in uk in 5 star hotel cost max £16 n we had to pay 65 chf for just a 2 course meal. Halal is expensive! Try to get takeaway n eat in ur apartment as takeaway price is less.
For panoramic ride do reserve seats for summer. To be frank i don’t think there was something v special. Those routes u will see if u go to luzern or mount Titlis. We had to stand for 3 hours as no seats. We tried to have a day trip from luzern but we couldnt stay in any station just got connections. I think we should have stayed in montreux for a night. Start ur day early go to interlaken do lunch there go to montreux explore n stay overnight n come back to luzern next day. But ill say u can miss it easily. Going till interlaken is enough.
Trains are so timed n sophisticated in switzerland . Sbb app is great. U can get connections so easily as stations are built in such a way that u can catch train within even 3 minutes.
There isnt much to see in zurich. But rhine falls city tour n lake zurich are good. Can be done in a day.
I would say spend at least one night in luzern n go for a walk at night along the lake. Its beautiful . Take a cruise too.
One mountain excursion is enough. We went to mount titlis.
Travel pass v expensive.if u book a tour for zurich n mountain then dont take a pass. As usually tours are all departing from main or near train stations. We booked a tour for mount titlis from luzern.and we arrived from zurich to luzern that day. excursion was all day long. And aparment we were staying in luzern was near to departure location of tour. We just wasted that day ticket as we could avoid travelling to luzern on train as tours first picked up pessangers from zurich then from luzern. Try to get apartments near central location. The day we went for zurich tour , pick up point was near zurich hb n out hotel also . So we just walked that day to get to departure location n didnt buy travel pass for that day.
Little istanbul in central luzern station has a v good halal doner kebab with reasonable price. And ali baba in zurich ( near zurich hb) has halal pizza n doner too with reasonable price.
For chocolate go to coop n buy from there as coop has its own brand but its cheaper too.
There is a shop in luzern in front of dock called confiretti oh heavenly chocolate bars of nuts which is bought by weight.
V fresh fruit and fresh juice in front of dock of lake luzern after crossing a bridge. Name i dont remember but u can easily see it.
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Thanks beenaeem!
Sounds like a nice holiday. I’m curious what train trip you were on where you had to stand for 3 hours? Very unusual!
Certainly Switzerland is an expensive country – for new members be sure to read through our web page on how to save money in Switzerland.
Oh sorry did i forget to mention that? Its golden pass route. Lyzern to interlaken it was full. Then from Zweisimmen to montreux it was full. Thankfully from interlaken to zweisimmen we got a seat..
Ah I see. Yes, the panoramic trains from Zweisimmen to Montreux is often full in the summer and we would advise anyone to reserve that section.
I’m surprised to hear about Luzern to Interlaken being full though! Thanks for the note.
I’m curious, on the full trains, I assume this was 2nd class. If so, how full was 1st class. I understand doing an upgrade to 1st is a strategy when using a Swiss Travel Pass. Would this have been the case on this trip?
Yes we had a second class seat. From luzern to interlaken there was only one seat in 1st class so one of us seated there. Yes we could upgrade that but from zwesimmen to montruex there was no space at all. That day was a public holiday in switzerland may be thats why.
Hi! Thanks for the report. This is the first time I hear can upgrade from 2nd to 1st class while on the train. May I know how do we do that and what is the cost? We also have the Swiss Travel Pass. In addition, I’m quite concerned when I read beenaeem had to stand 3hrs in one section. I know it’s not compulsory to make seat reservation, but can we opt to do so with the STP? If able to, do we use the SBB app to make reservations? We also have Zermatt to Zurich leg that’s over 3hrs and we hope to get a seat…
Thanks!
Yes u can do upgrade i think 12chf per person. U can do on train if u see a ticket officer or on website of sbb. But make sure if there is a seat in first class. Also which time u r travelling . We went in august. But i dont think u need it in off peak season.
We have details on how to upgrade with the SBB App on another thread here.
I would recommend getting the upgrade before boarding the train – definitely before sitting down in first class! The cost is 1/2 the price difference between a 1st and 2nd class ticket on your route.
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