Switzerland-France visit in September

gitz30

2 posts
new member

Aug 19, 2012 - 7:01 PM

We are 5 people (2 couples and 1 toddler-18month) and have the following itinerary to visit Swiss and France starting from Sept 6 - Sept 17.Need some advice on train passes/travel:
-Reaching Zurich on Sept 6 @ 2:00pm
- Hotel booking at Luzern for Sept 6 and Sept 7 (to see Lucerne, Mt. Titils and Mt Pilatus)
- Start on Sept 8 for Interlaken and continue in Zermatt. Stay there on Sept 8 night.
- On sept 9 afternoon travel back from Zermatt to Zurich and night stay.
-On Sept 10 one couple go to Paris and be there till Sept 16 and other leave for Norway

Pls advice if we should buy Swiss pass for all? or Is there a better option for couple going to France after Swiss and plan to be there till Sept 16. (Flight back from Paris to Chicago on Sept 16).
Once we finalize on rail pass have few questions on Swiss itinerary. Let me know if I need to post it in separate forum.

Thanks for creating a great forum website. Its very helpful

Annika

7360 posts
expert &
moderator

Aug 20, 2012 - 5:01 AM

Welcome to the forum Gitz! I'm glad you like it. As for rail passes: since you'll be traveling in September, the most economical option for you is the 2 for 1 offer on the 4 day Swiss Saver Pass, to be used for September 6-9. If you leave Zurich by train on September 10, you can buy regular train tickets for this trip. An alternative would be to buy the 2 for 1 offer on the 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass, using free travel days on September 6, 8, 9 and 10 (for this Swiss leg of your outbound trip) and a discounted day on September 7. But if you plan to do quite some traveling on September 7, e.g. to the Titlis, this won't be cheaper than the 4 day Swiss Saver Pass option. Both couples can buy this offer.

Whether the one couple also needs a rail pass for France, depends on their travel plans over there. They may look into the Eurail France-Switzerland Pass, but this doesn't cover as much in Switzerland as the Swiss Saver Pass does and there's no comparable 2 for 1 deal on this pass.

A tip for composing your itinerary: you can use the Swiss timetable to find all information on routes, traveling times and costs. You can continue further questions in this same topic, unless you have questions on a specific subject or something that's not closely related to your itinerary.

MySwissAlps.com recommends to read this:
All Swiss rail passes How to choose a pass?

Last modified on Dec 24, 2021 - 10:42 AM by Arno

gitz30

2 posts
new member

Aug 20, 2012 - 5:43 AM

Hello Annika,
Thanks for a prompt reply.Based on your suggestion for train passes I have 2 open questions:
1) As for Swiss 4 days rail pass- Will the first day validity starts date/time we get it stamped? e.g. We start our first train trip on Sept 6 at 3:00 pm.So, Can I assume that it will be valid till Sept 10 3:00 pm. If yes, then we are covered for all the time we are in Swiss, else I might have to buy flexi pass as you advised.

2) The other couple does plan to visit France in 6 days by Train.Looked at France-Swiss pass, but unfortunately they don't have any 2nd class option for Adults. So it costs 1118$ for 2. Is there any cheaper option you know? Might be buy 2 swiss rail pass offer, then swiss to france train and separate france rail pass.

Regarding the Itinerary need some guidance: (Sorry to flood you with questions, I realized how hard it is to plan the whole trip :()

1) We reach Luzern almost at 3:00-4:00 pm on Sept 6. Any suggestions on what attraction we can cover on that eve. (Chapel bridge etc)
2) On Sept 7, I planned to go to Mt. Titlis in morn via Cog railway and Mt pilatus in afternoon. Is it even possible or too ambitious to do in 1 day?
3)On Sept 8- Plan to go to Interlaken and leave from there in afternoon for Zermatt. All I find in Interlaken is sports/adventures. Any other Places we can go in half a day or should we skip Interlaken alltogether?
4) What do you recommend to cover in Zermatt for half a day on sept 8 and half a day on Sept 9?
5) Any advise for Zurich on Sept 9 night and morning of sept 10.

Honestly am not even sure this much will be possible with a 18 month old :-), but I am very excited for this trip and trying to plan it perfect.

Thanks a ton in advance!

Annika

7360 posts
expert &
moderator

Aug 21, 2012 - 5:21 AM

Hi Gitz:

the validity of a Swiss Pass is measured in dates, not in 24 hour periods. So a 4 day Swiss Saver Pass pass that starts on September 6 is valid up to September 9 until midnight.

which option is best for the French part of the trip, really depends on the travel plans over there. If public transportation won't be used that intensively, regular tickets might be best. If the couple will be traveling a lot, a French rail pass would be a good option.

as for your itinerary: browsing this forum (using the search box in the upper right corner) and taking a look at the Bernese Oberland day trip overview will provide you with quite some ideas. The timetable I mentioned allows you to see what can be combined in one day. Pilatus and Titlis can be, but it will be a full day. For half a day near Interlaken, consider a boat trip on one of the lakes or a ride up to Kleine Scheidegg or Schynige Platte. These tips will help you pick excursions for Zermatt. If weather is clear, I'd definitely get to the Gornergrat.

I hope this gets you started!

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