Tell Pass/Golden Pass train

Hi there,

I am currently planning a trip to Switzerland this December.. the tentative plan is outlined to be:

18/12: Arrive at Zurich Airport at noon and take the train to Lucerne (which will be our base)

19/12: Travel on the Golden Pass line along section 1 Lucerne to Interlaken Ost; and Section 2: Interlaken Ost to Zweisimmen and return to Lucerne at the end of the day

20/12 Travel to section 3: Zweisimmen to Montreux and back to Lucerne

21/2 Take the train from Lucerne to Zurich central

22/2 sightseeing in Zurich city

23/2: Train from Zurich city centre to Zurich Airport

I have only listed the details of the itinerary involving any travelling via train. I'm not sure if it is normal to travel on the Golden Pass Line in sections as I have planned above.. the reason is that I am traveling with my parents who are quite old and am hoping for it to be less tiring for them if we go at a slower pace and also by just staying at Lucerne and not changing hotels every night.

I tried reading the forum but didn't find much helpful information regarding the use of tell pass on the Golden Pass train. My journey is not going to involve a lot of intercity traveling so I am reluctant to spend on the Swiss Travel Pass. I just wonder if getting a tell pass for the 2 days that we are traveling on the Golden Pass Line is appropriate?

I hope you can advice me, thank you so much! x

Welcome to MySwissAlps Blake!

I would recommend to do section 3 of the Golden Pass route on the 19th too. It's indeed a long trip, but it's very time consuming to travel all the way back to Zweisimmen the next day, and thus doing the Spiez to Zweisimmen leg twice. For me it would actually be more tiring that way. You can check the timetable for details. I would either do it on one long day, or only do part of it on one day: Lucerne - Meiringen - Interlaken - Spiez - Bern - Schüpfheim - Lucerne, for example.

Did you notice that the forum is only a small part of this website? There is much more (well structured) information available for you, which is easier to digest than forum posts. Just check the top menu or the search box and start from there. The pages I recommend for you are:

• myswissalps.com/ tellpasswinter/ validity (note that the Tell-Pass does not cover all your plans)
• myswissalps.com/ goldenpass/ tickets
• myswissalps.com/ train/ticketspasses/ practical/chooserailpa ss

Hi Arno, thank you for the advice! I will reconsider my schedule for the Golden Pass trip.. it does seem too troublesome to actually travel to and fro twice! I am really grateful for all the information on the web! It is very informative indeed. However, I would just like to confirm before I purchase the tell pass that it covers the entire Golden Pass line? Thank you so much!

I'm glad to help Blake! The Tell-Pass only covers the Lucerne to Interlaken section of the Golden Pass line. Please download the map from the Tell Pass Winter link I gave you to see details.

Depending on your exact plans, a 3-day Swiss Travel Pass, plus local ticket for the days in Zurich, could be an alternative.