3-day visit to Geneva - Zurich - Titlis - Pilatus

Hello

We in a group of 7 planning to visit Switzerland for three days. Our iternary is as follows:

Day 1 : Reaching Geneva from Paris at 1016 hrs( reservation made). Keep the luggage in the locker at the station and vist the UN Hq and roam around the city. Take a train from Geneva to Montreux at 1300 hrs. Plan to take Golden Pass Express from Montreux to Zweisimmem. From Zweisimmem to Zurich by train. Stay at Zurich ( reservation made)

Day 2: From Zurich to Engelberg to Mt. Titlis. If time permits back to Zurich via Interlaken.

Day 3: Zurich to Lucerne to Mt. Pilatus. Roam around Lucerne and back to Zurich to catch a late night flight to Rome.

Is this plan workable? Can we try Golden Pass Express from Lucerne to Interlaken also? Which of the two routes are better? What are the attractions at Lucerne for half day only after Mt.Pilatus? Normally how much time it takes to deposit the luggage and retrieve it? We are planning to take Swiss Rail Pass. Do we have to make reservations in advance for mt. Titlis andmt. Pilatus to avail discounts on Swiss Ril pass? May please help.

Thanks

deepak

Hi Deepak, thanks for posting here!

From Zweisimmen I would just continue on the Golden Pass line to Lucerne and stay there for day 2 and 3. That allows you to also see the Lucerne to Interlaken leg you mentioned, and you will be closer to Mount Titlis and Pilatus (no reservations required). Also, Lucerne is near the mountains while Zurich isn't, so it makes sense to stay there if you want to experience the Alps. Then take a train to the airport at the end of day 3. It takes about an hour to reach the airport from Lucerne.

All larger stations have lockers to deposit your luggage.

As for the pass: you can get a 3-day Swiss Travel Pass and print it at home. You can order the pass through www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick "Online Ticket" from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the pass (no delivery fees) within 1-3 business days, so you can print it yourself. This will save you time on arrival as you don't need to wait for a ticket office.

For a city walking tour in Geneva, please see here.

Hi Deepak-

Adding to Arno's comments-

www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

www.myswissalps.com/ce ntralswitzerland

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/lucerne.html

Zürich is a city which is best explored in depth, slowly...museums, culture - rather than a being a sightseeing destination for a short trip. Definitely not in the Alps!

www.myswissalps.com/zu rich

As Arno suggested, especially for a first time visitor, I'd skip Zürich and take advantage of Luzern for its variety and scenery.

And it will shorten a very long first day of travel.

Oh yes-

Your planned time in Geneva may be a bit short to see much of the town. You'll likely barely have time to visit the UN.

www.myswissalps.com/ge neva

Slowpoke

Thanks for the information and guidance.

One of my companion groups is reaching Geneva in the evening and will stay for two days only. May kindly help in the following:

1. Whether Swiss pass can be purchased at Geneva train station in Swiss Francs directly using travel card?

2. They plan to visit Jungfrau starting early morning from Geneva? Is it possible?

3. As I read, weather at Jungfrau is unpredictable. Whether reservation should be made for this visit?

4. if it missed, what are the alternatives? The group plans to leave for Paris in the morning after a stay of two days.

5. How to make reservations on intercity trains using Swiss travel pass?

6. Now my problem - how to make reservations on Golden Pass express with Swiss travel Pass?

Thanks

Deepak

Hi Deepak -

Some questions and some partial answers -

When will the travel be occurring? What dates? It influences some possible travel arrangements.

1.- What is a travel card?

This link explains how to buy a Swiss Travel Pass and gives various details and options.:

www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price

If the group you have in mind is large, the process of buying it at a station can consume quite a bit of time.

Swiss Francs ( CHF) can certainly be used in Switzerland. ;-)

2- To understand travel times, please use the timetable:

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

The first page at that link has useful information that will help you use it better.

The fastest route is the default mode for the timetable.

In mid-October, beginning at 0642 there are two journeys per hour departing at XX12 and XX42, taking 5 hours and 10 minutes. They go via Bern and have 4 or 5 changes of trains.

The earliest journey starts at 0453, takes 5 hours and 29 minutes and includes a change of trains at Lausanne.

3.- Depends on when you plan to travel.

4.- There are dozens or hundreds of possible alternatives throughout Switzerland that can be reached in 5+ hours. What are their interests?

In addition to Luzern, two regions that come to mind are the Lake Geneva Region and the Jungfrau region:

www.myswissalps.com/so uthwestswitzerland

www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion

5.- Reservations are not needed on intercity trains in Switzerland.

6.- please see the link to the Golden Pass route that Arno gave you in his post.

The Golden Pass is a route, and some trains have special panoramic cars. Regular trains also travel on the same tracks.

The Golden Pass route has a few sections. In some cases, alternate routes that take main line tracks are significantly faster ways to reach the destinations, but, are less scenic. Use the time table, making sure to insert a "via" station on the the route you choose, otherwise, you'll get the fastest route. Between Montreux and Interlaken Ost, the appropriate "via" is Zweisimmen. Between IO and Luzern, it is Meiringen or Giswil.

The fastest route from Geneva to Luzern bypasses the golden pass route and goes via Bern and Zofingen or Olten on high speed tracks.

Slowpoke

Thanks for the insight.

My group of 7 will be travelling around 15th of oct.

The other group will be visiting around 8th of october to jungfrau.

Deepak

Hi Deepak -

Most cableways in the jungfrau region stop running between October 24th and mid- December. The cograil train to Jungfraujoch runs all year long.

In mid and late October, many hotels and restaurants in thejungfrau region are closed for lack of tourists or skiers. Not all. There is a restaurant on the Jungfrau.

Main line trains via Bern as far as Spiez or Interlaken Ost often have restaurant cars.

Open a journey in the timetable by clicking on the plus sign to the left of the journey, and the details will show a restaurant car if there is one.

Also note the route usage symbols. Some of the early morning trains are quite full of people traveling to work. if you have a large group, or even a small one, they can have difficulty sitting together on some segments of the route.

Learn to use the timetable. It has a lot of useful details if you dig into it.

Slowpoke

Hi Deepak,

Regarding buying passes in Geneva: I recommend to print them at home about a week before departure or earlier as explained in my first post. Buying at the station is certainly possible, but it takes time, either a little time or a lot. If you're a group it likely takes a lot of time. You'd better spend that time on sightseeing or scenic trains :-)

As adviced, we have taken swiss rail pass. We are not able to book for golden pass express from geneva. A ten digit no. Is required but the no. On the pass is 8 or 12 digit. What to do ?

Kindly suggest.

Thanks

Deepak

Hi Deepak -

Golden pass trains start at Montreux. You'll have to take a regular train from Geneva to Montreux.

Don't know about the numbers. Which exact pass have you gotten?

Slowpoke

We have taken swiss travel pass 3 days and trying to reserve from montreux. Pl. Let us know the site on which reservation can be made. We have 8 digit order no. 12 digit OT no.

Pl. Help

Deepak

Hi Deepak,

You don't have to reserve seats on Golden Pass trains, except for the 8 first class VIP seats which are only available in a few trains. Please see the Golden Pass page for details and links. If you do book seats they won't ask for a Swiss Travel Pass number. You may have ended up somewhere where they asked for a Swiss Pass number. But a Swiss Pass is not a Swiss Travel Pass. It's a different product, for Swiss residents only.