Train pass help based on our 6 day itinerary

Hello,

We are traveling for about two weeks in Europe covering Paris, Switzerland and Venice in early April 2015. Our tentative itinerary in Switzerland

Day 1: From Paris, we will be arriving via train to Luzerne. Time permits visit Mt.Pilatus

Day 2: Stroll in luzerne and travel to Interlaken in the afternoon.

Day 3: Visit Schilthorn '

Day 4: Visit Trümmelbach Falls, Staubbach falls, stroll wengen/murren

Day 5: Visit Oberhofen Castle and leave to Visp

Day 6: Visit Matterhorn and travel to Milan late afternoon. (Zermatt-visp via glacier express)

We are 2 adults, one 7 year old and one 2 year old. Will swiss pass make the most sense? For the paris - lucerne train, should we book TGV separately to Basel and then use swiss pass to lucerne?

Also since it is early april can we expect snow around the bernese oberland region. Our kids havent really been around snow. Will it be slushy to walk around murren/wengen? We are open to suggestions to itinerary. This is our first trip to Europe.

Thanks!

Welcome to MySwissAlps, ssr123!

You could look into a 3 or 4 day Swiss Saver Flexi Pass, using free and unrestricted travel days for day 1, (2,) 5 and 6. You would profit from a 50% discount on the remaining days. Please find details, including purchase options and a validity overview, at www.myswissalps.com/swissflexipass. Note that you can get $ 50 off if you order from the US before October 10.

You would indeed need separate tickets for Paris-Basel and for Domodossola-Milan. Your Swiss Flexi Pass will be sufficient for the Swiss legs of your inbound and outbound trips.

Yes, you will certainly encounter snow in the Bernese Oberland by early April. It may even still be there in and around Wengen and Mürren. You can visit the villages, but if you want to take hikes, you should get down to the valley. Most of the trails higher up will still be closed down. It's kind of an in-between season and not all sights and attractions are accessible yet. Pilatus and Schilthorn shouldn't be a problem, but the exact opening date of the Trümmelbach Falls is unsure; it's mostly around early April though.

Thanks Annika for the reply. I think the flexi pass will be the right one. If the falls wont be open, will it make sense to go to travel south to visit Chillon castle and stay near that area for a night. Would we need heavy winter wear to visit Pilatus/Schiltorn?

Regarding train reservations, I have a couple of Qs .

1. Do we need reservation ? Does it cost extra?

2. if we miss a train is it possible to get on to the next one. Or do we risk not finding a seat?

Thanks!

Hi ss123,

1. For trains from/to surrounding countries: mostly yes. Domestic trains: no. See here for details.

2. See 1. You don't need reservations so you can take any train you like.

Note that a new cable car is being build to the Pilatus (see here), so it can't be reached in Winter at all. It should open in Spring 2015, but the exact date is not announced yet. Heavy winter clothing is not absolutely required for peak visits, as you can stay indoors and just go out for a little while. And it really depends on the day whether it is just chilly or ice cold.

Personally I would not move to another town. Your stay is already quite short and moving bases takes precious time packing, checking in/out, unpacking and traveling. There's plenty to see around Interlaken so you could spend that time sightseeing.

Kind regards,

Arno