[Removed user]

2 January 2017 at 8:25:32 #810506

Hi,

Okay so I found how to start my own thread. Pls reply here only. I posted this same query today morning in Kritikagupta’s thread.

My dates for Switzerland trip is 28th April to 4th may’17 I.e 6 nights. Travelling with my husband for our 10th anniversary.I have done bit of research but still very confused on lot of things. I’ll discuss my plan here and open for any changes:

28th: Zurich to Luzern( check in)- leisure day/city roam by bus/rental bicycle/walk.

29th : Mt. Rigi .

30th: Luzern to Interlaken( check in)- leisure day/city roam by bus/rental bicycle/walk.

1st: Jungfrau day excursion.

2nd: Interlaken to Zurich(check in)-leisure day/city roam by bus/rental bicycle/walk. Night pubbing.

3rd: Rhine falls.

4th: Fly back home.

My queries now:

1. For this itenary should I take swiss travel pass or half rate card? As swiss travel pass comes for 3 ,4 or 8 days and in my case 3and 4 will not be valid for my complete trip and 8 days is coming out very expensive.

2. I read somewhere that hotels give free buss passes for the city. Is it true?

3. Total cost of Jungfrau, Rhine falls and Mt Rigid ,seperately, if I take half rate card.

4. What are the charges for bicycle rentals and is it advisable to use bicycle as mode of convenience in the city.

5. Climate in April. I understand April/may neither comes in summer nor winters so will it be cloudy or sunny?

This much only for now but I am sure will come back again with other queries. Thank you in advance.

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[Removed user]

2 January 2017 at 11:47:23 #857711

Please reply.

[Removed user]

2 January 2017 at 13:27:57 #857712

Hi Pch82! and welcome to MySwissAlps,

Please be patient, we do reply to everyone here as soon as we can. Let’s take a look at your questions.

1. My suggestion would be to get the Swiss half-fare card for this itinerary. But I will leave this answer for other rail experts on this website.
2. Some cities (e.g. Bern, Lausanne) offer this as well as towns and villages. It’s all local initiatives, so some do for some reason and others don’t. Usually it only covers traveling in a very limited area. Take a look at our hotels page for Interlaken as an example. We note there that the local hotels offer a visitor’s card.
3. Take a look here for help choosing the correct rail passes, and here for timetables and ticket prices
4. What city are you thinking of for renting a bicycle? Zurich has Zurirollt that offers free rentals with a 20 chf deposit. Every Swiss city I’ve been to however, has been very walk-able and I’ve never felt the need to rent a bicycle.
5. Weather is too hard to predict most of the time! You can certainly get both great and miserable weather in April and May, especially at higher elevations. Take a look at our page on what the weather is like in Switzerland, weather forecasts and the best time to visit for further details.

All the best!

Lucas

[Arno]

2 January 2017 at 16:29:55 #857713

Hi Pch82,

As for your question about rail passes: the Swiss Half Fare Card will indeed work. An alternative is to buy a 4-day Swiss Travel Pass for the 29th to the 2nd (it includes Mount Rigi for free). You can buy regular tickets on the 28th and 3rd as you don’t travel a lot then. If you’d like to compare costs in detail you can take a look here: myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

Note that Interlaken is not really a town for sightseeing (mainly shops, hotels, restaurants). The surrounding area is wonderful though. You’ll find details on the Interlaken page Lucas linked to.

[Removed user]

2 January 2017 at 17:16:10 #857714

Hi

Thanks Arno and Lucas. Its a get help. Arno if not Interlaken then pls suggest Mr some other city for two nights from where I can visit Jungfrau also.

Also 205chf for Jungfrau covers all cost to and from Luzern?

Can you give me some rough approx cost idea for boat, gondola and cable rides I’ll be needing in this trip.

Decided on half rate card.

[Slowpoke]

3 January 2017 at 1:32:38 #857715

Hi Pch82-

Please be patient. Most questions are answered well within 24 hours, less if your trip is in the next few weeks. Two or three hours turnaround is a bit demanding for volunteers who have other jobs, and other messages to reply to.

<<“5. Climate in April. I understand April/may neither comes in summer nor winters so will it be cloudy or sunny?”>>

The simple answer is yes.

In more detail…all of the above.

April is barely the beginning of Spring in most parts of the lower altitudes of Switzerland. Lots of rain, some sunny days, lots of cloudy ones. The full arrival of Spring is usually around early to mid-May. At higher altitudes, such as the Alps, Winter ends in late April or even late May,while heavy snows remain to block the tails until mid-June, and Summer only becomes serious in the last weeks of June or in early July. Altitude matters.

The links on this page are helpful.

http://www.myswissalps.com/ab outswitzerland

Slowpoke

[Arno]

3 January 2017 at 8:48:45 #857716

Hi Pch82,

Interlaken can be a perfect base for exploring the area, I just meant that the town itself is more practical than scenic, so a day of sightseeing in town won’t be worth it. Rather spend your time in the area. If you rather stay elsewhere in the area, please have a look at the Jungfrau region page. But, for April/May, Interlaken isn’t too bad as a place to stay, as the other villages are smaller and low season causes several hotels and restaurants to be closed there.

Most of our attraction pages offer links to prices. The link Lucas gave you under point 3 also explains how to find prices. Regular tickets vary from a few francs to CHF 200.

For your convenience, the Swiss Half Fare Card can be printed at home. Please see myswissalps.com/ swisshalffarecard/ price.