[Removed user]

16 April 2016 at 21:25:45 #808932

We are a couple and planning to travel to Swiss in end of June and looking for help in planning our trip. Below is our tentative plan at the moment.

• Day 1: Drive from Rudesheim (Germany) to Interlaken via Lucerne. Visit the Chocolate and Cheese factories in Lucerne. Reach Interlaken by evening.
• Day 2: Day trip to Mount Titlis – Drive to Engelberg and then take the cable car to Titlis.
• Day 3: Day trip to Jungfraujoch – Take the train from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch.
• Spend some time at the Interlaken lakes and then drive to Como, Italy.

I need help in deciding the below:

1. Will travel passes be worth the savings for my itinerary above? Given its a mix of driving and train / cable car.
2. If yes, which travel pass would suit the best?
3. Which route to take when travelling from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch? Via Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen
4. Is Interlaken a good base or should I be considering Lucerne?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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[Removed user]

17 April 2016 at 8:38:29 #850856

First night in Lucerne, second and night 3 in Interlaken like me better.

You van make a roundtrip, it is very nice to do: Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch, Kleine Scheidegg, Grindelwald, Interlaken. (note: Not change trains at Grindelwald Grund, but at Grindelwald).

[Annika]

17 April 2016 at 9:44:12 #850857

Hi zerocritical, welcome here!

Most of your itinerary looks fine. Note though that the cheese and chocolate factories you probably have in mind aren’t in Lucerne, but quite far off in Broc/Gruyères. That wouldn’t really suit your plans. If you want to focus on the Lucerne region, you may consider one of the trips listed here instead. If chocolate/cheese experiences are important to you, the tips for visits rather close to Lucerne mentioned in this topic may be an alternative. You could indeed switch base towns as Brahms suggested. The timetable will help you find traveling times from Lucerne/Interlaken to the destinations you’ve listed.

As for the route to Jungfraujoch: Brahms described a gorgeous round trip. Further information is at our Jungfraujoch page.

The Swiss Half Fare Card will probably fit your needs. It provides a 50% discount on your trips to Titlis and Jungfraujoch. If you want to make sure which option is most economical, you’d best make calculations as explained here.

[Removed user]

17 April 2016 at 12:09:11 #850858

Thanks for the awesome suggestions.

I will be looking into staying the first night at Lucerne and then travel to Interlaken for night 2 and 3. I think this makes more sense and less strenuous.

Regarding the chocolate factory, I was thinking of doing Aeschbach Chocolatier which is quiet near to Lucerne and Show Cheese Factory at the Engelberg Monastery. I think even the other topic pointed out by Annika refers to the same cheese factory.Any idea about Aeschbach Chocolatier?

[Arno]

18 April 2016 at 12:48:55 #850859

Aeschbach is indeed close to Lucerne. It’s next to the S-bahn station “Root D4”, 10 minutes from Lucerne. I haven’t been there but it looks like a good option if you’re in the region.

Have fun!

[Removed user]

18 April 2016 at 20:36:08 #850860

Thanks Arno.

One more question about the motorway vignette. I think I read somewhere that I’d get 50% off on that too if I have the half fare card. I can’t seem to find that link again. Is that true? For that, should I pre purchase the HFC and vignette or how exactly does it work?

Also regarding the tolls, I see most of the roads in Switzerland are toll roads. How is toll paid? Is there a pre paid device (tag) we need to purchase from which the toll gets detected? If yes, where to get that from?

[Arno]

19 April 2016 at 8:02:51 #850861

Hi zerocritical,

There are no discounts on the motorway vignette. You may have read that the vignette and Swiss Half Fare Card are a good combination for drivers: myswissalps.com/ motorwayvignette.

You can pre purchase both products through http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. However I noticed you live in Australia and shipping might be expensive. Please check the site. If you prefer to save that money I’d recommend to order just the Swiss Half Fare Card through the same website. In that case they can e-mail it so you can print it at home. There are no shipping fees. Be sure to select “Online Ticket” as the shipping option. You can buy the vignette at the border. That will take a bit more time as opposed to already have it stuck to the windshield. Your German rental car may already have a Swiss motorway sticker on it. Not likely, but a previous renter could have purchased it.

There are virtually no tolls other than the vignette. That’s all you need. It’s not likely you would come across one of the few remote private roads that require an additional toll. If you do, you pay on the spot.

[Removed user]

19 April 2016 at 11:26:35 #850862

That’s some great information. You guys are awesome!

I’ll update this thread again if I need more info. Thanks for all the detailed information till now.. 🙂