Travel Swiss Pass vs Normal train ticket

Hi. My family and I will be going through this route: Basel - Lucerne - Engelberg - Lucerne - Basel. We'll be taking train from Paris to Basel. Then we're planning to stay at Lucerne before going to Engelberg the next day for Mount Titlis adventure. I'm just wondering whether it's worth to buy the Swiss Travel Pass based on the route I follow? What if I bought normal train ticket? Will it be cheaper that way?

My family & I are planning to go to Mount Titlis. We'll be spending 4 - 5 days in Switzerland. If I bought a Swiss Travel Pass, how to make it worth its price? Because the Glacier Express won't take me to Lucerne. I'm so frustrated right now because there are so many places to visit in Switzerland! I've been to Jungfauch region so I don't wanna go there anymore, hence Mount Titlis

Hi skeletonwork,

I recommend to first create a (tentative) itinerary. What else do you plan to do apart from traveling to Lucerne and Mount Titlis? Then pick a pass based on ​those plans. There are plenty of passes apart from the Swiss Travel Pass. The Swiss Half Fare Card may serve you better, but there's more. In any case, don't buy a Swiss Travel Pass and then plan to make it worth its price. Your holidays should be all about your interests, not about the pass price. At least, that's my opinion ;-)

This page will help you do the math. Just let us know if you need more help!

Hi Arno,

Here's my plan:

Day 1:

• Paris - Basel by train
• Basel - Lucerne = CHF33
• Lucerne train station - Hotel = ?? (bus? tram?) = x

Day 2:

• Hotel - Lucerne train station = ?? (bus? tram?) = x
• Lucerne - Engelberg = CHF36 (day pass)
• Rotair = CHF89
• Lucerne train station - hotel = ?? (bus? tram?) = x

Day 3:

• Hotel - Lucerne train station = ?? (bus? tram?) = x
• Lucerne - Basel = CHF33
• Basel train station - Hotel = ?? = y
• Sightseeing around Basel. Can we explore Basel on foot? Or do we have to take trains/trams/buses?

Day 4:

• Basel train station - Basel Airport = CHF5

Total (normal train ticket) = CHF 191 + 4x + y

Daypass (4 days - youth) = CHF 213 + CHF45 (half price rotair) = CHF 258

Should we get a 3 days Swiss Youth Travel Pass which is just CHF 179 instead of 4 days?

Another alternative.

Day 1:

• Took a flight from Paris ORLY to Geneva.
• Took a train from Geneva to Montreux
• Take a train from Montreux - Zermatt but stop at Visp.
• Change to Glacier Express at Visp and continue to St Moritz
• Sleeps at St Moritz

But I have one problem: How do I get from St Moritz to Engelberg?

What route should I take? I want to make a day trip to Titlis and the only best way is if I slept at Lucerne. Can you recommend some routes I should follow if I want to take Glacier Express and at the same time able to experience Titlis? 4 - 5 days maybe. Cheers.​

Hi skeletonwork,

Let's first look into your itinerary and deal with the rail pass later. As for the alternative of day 1: this is too much for one day. You can board the Glacier Express in Brig, but the last one departs 11:18 AM (assuming your trip will be between June 13 and September 20), so that's impossible if you ​depart from Paris the same day.

Here's an alternative to the alternative:

Day 1: Take a train from Paris to Lausanne (there's no need for a detour via Geneva, nor for a flight for such a short distance). Then change for Montreux or Brig and spend the night there. You can also travel to Brig via Basel.

Day 2: Take the first Glacier Express (9:18 AM from Brig) to St. Moritz (3:55 PM). Then continue to Lucerne via Klosters. A very long day of traveling, but the only way to combine Titlis and most of the Glacier Express.

Day 3: Titlis

Day 4: To the airport, or possibly a morning visit to the Titlis if the weather didn't allow it on day 3, then to the airport.

Hi Arno,

Thanks for the reply and your recommendation! I did a little change on that because our flight from Basel airport - London Heathrow departs at 10 AM. So may be we need extra day for this.

Day 1:

8:00 am - Paris -Lausanne (Switzerland)11:30 am - Lausanne - Montreux usingSwiss Pass12:00 pm - Check in hotel at MontreuxSightseeing in Montreux

Day 2:

9:15 am - Glacier Express (Montreux -St. Moritz)4:00 pm - St Moritz - Lucerne viaKlosters8:00 pm - Check in hotel

Day 3:

8:00 am - Luzerne- Engelberg - Mount Titlis

Day 4:

8:00 am - Sightseeingin Lucerne2:30 pm - Lucerne - Basel4:00 pm Check in hotel at BaselSightseeing in Basel

Day 5:

7:00 am - To Baselairport10:00 am - Basel (Swiss) - London viaflight

For this, is the 4 days Swiss Travel Pass sufficient? Because I'll be using it from Day 1 - 4 only. On Day 5, I will just buy a normal train ticket to Basel airport which is just about CHF5 if I'm not mistaken.

I have 3 youths (24 - 25 years old). Do they need to bring some proof of identification because I will buy the youth swiss pass for them.

For St. Moritz - Lucerne via Kloster, is this a normal train? Does the swiss pass covers this?

Do we have to do seat reservations for Glacier express and normal train as well?

Thanks!

Hi skeletonwork,

That looks fine, at least you have two days to choose from for Mount Titlis now. The 4-day Swiss Travel Pass is fine. The ride to the airport on day 5 is free anyway if you book a hotel in Basel, as they provide you with a Mobility Ticket. More on that, and suggested hotels, is here.

All travelers need passports, so that's the age proof for the youths. Conductors may ask for both the passes and passport.

The Swiss Travel Pass covers all trains, and you don't need seat reservations for anything but the Glacier Express. Please see here for points of sale. As you can see there, shipping to the UK is free. Please see here for links to book the Glacier Express seats.

Enjoy your time in Switzerland!

Hi Arno,

You've been a great help! I'd like to ask some questions. Is there any place that I can stay other than Lucerne, where I can go to Titlis in the morning. I can't seem to find a decent apartment that can accommodate a family of 6 (my parents age 60, 3 boys age around 24-25 and myself 30) at Lucerne. With my limited knowledge about Swiss, I only know that I should be staying at either Lucerne or Engelberg in order to get to Titlis the next morning. But accommodation at Engelberg are even more scarce compared to in Lucerne. Accommodation at Titlis is super expensive. I'm looking for a 3D2N stay. Perhaps based on my itinerary, you could recommend a place where I could stay which is not too far from the train station and where I can reach Engelberg/Titlis in 1 hour or less.

Cheers.

Hi skeletonwork,

Apartments are usually rented by the week. Finding one for 6 adults and for only a few nights is nearly impossible in high season. Although I don't know your exact travel dates. You can check www.myswissalps.com/ l ucerne/rentals and click 'Change search'.

I'd recommend to look into hotels instead. There are quite some hotels that offer triple rooms, and even some that offer rooms for six. An example is the Rösli Guest House in Lucerne. Please see www.hotelscombined.com / Hotel/Roesli Guest House.htm for prices. It's pretty close to the rail station. More hotels are listed on www.myswissalps.com/ l ucerne/hotels.

Hi Arno,

Thanks for the suggestion. We'll be going at the end of September. Indeed it's very hard to get an apartment. I found an apartment near Lucerne at Bahnhofplatz, Alpnach, Obwalden 6055, Switzerland. It's close to train station and quite close to Lucerne. This is not bad isn't it?

I don't know the apartment but the location is certainly good: one hour from Engelberg.

Thank you once again! I can't wait to travel to Switzerland again!

Hello Everyone,

I was hoping if I could get some advise regards to my trip. I am travelling with my family from UK to Lucerne on 11th June and returning on 14th. We land early morning in Basel where my Swiss Friend will pick us up and take us to a tour of Bern. Later in the day he will drop us to our accommodation in Lucerne. He will again on the morning of 14th take us back to the Basel airport.

So this leaves 12th and 13th free for us to do anything. Unfortunately I haven't yet been able to finalise my travel itinerary, just because there is so much to do and see but not enough time or budget.

I will have 2 full days in Lucerne in which I want to do the following :

Mount Titlis tour , Lake Lucerne boat Cruise, Museum of transport tour for kids and ideally one scenic short train journey to satisfy my life long dream to enjoy the beautiful landscapes in a train. I am fully aware of the Galacier and Bernina Express but I am really struggling with time, so was thinking may be a trip to Interlaken via Golden Pass panaromic trains might just be the option. Add to it some time in Lucerne town as well. If I could stretch my 2 days from dusk till dawn, perhaps I could fit all of the above ?

I have looked at individual prices and there is a tour company Viator who are offering Family Mount Titlis half day tour which comes to just over 270 GBP. Add 1 hour lake lucerne panoramic tour for 54 GBP . You can find it on this link www.viator.com/Lucerne /d576-ttd. Museum cost comes to another 102 GBP and I will need 4 hours there too. I have tried to look at train options but that is very confusing for me.

Now my question is - Do I book the Mount and Lake Cruise upfront at these prices or will it be better to wait till we reach Lucerne. Will the prices be the same there ? And have got any better / cheaper option that would work better for me in accommodating the above itinerary. I have heard you can get train tickets that include Lake cruise, buses, museums and cable cars. I just don't want to pay for each item separately if there is a better option, not to forget my scenic train journey.

My party is 2 adults and 3 children - 4, 10 and 14 years.

Hope someone can guide me best.

Kind Regards

Zaf

Hi Zaf and welcome to MySwissAlps. Can you please have a look at our forum rules? Duplicate posts are not allowed (I removed your other one), and unrelated posts aren't either. Please post this in a new topic, not in someone else's. That way more people will see it, and the discussion will be much clearer. Thanks for understanding!

Sorry. This is my first time, so got it all wrong. I l create a new topic. Thank you