Glacier Express seems fully booked on April 29?

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    31 March 2018 at 0:28:47 #815057

    I am planning to visit Switzerland from 26th April to 30th April from Netherlands and have already purchased a Swiss Travel Pass for the same.

    I am planning for a trip in Glacier Express ride from Chur to Zermatt on 29th April.. But in the official website I can see the train is booked completely on that very day. Is there some way I can do the booking? As I will really feel letdown if I missed this opportunity, as I planned my entire trip for availing this trip.

    Also I found an option to do reservation from Happy Rail for the same, but there is no option to book the day and choose the seat (option is there only to choose between high, mid or low season). Will this work?

    Please help!!

    Regards,

    Soumyadeep

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    31 March 2018 at 1:30:54 #880481

    Hi Soumyadeep, and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    >> I am planning for a trip in Glacier Express ride from Chur to Zermatt on 29th April.. But in the official website I can see the train is booked completely on that very day. Is there some way I can do the booking?

    Unfortunately no. The Glacier Express is fully booked in both first and second class between Chur and Zermatt on that day.

    You can still travel exactly the same route on regional trains though, and will see the same scenery.

    The main differences using regional trains are:

    • The carriages don’t have panoramic windows (but are perfectly adequate for enjoying the scenery and taking nice photos)
    • Reservations are not required. This offers the advantage of being able to move around from side to side as the best views are sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right.
    • No catering service: so bring some food and drink, as it is a long trip
    • There is no single direct train. To travel the route Chur-Zermatt using regional trains, you need to change trains at Disentis/Mustér, Andermatt and Visp (or sometimes Brig instead of Visp).

    I have travelled in both the regional trains and the Glacier Express. While the Glacier Express carriages have a more up-market fitout and panoramic windows, I have been perfectly happy with the experience of travelling on the regional trains, both in first and second class.

    To find a connection using regional trains along the Glacier Express route, do a search for your date of travel in the Swiss Timetable with the following details: From Chur; To Zermatt; via Andermatt. You will see services leaving Chur hourly at -56 minutes past the hour for most of the day, and tickets will not sell out.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

    I am sure the trip won’t disappoint, even though you are not on the fancier train 😉

    Alpenrose

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    31 March 2018 at 1:39:58 #880482

    Thanks a lot for your detailed rwply, though very much disappointed to miss the opportunity to travel in Glacier Express after planning to the entire trip for it.

    Just to reconfirm will this doesn’t work for reservation, found this link in one thread here only:

    http://www.happyrail.com/en/p ass/europe/switzerland /passholder-fares-glacier-express

    Should I reserve the regional train for the same route (as mentioned above I have Swiss Travel Pass)? Is there any chance of not getting seat in the regional trains as well? I hope regional trains from Chur to Zermatt is included in the pass.

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    31 March 2018 at 1:58:34 #880483

    >> Just to reconfirm will this doesn’t work for reservation, found this link in one thread here only:

    I’m sorry, I can’t help with Happy Rail. I tried going through their Glacier Express reservation process, but you have to provide all your personal details before getting to see what particular trains can actually be reserved, so I didn’t persist with it.

    I suppose it’s possible that additional seats are quarantined for booking by third-party agents only, but I don’t know for sure whether that is the case or not.

    You could go through the reservation process on Happy Rail, and if you find that they can offer you a reservation on the particular date you want before you have to provide payment details, then you could proceed to payment.

    If you have to pay before getting a confirmed reservation date/time, then I would abandon the booking process and send them an email to ask about availability on your travel date.

    >> Should I reserve the regional train for the same route (as mentioned above I have Swiss Travel Pass)?

    You can’t reserve seats on the regional trains. With your Swiss Travel Pass, just board any regional train and pick any seat you like.

    >> Is there any chance of not getting seat in the regional trains as well?

    No, they run at hourly intervals throughout the day, so there are plenty of seats available.

    There is only one Glacier Express service per day in each direction at that time of the year, so that is probably why it is already booked out.

    >> I hope regional trains from Chur to Zermatt is included in the pass.

    Yes.

    Where are you going after Zermatt, and how do you plan to get there? Are you planning to take any other trains with panoramic windows?

    Alpenrose

    rockoyster
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    31 March 2018 at 2:10:58 #880484

    Hello Soumyadeep,

    There’s nothing I can add to the comprehensive advice Alpenrose has provided. What does the rest of you itinerary look like? When and where do you arrive in Switzerland and which way are you returning to the Netherlands?

    If it’s any consolation, despite the name of the train, you don’t actually get to see any glaciers from it.

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    31 March 2018 at 2:28:06 #880485

    Thanks both from your reply!!

    I am arriving to Zurich from Barcelona on 26th April morning. Will visit Rhine Falls and bit ot Zurich and move to Interlaken in the evening and stay there.

    Next day I plan to go to jungfraujoch and Grindelwald on the way down. Hopefully weather permits. Staying in Interlaken overnight too.

    Next day going to Luzern via Golden Pass. Don’t know if going to get any panaromic train in the root. (Suggestion will be very helpful with proper time table, if any special train available). Then going to mt Titlis through Engelberg. Staying overnight at Luzern.

    Next day going to Zermatt via Chur (here the disappointment is) and stay overnight (any suggestion things to see in Zermatt after reaching there). (This day was included specifically for Glacier Express)

    Next day to Zurich from Zermatt (already 4 days Swiss Travel Pass ended), so have to book normal ticket. We have flight to catch around 5 PM from Zurich to Amsterdam.

    Please feel free to give any tips/ suggestion/ special advice and also let me know how the itenary looks like!!

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    31 March 2018 at 2:37:35 #880486

    Just to add here, I purchased my swiss Travel Pass from Happy Rail and was sent via email to me next day.

    So that site doesn’t seem to be fake and I still hope they r able to provide me a reservation. But the problem is no option for date/ seat selection. Mailed them and asked rhem this via facebook as well. Will keep you posted regarding the same.

    rockoyster
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    31 March 2018 at 2:48:44 #880487

    HappyRail is very reputable.

    Even if you do get a reservation, which I doubt, Lucerne to Chur to Zermatt is a pretty long day. An alternative might be to consider regular trains Lucerne – Göschenen – Andermatt – Zermatt. You would miss the Oberalp Pass between Chur and Andermatt though.

    I guess you already have hotel bookings. A better plan would have been to go direct to Luzern from Zurich, then to Interlaken than to Zermatt than back to Zurich via GEX and then Rhine Falls on your last day prior to flying out. Bit late for that I guess and in any event GEX probably booked out anyway.

    For your planned return from Zermatt to Zurich Airport you might wan to look at the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/on edaytravelpass/details) which you can get for as low as CHF52/per person if you buy at the right time. Or if you are really “brave” you could try for one Saver Day Pass and one Companion Ticket at CHF38. Total cost CHF90. See http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelca rds-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/1-day-travelpass/companion-ticket.html.

    The “Golden Pass” train from Interlaken to Luzern is the Luzern to Interlaken Express via Meiringen. They depart hourly and reservations are not required. I haven’t checked the Swiss Train Timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable) but you may find there is a bit of a bus detour (about 20 minutes) on the route due to construction work.

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    31 March 2018 at 12:09:38 #880488

    Dear rockoyster,

    Really thanks a lot for your reply!! As I will be travelling with my wife I have purchased one Saver Day Pass and one Companion Ticket for 90 CHF. Hope now I can avail any train to Zermatt to Zurich and roam around in Zurich too if I have some time before my flight..

    I need 2 more suggestions from you.

    1. I haven’t prebooked Titlis and jungfrau for the weather constraint. Should I? Is there chances of ticket been sold out? (Scared after Glacier Express sold out)

    2. Please suggest best way to enjoy Zermatt, after I reach there from Chur (Rest of the day plan), as I missed Glacier Express hope to reach there rather sooner.

    Thanks again for such thoughtful and detailed replies!!

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    31 March 2018 at 12:11:31 #880489

    Dear Alpenrose666,

    I have posted my detailed itinerary below (any thought or suggestion is welcome).

    I need 2 more suggestions from you.

    1. I haven’t prebooked Titlis and jungfrau for the weather constraint. Should I? Is there chances of ticket been sold out? (Scared after Glacier Express sold out)

    2. Please suggest best way to enjoy Zermatt, after I reach there from Chur (Rest of the day plan), as I missed Glacier Express hope to reach there rather sooner.

    Thanks again for such thoughtful and detailed replies!!

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    31 March 2018 at 19:51:08 #880490

    1. No need to book or buy tickets in advance. You will find live weather conditions and webcams on both the Titlis (http://www.titlis.ch/en/live/ weather) and Jungfraujoch (http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/weather/ and http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/webcams/) websites.

    2. Take the train to Gornergrat for a close-up view of the Matterhorn.

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