[Removed user]

12 July 2010 at 6:14:50 #803905

Hi,

I am travelling to switzerland with my husband from 27.08.2010-31.08.2010.In this period of 5 days I plan to see as much as possible of the country. 🙂

The itinerary looks like the following:

27th Aug– early morning arrival at zurich.spend day at zurich and catch an evening train to lucerne.stay at Lucerne
28th Aug-Spend day at Mt Pilates and catch a train for Interlaken in the evening.Stay at Interlaken
29th Aug– spend day at Jungfraojoch and return to either zermatt or stay at interlaken and catch an early morning train to zermatt(whichever possible,please advice!)
30th Aug– take the glacier express from zermatt to andermatt and return to zermatt.stay at Zermatt.
31st Aug– catch a train to geneva,spend a day at geneva and catch the evening flight.

I wanted advice on the following:

– Will it will be physically and realistically possible to cover all these attarctions in 5 days?
– Which travel pass should I pruchase and for how many days?
– I understand from the forum that I will not have to make seat reservations for intercity travel(thank god :-))
– How much will the train journey cost from Interlaken to Jungfraojoch
– How much will the glacier express journey cost?
– Is it advisable to take early morning and late evening trains at 6am/6pm?is it safe?

Thanks a lot in advance.I am very excited but at the same time very anxious 🙂

Regards
Girija

Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions. Sign up

[Olga]

12 July 2010 at 10:55:46 #831532

Hello Girija,

So you’re planning to see quite something of beautiful Switzerland! I really hope you and your husband will enjoy it!

As for your questions, at first I will do some calculating for you so that you get an idea of the costs – all prices given are second class, per person and single tickets (unless otherwise mentioned):

• Zürich – Lucerne CHF 27.00
• Lucerne – Alpnachstad CHF 9.90
• Mt. Pilatus CHF 64.00 (return ticket)
• Alpnachstad – Interlaken Ost CHF 27.00
• Interlaken Ost – Jungfraujoch CHF181.80 (return ticket)
• Interlaken Ost – Zermatt CHF 74.00
• Glacier Express Zermatt v.v. CHF 134.00 (return ticket, reservations will cost extraand are obligatory!)
• Zermatt – Geneva Airport CHF 88.00
• Total CFH 705,70

Now for your other questions:
To me it seems that spending a (part of the) day at Jungfraujoch plus taking an evening train to Zermatt is really much. And there’s also the trip from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch and back. But if necessary, it can be done. You can check the Swiss Time Table for times of departure and arrival.
I would suggest you stay in Interlaken to digest all the impressions!

Seat reservations for the ICE are not necessary, but if you have the feeling it’s very crowded during your stay, it might not be a bad idea.
Although it would not be fair to give you a 100% certainty, travelling on early or late trains is really safe.

Taking the Glacier Express from Zermatt and back will be rather much too if you are coming from Interlaken the same day. You will be travelling quite some time, the trip (GE) will take between five and six hours, and more if you want to spend some time in Andermatt.

My idea would be:
After Jungfraujoch and having spent the night in Interlaken, consider taking a train to Visp and pick up the Glacier Express-connection to Andermatt and from there to Zermatt (two reservations for the GE might be necessary in this case). For times and prices, again please check the Swiss Time Table and please view the Railway FAQ.

I’m pretty sure that a Swiss Saver Pass will be the best option in your case because you are planning on making rather long train trips. You might consider to purchase this pass (as you see it can be done online) starting the second day of your stay. In that case you will have to pay the full price for your trip from Zürich to Lucerne, but as you can see that part of your plans is not the most expensive track.
This Swiss Saver Pass (per person, second class, for four days), will cost you CHF 221.
Validity of the Swiss Saver Pass can be found here. For example: you will receive a 25% discount on the trip to Jungfraujoch, from Wengen. To Wengen you will travel for free. You can see the rest of the information and discounts you will get having a Swiss Saver Pass yourself, as this is all mentioned on the site and the links given.

I hope this answered your questions! If not, please let me know.

Olga

[Removed user]

12 July 2010 at 11:43:35 #831533

Dear Olga,
Thank you very much for your assistance.I will relook at the itinerary and get back to you but this information will indeed certainly help.

Cheers
Girija 🙂