Which rail pass to buy for 7 days in Switzerland

Lhi,

I plan to stay for 3 days in Paris and then 7 days in Switzerland. Taking international flight to Paris and then return flight from Zurich.

5-7th June I plan to be in Paris and 8th to 14th June in Switzerland. My return flight is in the afternoon of 14th June.

My wish list in Switzerland is Geneva, Interlaken, Lucerne and Zurich. Would like to take Golden Pass line from Montreux to Lucerne .Additionally Mt Titlis, Mt Jungfrau and few cruises , museums and local attractions of these cities. We are a group of four persons.

I have been reading a lot and have got too confused with number of alternatives. Will be grateful if you could help me with following:

1. Which rail pass should I purchase

2. How many days in each place should we spend

thanks for your help

Hi Saumya12,

1. You first need an itinerary to be able to select a pass, but looking at your wish list you will probably travel quite a lot, so an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass makes sense: myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass. Please see here for how to pick a pass.

2.Based on your list I would skip Geneva or visit it for a few hours, take the Golden Pass line to Interlaken and stay there for a few days. Then the remainder of the Golden Pass line to Lucerne and stay the rest of the days there. Zurich can be visited as a day trip from Lucerne or on your last day.

Dear Arno,

Thank you so much for your quick response,,it is really useful.

Had couple of queries though, if I am travelling from Paris to Geneva, then we will have luggage . Is it ok to keep the luggage some where and have a quick round of Geneva and then proceed to Interlaken by Goldeb Pass Line after collecting our luggages. Hope this train allows luggage onboard.

till what time I can take this train for Interlaken and I hope it wil be free in the Swiss travel pass. we have to be at the airport by 12:00 noon, is the time from morning to noon enough for Zurich if we are travelling from Lucerne on the same day?

Hi Saumya12,

Here are some answers:

• yes, you can store luggage at the Geneva railway station. You'll finds lockers there;
• sure, the Golden Pass allows luggage on board and the ride is for free with a Swiss Travel Pass. Please review the "Validity" section of our Swiss Travel Pass page;
• the timetable shows all options for Geneva-Montreux-Interlaken. Mind to pick "Advanced search" and enter a couple of via-stations like Montreux and Zweisimmen to find options for the Golden Pass route. Otherwise the timetable will display quicker routes from Geneva to Interlaken only;
• if you leave early from Lucerne, you should be able to arrive in Zurich well in time. You can best consult the timetable I mentioned for all options. Alternatively, you can consider a hotel close to Zurich Airport for your last night.

Hi Annika,

Thamks for your detailed reply. This gives a very clear explanations to my question.

if we wish to spend about half day(6-7 hrs) in Genva what is the top two things that you would suggest us to do. We will be having pass with us Swiss

Hi Saumya12,

A stroll in town and around the fountain is something many people do. A boat trip too (free with the Swiss Travel Pass). But the favorites of one would not be interesting for someone else, so you'd best have a look at these suggestions and pick activities yourself: www.myswissalps.com/ge neva/activities.

Dear Annika!

I used the "timetable" link provided by you in earlier reply.

a list of trains is shown. However, how do we understand which one is Golden Pass line, all options only shows station names, train type is not given.

second query I will take Golden Pass train from Geneva to Interlaken and then plan to stay 2 days at Intlaken and 3 days at Lucerne. I needed some help in planning these days.

- would like to do at least one Glacier Expree, which one will be best

- should we stay in proper Lucerne and Interlaken or in any nearby place for the two destinations. My budget is max 100 USD / night for a double bedroom.

thanks

Hi Saumya12,

If you've entered the via-stations I mentioned in my earlier post, the timetable will display options for the Golden Pass route only. Train names and types aren't that relevant. The "Golden Pass" is just a name for the entire route Montreux-Zweisimmen-Interlaken-Lucerne, but it's actually covered by several railway companies and train types. It's explained at our Golden Pass page: see "The route" and "The train". By the way, did you click the "plus" symbol next to the connections displayed in the timetable, in order to see more details?

I think you're referring to the Glacier Express? There's only one such route. Please find details at the page I linked to. To be honest, the route is quite far off from Interlaken and Lucerne. It will be hard to include this (or only part of it) in your itinerary. Theoretically you could do part of it from Lucerne, getting to Andermatt and boarding the Glacier Express in the direction of Brig or Chur there. Personally, I'd rather focus on the Interlaken and Lucerne regions though, to cut down on traveling times.

Lucerne is a good base town. As for Interlaken: it's located very centrally and has all facilities a tourist needs, but it's not the most scenic town in itself. If you prefer a less central, smaller town closer to the mountains you can consider Wilderswil, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Mürren or Grindelwald. If you need help finding suitable hotels, please post to our accommodation forum and include your criteria as explained here.