[Chrisfcs]

25 January 2020 at 13:03:29 #824995

Hi

My wife and I are visiting Switzerland during June for only two nights en route to Moscow. (We are attending a concert near Rubigen.) (I know that we are doing ourselves very short in not staying longer, but next time… )

• Can you please advice me on getting to the train on Zurich Airport.
• Is it a direct link from the airport to at least Bern and there we switch trains?
• Should we buy our tickets from Zurich airport to Rubigen, make a planned short stop over in Bern and continue later on to Rubigen or rather buy zurich to Bern, and then again Bern to Rubigen?
• We would like to do a short visit during the afternoon in Bern before we move over to Rubigen. apart from stowing our luggage in lockers at Bern station, will the luggage delivery service as mentioned on the SBB website be a good option, or is that more expensive and also only delivered the following day – meaning one night without your luggage? We will both have a medium sized suitcase.
• We also intend on visiting Thun for one day. Would it be better to buy a point to point ticket from Zurich airport to Thun and use the Thun part of the ticket the next or am I understanding that part wrong. (With our time limit and the amount of train travel we intend, a 3-4 day travel pass seems just to expensive after calculating all the possible trips we intend.)
• I would like to buy our tickets as return tickets, but don’t see the return option on the SBB website. Am I just mistaken?
• What time at the latest should we depart by train from Rubigen back to Zurich airport on a Saturday if we have to catch our flight at 12h50?

Thank you.

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[Anna]

25 January 2020 at 13:59:56 #928690

Hi Chrisfcs,

Welcome to MySwissAlps!

I’d highly recommend you use the SBB timetable to plan your journeys: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. There is also a mobile version you can download. The timetable will tell you the quickest route or connection from Zurich Airport to Rubigen via Bern, Zurich to Thun etc. And will also list all the different types of tickets available including prices. Do take note, these prices are half-fare prices by default.

To answer your questions,

• yes, there is a direct train to Bern from Zurich Airport. It takes about 1 hr 12 mins. The Zurich Airport train station is located within the airport complex itself, at the lowest level: “Level 02” right below the “Check-in 3” area at “Level 01”
• as you will only be in Switzerland for 2 days, and would preferably like more flexibility when you are travelling, you should consider getting the Saver Day Pass. It’s basically a 1-day rail pass that allows you unlimited travel on public transport for 1 day up to 5am the next day. With this ticket you don’t have to stress or worry about buying tickets each time you travel, like you would if you buy point-to-point tickets. Sometimes a Saver Day Pass can be cheaper than a point-to-point ticket if you book early.
  More details about the Saver Day Pass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass.
  And details about Point-to point tickets here: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/switzerland

• It’s very common here to take your luggage with you on the train. You can put your luggage in the designated space over the seats, between the backrests, or at the end of the coach.
  More details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/luggage

• To purchase return tickets on the SBB website for point-to-point tickets, click on the preferred connection, then click on purchase tickets, then choose either single or return.
• The train journey from Rubigen to Zurich Aiport via Bern takes about 1 hr 45 mins. If you take the 7.28 am train, you would reach the airport at 9.14 am. Trains leave Rubigen for Bern every half hour, try and take the earliest possible connection so you’ll have enough time to reach the airport even if you miss your connection in Bern.

These links may also be useful:

Bern: http://www.myswissalps.com/bern

Zurich Airport: http://www.myswissalps.com/airports/zurich

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Anna

[rockoyster]

25 January 2020 at 20:26:47 #928691

There is no price advantage in buying return tickets. Return tickets only work on the same day. You can’t buy a return ticket for an outbound journey on Monday and a return trip on Tuesday. You need two one-way tickets (or Saver Day Passes) in that case.

Rubigen is not far from either Bern or Thun. I’d be inclined to go from the Airport to Rubigen. Drop your bags and the go to Bern or Thun.

In fact if you want a taste of Swiss scenery I’d suggest you go from the airport to Rubigen via Luzern, Meiringen and Interlaken. It will take longer (around 3 hours longer than the most direct route) but is great scenery covering part of the Golden Pass route. From Rubigen you can easily cover both Bern and Thun in a day. Both are only about 15 minutes from Rubigen but in opposite directions.