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Hi,
I will be travelling to Switzerland in the 1st week of April. I will land at Basel Euroairport from Bordeaux on the 6th of April at 22:45 and my return flight is on the 8th of April at 19:20. Given, I have 2 days, I wish to cover Zermatt (Matterhorn) and Lucerne. Based on this, I have planned the following. Please suggest if that’s feasible and if not, is there any alternate. Also, I have a few queries too.
1. I shall purchase a 1-day saver pass without reduction card for the 7th of April. So, a morning train from Basel SBB takes me to Zermatt base at 9:15AM on 7th. Is the glacier express covered in the saver day pass OR do i have to reserve and pay separately for the same ??
2. Zermatt SBB to Gondola valley station, takes 20 minutes on foot, right ? Assuming I reach the valley station at 10AM. From here, I shall book the Matternhorn Glacier Paradise which costs CHF 87. Will the entire journey from zermatt to matterhorn and return be covered ? Also, what are the timings and frequencies for the cable car ?
3. What all attractions are included in the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise ticket?
4. Assuming I start my trip towards Matterhorn at 10 AM, and wish to cover 3 hours up top; will I be able to reach Zermatt base station around 5PM?
5. Next I plan to take a train to Lucerne at 5:37 Pm, Stay in Lucerne that night and see the top attractions the following day and wrap up by 4PM and go back to Basel Euroairport by 5:30PM.
Kindly provide your views on this and let me if it will work out!
Thanks.
Monil
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Hi Monil,
I guess you meant 1 day Zermatt and 1 day Lucerne in your subject heading?
1. Yes the Glacier Express is covered by the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/on edaytravelpass/details), apart from the compulsory seat reservation, but you won’t actually be travelling on the Glacier Express on any of the trips you plan. Just the same route as the Glacier Express Visp to Zermatt.
2. I’m pretty sure the bus to get you to the Kleine Matterhorn station is covered by the SDP but you won’t get any discount on the cableway trips. CHF87 is for the return trip.
3. See http://www.myswissalps.com/kl einmatterhorn and http://www.matterhornparadise .ch/en/winter/peak-attractions/matterhorn -glacier-paradise. Entry to the Glacier Palace is CHF8.
4. The cable car trip is 50 minutes each way so you could be back in Zermatt by 3:00pm if you spend 3 hours up top.
5. That should work.
Hi Rockoyster,
yes, I meant I day in Lucerne and 1 day in Zermatt in the heading. Apologies.
Thanks for the reply. Certainly helped clear a lot of stuff.
Just one last thing, is Matterhorn so good to spend 3.5 hrs one way travelling? OR
Would you advice covering Mt. Rigi in Lucerne which is included in the saver day pass too. Also, will I find snow on Rigi in the first week of April?
Hi Monil,
Just one last thing, is Matterhorn so good to spend 3.5 hrs one way travelling?
That’s a difficult question. The Matterhorn is a Swiss icon. Rigi (http://www.myswissalps.com/ri gi) is more of a large hill (very large by Australian standards) but a quite different experience. Snow is possible.
One thing that is not predictable is the weather. If Zermatt is experiencing blizzard conditions then a 3½ hour train ride would definitely not be worth it.
If you decide against Zermatt you could go to Lucerne and Rigi on day 1 and on day 2 return to Basel via Interlaken and take a trip up into the Jungfrau Region on the way. Should be plenty of snow there.
We just provide the info – you get to make the tough choices. 🤓
Hahah. Thanks.
So I guess I’ll carry on with Matterhorn for day 1.
For day 2, if I plan Lucerne and purchase a saver day pass again; will it be possible to cover lake Lucerne (1 hour boat trip) and Mt. Rigi and wrap up both by 3:30 PM and catch the train at 3:54 PM to Basel.
You can catch boat from Lucerne to Vitznau, go to top of Rigi and down the other side to Arth-Goldhau and train from there back to Lucerne. That’s probably the fastest route and should be doable in your time frame. Depends when you set off.
Hi,
As per the plan, we are planning to purchase saver day pass for 2 days.
However, I need some information about the Matterhorn ticket.
If I’m planning to reach there on 7th of April, when should I book for the matterhorn glacier paradise and from which link? I have heard that if weather is not fine and gondolas don’t operate, money is not refunded. So, when can we have a clue on the weather.
Are the tickets available on the same day?
kindly throw some light on this
Hello Monil,
I guess you mean you are going to buy 2 Saver Day Passes.
I don’t believe there is any need to book for the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise especially at that time of year. Just buy a ticket when you get to Zermatt if the weather looks favourable. With a Saver Day Pass you will have to pay full fare from Zermatt to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (or Kein Matterhorn as it appears in the SBB timetable).
Yes 2 saver day passes.
Day 1: Matterhorn glacier paradise
Day 2: Lucerne lake and Mt. Rigi
So, is bad weather very frequent in Zermatt in April or once in a while? Otherwise, no point in travelling from Basel to Zermatt if Klein M is often closed.
And you mean, on the spot tickets are available right, at the same price ? That is 87 CHF return ticket which includes cable car, entry to glacier paradise and snow tubing
It’s Switzerland. The weather is pretty unpredictable so keep an eye on the weather forecast the day before you set off to Zermatt.
Ticket price wont change. You can buy when (if) you get to Zermatt.
Hi Monil,
It isn’t that the Klein Matterhorn/Glacier Paradise might be closed due to weather (that would be quite rare). But that the weather could obscure your views of the Matterhorn; and then the cost of going up on the cable car probably isn’t worth it.
If you want to see the Matterhorn, I’d take the chance and go to Zermatt. If the weather is poor don’t spend the money to go up in the cable car. The Matterhorn can be seen from the town of Zermatt – clouds may hide it all morning but disappear in the afternoon or vice versa.
Thanks a lot! This clears all the queries 🙂
@lucas & @rockoyster.
As per your suggestions and some research, I have created a detailed iterinary for my 2 days in Switzerland with timings.
We have booked our stay for 6th night in ibis Basel and 7th in ibis lucerne
Request you to go through the image and let me know if the plan is feasible or if it can be improved any further.
We have already purchased saver day pass for 7th and 8th April. All travel in the photo apart from Zermatt-matterhorn is covered in the pass, right? Just confirming
Thanks in advance 🙂
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Looks fine. Have a great trip.
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