ravisinha

Hello,

Need your help planning the itinerary for 3 days stay in Murren.

Arriving on 31st Aug 10:00 PM in Murren from Innsbruck (Austria).

Tentatively i want to cover following (not in the order of preference):

1. Harder Kulm

2. Trummelbach Fall/ Lauterbrunnen Valley waterfalls

3. Lake Thun

4. Mt. jungfraujoch

5. Kleine Scheidegg

6. Schilthorn

7. Golden pass train ride to Montreux

Will leave for Lucerne on 3rd Sep at 11:00 AM.

My questions are:

Are these all doable in the given timeline?

Any other thing would you add to this list?

Can you kindly suggest a day-wise itinerary for the same?

Will stay in Lucerne 3rd-4th.

Will do check-in to my return flight at Lucerne station on 4th evening.

On 5th Sep, i'll take a train from Lucerne to Zurich.

I'll spend entire day in Zurich before catching the evening flight.

Is it worth buying Swiss pass or any other pass for above plan?

thanks

ravi

china_cat

so you basically have 2 full days in Murren. I think on one day you can do Schilthorn and Trummelback falls. We did both of those in one day but we were coming from Wengen, so took more time.

On the other full day you can do Jungfrau, and Kleine Scheidigg....although when you say Kleine Scheidigg, do you mean to do the hike? Then that becomes most of the day, I would think. If you just want to go up to the Jungfrau say early in the morning, you might be able to fit in a cruise on Lake Thun or Harder Kulm in the afternoon.

I don't see fitting in the full day train ride to Montreux in this itinerary. And i think that's okay, the mountain scenery in the BO is so worth it, don't worry about the Golden pass. Plus the train ride from Interlaken to Montreux (take the slower train, not the one through Bern) is quite lovely and perhaps will fill that niche to some extent.

Mimar

Remember the high mountains like Jungfrau can be socked in by clouds. It's an expensive trip if you can't see anything. Conditions at the top are shown on TV screens in Interlaken and around. So you you can choose not to go if vision is poor.

ravisinha

Hi china_cat..

thanks for the suggestion.

How about on going to Montreux on the 3rd day i.e. 3rd sep and returning back from Montreux to Lucerne?

The only concern i see is, we'll have our luggage with us. Can that be deposited on Interlaken station to be collected on the way back.

PalenQ

Yes for that plan a Swiss Pass is a no-brainer IMO - covers not only trains but lake boats and entry to 470 museums and attractions - gives 50% off cable cars and trains to most mountain tops - never need a ticket - just hop on anything 100% covered - fully valid on the Golden Pass train and fully valid up to Murren by cable car and train - both covered so that makes it more valuable for you.

For lots of great info on Swiss trains and passes, etc check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

PalenQ

For five days of travel in Switzerland you'd want to look at a 3-day Swiss Flexipass - valid for a month you chose your days of unlimited travel as you like - consecutive or not - or a 4-consecutive-day pass and just pay the small fare from Lucerne to Zurich - that may be your best bet.

china_cat

There are only a couple of trains per day on the golden pass which use the panorama cars, so if that's important to you, you might want to check the schedule.

I liked doing the VIP seats at the front of the train, and I loved my stay in Montreux, but my personal opinion is the train ride by itself isn't so great to be worth the long day. I would be more inclined to try to fit in one of the lake cruises, or do one of the mountain trips around Lucerne (Rigi was terrific). Just my opinion, maybe others feel differently.

There are definitely lockers at Interlaken. You also may have the option of using the swiss rail fast baggage service, which allows you to ship your bags ahead to your destination. Many stations have this option, but maybe not Murren. It's very convenient, we did it several times.

swandav2000

Hi ravisinha,

Yes, your plan to go to Montreux on the Golden Pass and then return to Luzern is a workable plan. If you want to do this, yes, send your luggage using the SBB's "Fast Luggage" directly to Luzern. You may want to do it from the Interlaken train station if you can't do it from Mürren. You may have to show them your ticket to prove you'll end up in Luzern that day. The baggage desk at the Luzern train station closes at 19.00, so you'll need to make sure you are there to retrieve your bags before then.

You don't really need to ride in one of the actual Golden Pass wagaons if you don't want to sit in one of the VIP seats. I've taken that train dozens of times and always enjoyed the scenery just fine. All you need to do is use the "via Gstaad" routing, or else it will send you on the fastest route. So you'd use

From Mürren
To Montreux
Via Gstaad

Actually, I've always found long "scenic" train rides to be counter-productive; too much hassle for too little joy. You'll spend at least 7h on the train doing this, seven hours of sitting passively inside a moving train looking at the scenery through a window. I've always preferred to see the countryside first-hand by being outside in it. So, I personally would prefer to spend my day somewhere outside.

Have fun as you plan!

s

ravisinha

I am planning to buy 4 days Swiss pass and below is tentative plan.

Will I be able to use it on my route to Murren from Innsbruck (Austria)?

If yes, which 4 days will save me more 31st-3rd or 1st-4th (can go to Rigi using the pass).

31st Aug:Arriving in Murren at 10:00 PM from Innsbruck (Austria).
1st Sep: From Murren head up to the Schilthorn, cablecar up and down. Continue in cablecar down to Stechelberg. Either walk or bus over to Trummelbach fall. Lift and train back up to Murren.
2nd: Train/cablecar down to Lauterbrunnen, change trains to Kleine Scheidegg, change train again for Jungfraujoch and back. Train back through Wengen, get off and see the village then train back down to Lauterbrunnen.
Go to interlaken and do Lake brienze cruise.
3rd: Harder kulm and leave for Lucerne
4th: Mt. rigi in lucerne.

I have a few questions on how to buy and use the Swiss pass.
1. Can I buy it online? If yes, do i need to get it shipped or I can print it online?
2. Once I have the swiss pass, do i still need to buy train tickets. If no, how do a get a seat without having to buy a tickte?
3. Don't train/cablecar/cruise require seat reservation? what if the seats are full?

china_cat

No reservations required, and no tickets. You just flash your pass when the conductor asks for it. we never found anything to be full. Train to jungfrau was very crowded, but there were seats. I think you can have it sent to you, or buy it on arrival in Switzerland. You need to have it validated the first time you use it.

Make sure you are a bit flexible on your days in the BO...pick whichever mountaintop is clear on a given day, and if neither is, have a backup plan. We went all the way up to Schilthorn to find it socked in, and wished we'd done something else. On the other hand, Trummelbach in the rain was not a problem.

china_cat

Oh...I forgot...you do need to buy tickets for the last legs of your mountain trips, these are only discounted by the pass, not fully covered. But you can buy the tickets either at your starting station or at the base station of that leg. Since it's expensive, I might wait to buy until you reach the station, so you can back out if cloudy. We did not find long lines at these spots, but I suppose you could, particularly at Kleine Scheidigg.

PalenQ

1. Can I buy it online? If yes, do i need to get it shipped or I can print it online?>

I believe these are printed passes that need to be shipped - not sure I always buy my passes from Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com and IME he will answer any questions like you pose even if not buying - so for expert answers to those questions call him - policies change too - I think no trains or gondolas or lake boats require reservations except one - the Glacier Express which you are not taking - you can make an optional seat reservation most trains but IME those are not needed.

For portions not covered 100% such as Murren to Schilthorn you show your pass and get a 50% off ticket before boarding.

Lake boats you just hop on - flash the pass when the conductor comes by.

Jungfraujoch trains always seem quite full with tour groups but I've never not been able to get a seat - I think they put more trains on if need be or train cars.

PalenQ

Train/cablecar down to Lauterbrunnen, change trains to Kleine Scheidegg, change train again for Jungfraujoch and back. Train back through Wengen, get off and see the village then train back down to Lauterbrunnen.>

I did a lovely walk from Kl Scheidegg to Wengen - all gently sloping downhill on a wide track - lots of mountain bikers on it too - gorgeous views over Lauterbrunnen Valley the whole way - saves money on the ticket too as that portion - Wengen to Kl Scheidegg is covered but 25%. Took about two hours at a slow pace - no hiking shoes required.

PalenQ

There is an Early Bird Special on the Jungfraujoch trains if you want to leave early in the morning - ask about it once there.