Kja: Thank you for the suggestion. I think I will stick with Grindelwald. I just got my hotel's reservation confirmation today. The owner of the hotel has been very responsive and courteous and I got a small discount booking directly with them via email. After going through some of Grindelwald's photos online, I believe this is the right choice for our family. We could hardly wait :)

Hello all,

I am back! After our wonderful trip to Tokyo, I am now 100% ready to plan our Switzerland trip.

Now we have 4 nights to spend in Lucerne which I am grateful for. Also I am debating if we should extend our trip with 2 nights in Zurich prior to getting to Lucerne. One of the reasons is that since we will have long flights to endure coming from San Francisco, so we want to be able to hit our hotel as soon as possible. Going to central Zurich seems closer than getting to Lucerne from the airport. On our Tokyo trip, our boy was so tired after the long flight that we almost could not wake him up on time to get him off the train from the airport to central Tokyo lol. Do you think it is worth to spend the two nights in Zurich? First day we likely won't be able to do anything other than resting and walk around a bit to get acquainted with the area, so we should have one full day the next day to tour Zurich. Your opinions is welcome! I definitely won't change the 4 nights in Lucerne since we do want to spend time in Lucerne plus making day trips to Bern etc.

I liked Zurich a lot -- it has some wonderful churches (the Chagall and Giacometti windows of the Fraumunster are stunning), some very good museums, and some interesting squares and places to stroll.

Bookmarking: I just booked tickets US > Zurich, Venice < US.

quanmama
Regarding staying in Zurich or not on arrival, it depends on whether Zurich is a destination or someplace you felt useful as an arrival sleeping city.
If you are taking the Swiss Air direct SFO-ZRH flight, it arrives around 3:40pm. It you are traveling only with carry-on, you would be in Zurich around 4:30pm or in Luzern around 5:30pm. Not much difference towards what you thought you are getting - getting to the hotel much earlier.

If I were to extend the trip, I would add to somewhere else unless I have a compelling reason to visit Zurich more than just an overnight city.

Bookmarking

Thank you, Greg and Kja! It turned out that hubby could not get extra time off from work so now we are sticking with 4 nights in Lucerne, 3 nights in Grindelwald and then head to Basel the same day we get on the river cruise instead of staying overnight. No complains here since any number of vacation days is better than none!

Btw is it possible to go to both Bern and Murten on the same day? I hate to rush but we probably won't have enough time to see both places in two separate days.

I think that depends on what you want to see and experience. I spent 1.5 days in delightful Bern and sincerely wish I had had more time there. I didn't make it to Murten....

I'd reverse the 4 and 3 days - 4 in the Jungfru Region and 3 in Lucerne though you can't go wrong in either case.

Bern is just as easy a day trip from Interlaken environs as it is from Lucerne - I say this because if poor weather sets in whilst in the Jungfrau Region there is not much to do and this can happen anytime - so having a day trip or two in mind from there is a good idea perhaps.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for all the advice given. I have been looking up on different types of Swiss pass and I am still a bit confused on which one would be the best deal for us. Here is the tentative plan we have:

Day 1 Zurich airport-->Lucern (lodging in Lucern)
Day 2 Lucerne-Day in Lucern. Mostly walking to see the city
Day 3 Lucerne--Day trip to Bern
Day 4 Lucerne--Swiss transport museum, Lake cruise afterward
Day 5 Lucerne-->Grindelwald. Plan to store luggage at Interlaken station & tour around Interlaken a bit before heading to Grindelwald
Day 6 Grindelwald-->Jungfrau if weather is good
Day 7 Grindelwald-->Lauterbrunnen & Wengen?
Day 8 Grinfelwald-->Basel to catch our river cruise

Should I get the Swiss Travel Pass Flex 4 days for Day 1,3,5&8 and just pay separately for the other days? Or should I go ahead with the 8 days pass?

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Hi again,

To be certain you get the best deal on train ticket prices, you or someone just needs to do the math.

Go to the Swiss railway site

www.sbb.ch

and price out each of your trips, including the one up to the Jungfraujoch. Then compare the sum of that travel with the various passes.

I used to have to do a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the various combinations and options, and each time I did it, the Half Fare Card came out as the most economical choice. These days, I just get the HFC and am happy.

Have fun!

s

no one should just get the half-fare card without looking at the Swiss Card which often gives the exact same thing as a half-fare card but more for an overall cheaper price. Example both if you want the real cheapest deal.

and re passes - I always end up using my pass more than I thought - like in Interlaken on a whim going down and hopping on a Lake Thun boat in late afternoon - without thinking about the price, etc.

If you have every move every day in stone then you can sese the best bottom line and still if at all close the pass's provision of just hopping on trains, boats, etc without have to buy tickets each time as the half-fare card does is another factor.

swandav always makes out that the half-fare card is best for her and it probably is (though the Swiss Card could often be even better) but she neglects to say that she usually goes just to one area - she should put in that caveat so that it is not misunderstood that she is saying for the average traveler going to 3-4 places will not usually find the HFC or Swiss Card better than a pass.

If staying in one place then the Swiss Card is often the best ticket to ride - being usually a bit cheaper than the HFC which will be the best deal for relatively few peoples' actually travels.

Pal,

Whether a traveller goes to one place or to 3 or 4, doing the math will reveal which pass or card is best.

The Swiss Card would not have been better because I usually get a discounted ticket to my destination. If the OP does travel only from the Zurich airport to Luzern for the first trip, the Swiss Card would not be a good idea, either.

BTW, I think you remember that we discovered that the Swiss Card is no longer offered.

Another BTW -- I was once standing in a long line while the SBB agent was giving advice to a few travelling couples in front of me. In virtually every case, he recommended the HFC. So I would say that contradicts your suggestion that the HFC is good for "relatively few peoples' actual travels."

s

Hi all,

I just went on sbb site and did some calculations. Looks like we will definitely come out ahead with a 8 day Swiss travel pass (not the flex one). Plus I really like the idea of "ticketless" traveling and as PalenQ said, we could hop on a boat or train ride without thinking about the price and if it is worth it.

Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate it!

Rebecca :)

swandav - I just called Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com and asked him about the Swiss Card changes - I have bought passes from him for years and he will always IME answer questions even if not buying - he said the Swiss Transfer Ticket now has a provision to buy a Half-Fare Card at half-price in conjunction with buying the Transfer ticket - Half-Fare Cards cost $128 in the U.S. - not sure what they cost in Switzerland but $64 + The Swiss Transfer ticket - $151 giving you a ticket from any airport or border point to any place in Switzerland and then one back to any airport or border point plus the $64 for a total of $215 would give you a half-fare card for a month and the two hop on at will train trips. Kind of hard to figure out - I'll have to digest so my info is not dated as it was!

Thanks for your good research, Pal! That was a pretty good deal; I'm sorry they don't offer it any more. Let us know the best way to get a similar one.

s

Well the Swiss Transfer ticket replaced the Swiss Card - or morphed into it - so to see if it is efficacious add $151 p.p. to $64 p.p. gets $215 for two train trips of any length and a half-fare card - the very same half-fare card - not easy for the average person to figure out.

But if you bought the Half-Fare Card straight up it would be $128 (not sure of price in Switzerland but presume it is similar) so your two train trips would have to exceed a total of $87 to make the Swiss Transfer Pass + 1/2 off 1/2 fare card a good deal. that is about $44 for each train trip which seems like a great deal for many.

Hello! I just want to say thank you to all of you who had given me all the wonderful advice. We had the greatest time in Switzerland. The highlights were definitely the time we spent up in Grindelwald and touring the surrounding areas. Many places were beautiful and simply picturesque! We got very lucky with the weather when we got up to Jungfrau and everything went perfectly that day! We made good use of our 8 days 1st class Swiss Travel Pass and we loved the idea of not having to worry about getting tickets for all the rides and such. The only problem we encountered was that one day there were so many Chinese tourists groups reserving many of the train sections including the 1st class! We actually got kicked out from one of the 1st class section because it was reserved and we had to get our luggage and walked all the way to the other end of the train in order to find a seat. It wasn't the worst thing and we were happy to be able to sit in a quiet section without having to share it with the loud tourist groups. Again thank you!

Another piggyback question resulting from Quanmama's report- I am under the impression that Swiss trains do not implement seat reservations. It's first come first served in the class of your ticket. Is this understanding correct? Many thanks...

((B))