Hi everyone,

I've read many of the previous posts on Switzerland, but I still have a few questions and hope you can help me answer them.

1. We will be going up Jungfraujoch from Interlaken. We will have Swiss Pass. Even though I've done this once before, I have a hard time remembering the details. Does the Swiss Pass provide free transport to Lauterbrunnen OR Klein-Scheidegg? I know the rest of the trip is not covered, but we get 25% off. I just want to have an idea of around how much we have to pay. Based on the map, it appears that the Swiss Pass only covers up to Lauterbrunnen http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/dow...tskarte_en.pdf
but I think I've read elsewhere that it covers up to Klein-Scheidegg?

2. Question about Bernina Express. Does the "official" BE train also has regular, non-touristic cars? For example, the D961 train that comes up on the timetable search, denotes that it's the Bernina Express, and reservation is compulsory. However, I remember reading elsewhere that the same train has non-tourist cars and one can ride it without a reservation?

3. For the final stretch of our trip, we're considering renting an apartment in Eastern Switzerland for several nights and get a rental car. This will allow us to do a day trip to Liechtenstein. Here's a place I found, in Quinten, right on the shore of Wallensee: http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p542196

For those who have done lots of vacation rentals in Europe, does this posting look fairly legit? I googled the person/owner whom I corresponded with over email, and this is what comes up: http://www.citybuchs.ch/Unternehmen/Team/default.asp I don't read German but with Google translation, it looks okay to me.

[I'm a bit paranoid with regards to vacation rental, as I was almost scammed once before.]

Anyway, if we rent this place, apart from a day trip to Liechtenstein, I'm thinking we can spend another day in Rapperswil area? I doubt we will need an entire day in Rapperswil, so where else nearby should we go - St Gallen? Appenzell?

4. I've read that to drive on the highway in Switzerland, we need a vignette. How do we go about getting one? Also, there will be tolls on the highways - how does it work? With toll booths like we have in the US?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Great questions yk. This will help us as well. I am following this thread closely as well.

Another question:

We will be in Geneva as well, and when I'm looking at the lake ferry: http://www.cgn.ch/eng
The summer timetable ends on Sept 12; but the winter timetable does not start until December 13. I can't imagine there will be no ferries for 3 months between Sept - December??? Any thoughts?

Oops, nevermind about the last question. I found the info on the French version of the website: http://www.cgn.ch/horaires/pdf/AffA2...10_juillet.pdf

http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/desktopdef.../86_read-6483/

That is the link for the jungfraubahn's rate structure. It also has lots of other info and facts.

http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/desktopdef.../172_read-696/

This might also be of interest to people staying in the area for 6 days.

Swiss Pass cover 100% up to Wengen or Grindelwald - then 50% from either of these to Kleine Scheidegg - then 25% from there to Jungfraujoch (was 50% until a few years back)

Bernina Express - the official Bernina Express could have regular cars attached to it - it may or may not - i suspect not but there are hourly local trains over the same tracks that you do just hop on - just like any other train in Switzerland - and in warm weather some of these trains have open-air platform cars - the ultimate observation or panoramic cars IMO- i have ridden them and they are surrealistic-ask about them if warm when you go.

Now the Glacier Express i know does indeed at times have regular cars for local traffic attached to it so the BE may well have too for all i know.

zk:

As to staying in Quinten: you may want to know that Quinten idyllically sits on Walensee. It is, however VERY isolated and reached only by boat or by a very narrow and winding road.

Michelin estimates that the 37 miles from Quinten to Vaduz (you have to drive around the western end of Walensee, as there is no road to the east) will take 2 hours.

If you are interested in relaxing on the lakeshore, this is fine, but if you would like to make excursions, you may want to reconsider.

Hope this helps

Phil.

1. Sorry, but I have to make a correction to Pal's reply: the Swiss Pass does indeed cover 100% up to Wengen and Grindelwald, but on the cog-trains to Kleine Scheidegg and farther up to Jungfraujoch you only get a 25% reduction. The Half Fare Card or Swiss Card is the better deal here (50%).
See TravMimi's link.

2. I have never seen a Bernina Express train with non-tourist cars. I am 100% sure that you need a reservation for that D961 train.

3. The rental apartment looks nice. According to the website the guy seems to be trustworthy. I wouldn't worry at all. You are aware of the fact that Quinten is car-free, aren't you? Schedule for ferries here: http://www.walenseeschiff.ch/Home/HomeDE/Fahrplan.aspx

St. Gallen is highly recommended for a day trip, but in combination with Rapperswil you won't have enough time to do the city justice. In this case you probably only can do a short stroll through the old town, see the cathedral and tour the famous library. But there's more to do there.

Appenzell is smaller and you could spend a leisurely afternoon there.

However, all these places are quite a drive away. Why not concentrate on the immediate area around Quinten? Sargans has an interesting castle, Werdenberg is a picturesque tiny town. Bad Ragaz is an excellent spa town, you could also visit the Tamina gorge there. And the Benedictine abbey Einsiedeln would make most sense for a combination with Rapperswil.

4. No booths on motorways in Switzerland. The vignette is a maybe 3 x 3 inches size self-adhesive piece that you put from the inside on the wind shield.

Sorry, but I have to make a correction to Pal's reply: the Swiss Pass does indeed cover 100% up to Wengen and Grindelwald, but on the cog-trains to Kleine Scheidegg and farther up to Jungfraujoch you only get a 25% reduction.

then that must be a rather new change because the map that comes with this year's Swiss Pass clearly shows 50% between Grindelwald or Wengen 50% to Kleine Scheidegg and then 25% from there. Where does your info come from Ingo - knowing you are usually correct?

Pal, go to this site:
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/c...in-top-trains/

Download the Synoptic map and you'll see that usually the Swiss Pass offers 50% on mountain railways - but note the three "1" between Wengen, Grindelwald and Jungfraujoch. That means 25%. Quite a shocker, eh?

Ingo Pal

I already bought a Swiss Card for my son and myself. Do I receive a 50% discount on all cable cars and mountain rails even to Jungfraujoch, Schynige Platte, and Schilthorn?

Thank you so much for your responses!

If I'm reading this fare chart correctly: http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/desktopdef.../93_read-6495/

Round trip from Wengen to Jungfraujoch is CHF 149? Since we get 25% off, that's 111.25 CHF per person. Right? (OUCH! I don't remember it being so expensive when I went 7 years ago.)

Phil & Ingo, thanks for the info about Quinten. As you can see, I know nothing about it, though I was wondering why I didn't see any roads leading to it on Google Map. I have emailed the owner to see if he can clarify the exact location of the apartment. If it's so remote, I don't think it'll work out for us. We may just stay at a hotel in nearby towns. Any budget suggestions?

Ingo, I'm still confused about the vignette. Where do we purchase this? And are you saying that there is no toll on the autobahns? When I was googling driving directions, it indicates many of the highways are toll roads.

It is expensive and all the cards and passes and fares are like a Rubik's cube of combinations. We were in that area for 6 days in June. I decided to buy half fair cards at the Zurich airport. Then we bought the Jungfrau Railway pass for 150ch for 6 days. The trip Eigergletscher-Jungfrau section was then half off. It all worked out for us.

yk:

You have to purchase and display a vignette on your car, when using the motorways. All the nationally-funded motorways are thus designated toll roads. The vignette covers all the tolls on Swiss highways for one year.

If you are renting the car in Switzerland, it should already have been pasted to the windshield by the rental agency. And, no, there are no booths on the motorways; police are doing random checks are you will be subject to a CHF 100 fine, if using a motorway without a vignette.

If the rental agency wants to give you a car without vignette, it usually pays to remain firm.

Hope this helps

Phil.

Hello yk

Are you flying into Switzerland and renting a Swiss-licensed car? If so, your car should already have a vignette on the windshield.

When we flew into Paris and crossed the border into Switzerland, we were able to purchase one directly from the guard at the border. He wasn't letting us in without one.

Hey Ingo - what's up buddy? Thanks for the update on the rail info.

Happy travels!

Phil & swisshiker, thanks for the explanation on the rental car & vignette. Sorry I sounded so clueless!

Do any of you have suggestions for vacation rental websites for Switzerland? I've only been browsing on vrbo and homeaway, because I don't know if other websites (that come up on google search) are legit or not.

Or, just any suggestions for budget places to stay in Eastern or NE Switzerland? I just emailed several enquiries to a couple of places in St Gallen, Appenzell, and Rorschach.

Have you tried www.myswitzerland.com? We've used properties thru their listings with no trouble. Sometimes we end up contacting the owner directly if an individual website is listed (usually contains more pics which I like), or sometimes just thru the city's tourist office website. Good luck!

hi swisshiker (and others), when I search for apt rental on myswitzerland.com, it directs me to www.e-domizil.ch.

I found a few potential places on e-domizil, but it seems like there's no way to contact the owners to ask questions? My only choice is to BOOK, and then I'm taken to a page where I have to enter CC info. Any thoughts anyone?

Ingo -i have the exact same map but for 2009- and it has the 1in a circle only on Kl.Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch -now clearly in 2010 as you illustrated it's 25% from Wengen or Grindelwald

But since it is 100% (vs 50% for the Swiss Card,Half-Price) up to Wengen that's a plus though overall 75% of Wengen to Kl. Scheidegg is a stiff price for Europe's steepest railway with the steepest fares

I actually found last time i was there that a JungfraubahnPass would have been better than paying 50% off Murren to Schilthorn and 25% off Kl. Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch- and now since 25% only Wengen to Kl. Scheidegg the Jungfraubahnpass could be cheaper than paying discounts on either and it also covers trains and lifts in the whole region it seems.