tinab52

Palenque, I have learned so much from reading your posts, but now need to narrow down the info to fit my upcoming trip. Hopefully, you can help me. Will be in Como, actually Bellagio, in about a month and have two days to get by train back to Frankfurt. There are six of us, traveling together, none of whom have traveled by train in Europe, except myself. We have Eurail passes and plan to spend one night in Switzerland, but I can't figure out the best itinerary to get the best scenery in. I've traveled the Locarno-Domodossola-Brig route before and loved it. What would YOU recommend?

kappa1

> Locarno-Domodossola

Ah, you did Centovalli then.

Palenque

tina - merci!

I think that yes the Bellagio-Como-Lugano-Locarno and Centovalli route to Brig, on a main rail line to Germany is probably the most scenic but it makes for a fairly long day to get to a place in central Switzerland - like Interlaken

I would also consider a more direct and still really scenic route going from Como (boat or bus from Bellagio) to Lugano and onto Lucerne - a nice overnight and a place where a few hours can suffice to see this picturesque town set on what i think is the finest of the Swiss lakes- Lake Lucerne. You could arrive early enough to even do a boat ride on the fjord-like part of the lake (railpasses 100% valid for fare)

The Como-Lucerne (change at Arth-Goldau usually required) line goes via the Gotthard Tunnel and Gotthard route - really nice Alpine scenery the whole way.

and then go via Zurich for fast-track trains to Frankfurt.

Palenque

Actually come to think of it i believe the Gotthard route to be as scenic or more than the one via Locarno, Domodossola and Brig and then north - because of the really long new tunnel that goes practically from Visp to Frutigen - tunneling under scenery that once made this major rail line (that went via the old Lotschberg Tunnel) one of the most scenic in Europe - and though it is about an hour quicker than the old route now you see little but tunnels until emerging at Frutigen.

The Gotthard route goes thru the long Gotthard Tunnel but that is much shorter and it goes along Alpine valleys on each side - a new and much longer Gotthard Tunnel is being bored but still not open but when it does you'll again miss out on some pretty tasty scenery.

KAS_H

Can someone tell me what would be better for us to buy: The FlexiPass Saver for 6 days, or the Half Fare card?
We intend on staying in Switzerland for about a month (with a side trip to Germany and maybe Spain for an extra week, total of 5 weeks).
Also, where can I find the train ticket costs? Is there a site that has all the data available?

swisshiker

Hello KAS_H

Swiss railway ticket center:

https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/start.do?sprache=en

Happy travels!

tinab52

Palenque, thanks so much for your help and especially the news about the new long tunnel on the Centovalli route. Would it be too impractical to consider heading in the opposite direction to Lucerne through Tirano and Chur? I know it would be a long trip, but worth it? I've always wanted to try the Bernina route. I've also read that you could make a day trip from Varenna as far as Pontresina and back. Any recommendations on that?

Thanks so much.

Palenque

tinab52- yes it is practical if you know that it is a long day's travel - you may consider doing the Bernina Pass rail route as a day trip from Varenna - and you need not go as far as Pontresina as the highlight of the train ride is up at the summit - about an hour or so before the train gets to Pontresina/St Moritz. You probably would travel about three hours Varenna to Alp Grum - a station near the pass summit - get off the train and do the popular stroll around the Alpine lake up to the foot of the glacier and go back to the Bernina Ospiz station to return to Tirano, Italy and Italian trains back to Varenna - this would make the Bernina Pass train a much more leisurely thing and you can actually get off for a few hours - if going onto Lucerne or Zurich you would have not such time for that.

tinab52

Thanks sooo much! You've been so helpful.

Palenque

thank you!

You know on the Bernina Pass Railway - a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its audacious railway engineering in its many spiral loops, tunnels, viaducts, etc in a rugged terrain - anyway there are both official Bernina Express trains, staffed by hostesses and with running commentary in English on what you are rolling past and special domed observation cars in first class but there are also local regional services that, obviously, pass by the same scenery without all the extras - taking the official Bernina Express is fine but if day tripping i would take whatever train is best conducive to your schedule and not say wait an hour or two in Tirano for the official train, which also needs to have seat reservations before boarding. The locals you just hop on.
I think that would be an outstanding day trip from Lake Como!

Palenque

Bernina Express, Rhätische Bahn, RhB
Bernina Express - along the UNESCO World Heritage line at 20 mph (30 km/h) ... between Thusis and Tirano has been classed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. ...
www.rhb.ch/index.php?id=33?&L=4

Palenque

And in summer there are even open-air flatbed cars with just railings and no top at all - though the official Bernina Express is touted for its Panoramic Observation cars with glass ceilings the open-air cars are even better with nothing above you so you can see all around. These open cars to me were the best possible way - like levitating thru such awesome scenery. Not all regional trains have them but several do and it is open seating - no reservations even possible.

Palenque

Can someone tell me what would be better for us to buy: The FlexiPass Saver for 6 days, or the Half Fare card?>

well you have to calculate what your most expensive train trips (or boats, etc) for the six days you will have unlimited 100% transportaion covered - then you get 50% off everything else for the month just like the Half-Fare Card, which costs about $100

So figure out the difference in price between the $100 Half-Fare Card and the 6-day flexipass p.p. and then figure 50% of what you would spend on the 6 fully covered days on the pass as this is what you would pay for those 6 days with a Half-Fare Card and no pass.

Point is you have to do the math to answer such a question and you have to know what you are doing, exactly and do no more.

I always have a pass and always do more than i envisioned - like i get to Interlaken and it's a nice day so i pop onto a boat on Lake Thun for a few hours to soak up the magnificent visage of the Jungfrau Massif in all it glory high above the lake, etc. If it were raining i'd probably just walk around town.

Pass gives you total flexibility for those 6 days - Half-Fare does not or if you use it more than you think the pass could turn out to be better.

kleeblatt

The iphone provides an outstanding sbb application that is similar to the website. I believe only iphones have this app at the moment.

Many Swiss use the app to find their trains, buy their tickets and plan their trips.

elaine

Will be posting a trip report separately, but am back from my trip and wanted to again thank the contributors here for the excellent details. The trains did indeed 'run on time' and were quite easily managed. Upon my departure at JFK, I went to a separate Swiss Air desk to check my bigger suitcase through to my destination of Zermatt. A fee of merely $15. I got a receipt; the bag got a special tag. I arrived at Geneva airport, caught a train to Visp, then changed to the train for Zermatt. Upon arrival at Zermatt around 2pm or so, my suitcase hadn't yet arrived, and I worried. The baggage master assured me it would be arriving on the 4pm train, and to ask my hotel to send the porter. My bag arrived as he said, and it was in my hands by 4:10 pm. Lovely system.
On my return home I was leaving from Vevey, which as a small town, doesn't offer this check through service. Still I managed my belongings and arrived at Geneva airport by train with plenty of time.

A word on the Swiss Flex train pass. Not only did it provide good value for the three separate days I used intercity trains, but it provided for 50% discount on some local travel such as excursion railways and boats. That made it very much worth it. I ended up making an additional daytrip from Vevey to Lausanne; if I'd had a 4-day flex pass, might have saved even more. But that same-day RT wasn't that expensive.

PalenQ

thanks for the report and waiting more detailed one - are not Swiss trains fantastic - and the neat fly and baggage to destination town is also fantastic.