We're in the final stages of preparation for our trip next week to Switzerland and France. Does anyone have experience with Rail Europe's service that allows you to check baggage at your US departure airport (Newark, for us) and deliver it directly to your final destiination in Switzerland (in our case, Wengen)? Here's what their site has to say:

"Why should the worst part of any trip be getting there? At Rail Europe, we’re helping to change that by giving you one less thing to deal with. But it’s a big thing- your luggage. Or your snowboard. Or your skis. You get the idea. The Fly Rail Baggage service from Rail Europe lets you check the big stuff in with your airline at your local airport, fly to Switzerland, get on the train, travel to your final destination and pick up your luggage there. Period. The end. Your customs paperwork is filled out in advance, so there are no big hassles to endure since you won’t be babysitting your luggage through the process. (Of course, small hand luggage will still require screening). The Fly Rail Baggage Service to Switzerland from Rail Europe. Who else would care enough to help you with a part of the trip that isn’t even theirs? Travel lite and hassle-free on your next trip to Switzerland. "

I apologize if you've already seen this question - as I write this I have a vague memory of maybe attaching this to another thread earlier this year, but at this point I'm not sure...anyway, I was hoping someone might see this in the title of this post and have something to add. We're thinking seriously of doing this - it's very inexpensive, and we will be arriving in Geneva, then taking the train to Bern/Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen/Wengen. I'm exhausted just thinking about it, much less dragging those bags around. What do you think? Thanks all!

marking for latet comment

We did the same itinerary but settled in Interlaken instead of Wengen. Carrying the bags can be a pain, mostly if you have to change trains. I can't comment on this service as I had no idea even existed. My only concern and hesitation is what if they lose your luggage as it can happen?

BYW - you can get the same service exactly once in Geneva Airport's train station for significantly less than going thru Rail Europe.

PalenQ - that is so good to know, thanks. It's only something like $15 or $18 per bag on the site - cheaper than that at the station would be even better, but wouldn't make enough of a difference for it to be worth having to deal with the bags through customs unless we felt like it was just less risky. On the other hand, maybe we'd feel better knowing that we'd actually seen that they had arrived in Geneva and then checking them through to Wengen, since what I'd most like to avoid is dragging hem from train to train. So now I'm thinking that we'll wait till we get there. Our plan is to get a Swiss card at the Geneva train station so that it covers our fare back and forth from Geneva to Wengen. We can just wait and buy it there with no problem, right?

Hi caseyhen,

Yes, I've done it twice; once when travelling with a big ski bag and once when travelling with my mother. This is a service that has been offered for a long time by Swissair and now Swiss, but Raileurope offers the package so that you can use it on any airline.

You get customs documents and a clear, green, plastic tag. You fill out the documents and put them in the plastic tag and attach the tag to your baggage (as if it were another personal identification). At the airport, the Swiss (the nationality, not the airline!) luggage handlers recognize the tag and move the luggage to the rail station. Then the rail luggage handlers take over for the rest of the way. Remember, this is a system that's been in place for a long time -- when I used it, it was in the 1990s, and it was already old for Swissair folks.

Yes, if you don't want to take the chance, you can just claim your bags, roll them to the train station, then send them using the SBB's normal baggage service. Same-day service (in by 09.00, pick up AFTER 18.00) costs 20 chf; two-day service costs 10 chf. My only worry would be getting through customs and getting my bags and getting them to the train station by 09.00.

Another note -- give your baggage receipts to the hotel staff, and they will pick up your bags for you and deliver to your room.

Have fun!

s

Same-day service (in by 09.00, pick up AFTER 18.00) costs 20 chf; two-day service costs 10 chf.>

But i think this service only goes to selected train stations and Wengen may or may not be on the list so check first.

Caseyhen - i think i may have mistaken what service you were talking about - i thought it were the one swandav mentioned after you get your bags

But if you want to deposit your bag in the U.S. as checked luggage then pick it up at some train station then i think of course you must buy this before leaving - perhaps your airline sells it but i guess in this case the RailEurope deal may be good. For any RE product i always advise calling the folks at www.budgeteuropetravel.com with questions - a RE agent they are experts unlike anyone you may talk to at RE - i have bought passes from them for years and can attest to their great service. Same products as RE, pricing but much better service. and yes i think this is a great great plan and i would not worry one nano second about the bag(s) not showing up on time as promised - nevertheless i would put anything in my carryon that i vitaly needed the first day or so.

Thanks, PalenQ and SwanDav2000. Alas, he who hesitates... We've been overwhelmed here with other "stuff" this week and now the only way we could get the tags in time would be to pay $36 in overnight FedEx fees for $36 in baggage charges. We're thinking that for $72 (plus the baggage fees the airline charges) we're going to have to skip it this time around. Maybe on our next trip to Switzerland. The SBB check through idea could have worked except that we won't arrive at then airport until noontime so we can't make the 9 am cutoff. One last possibility would be to see if we could do the overnight option for 10 chf - if it serves Wengen. Otherwise, my strong husband will have to hoist my bag on and off the many trains we take to get to our final destination, or my back will cry out so loudly that hiking in the Alps may be severely compromised, and we certainly can't have that!

Hi again,

The 10 chf isn't, sadly, overnight. It's 48 hours, or "the day after next." Here's the link:

http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/...ck-schweiz.htm

Yes, it's a good chance to use the muscles, lol (and no gym fees)

s

"wouldn't make enough of a difference for it to be worth having to deal with the bags through customs unless we felt like it was just less risky."

What are you trying to do?

There's no "dealing" with Customs as far as your bags are concerned: you just retrive your bags, put them on the free trolley, wheel it through the Green channel and head for your train or car. The pointless, job-creating, American ritual of queues, interrogation by the ill-informed and impertinent little dogs just doesn't exist in Europe.

If, as you later say, what you're really trying to avoid is lugging bags on and off trains, PalQ's suggestion of checking them through to your destination at your arrival airport meets your needs perfectly and cheaply - and can be done in the time available to you.

Hey Flanneruk
No point checking yo arrival airport - then you gotta lug the bags
Caseyhen should send them door to door - from the home to the hotel
I never take my luggage - I always send my bags ahead with First Luggage

One last possibility would be to see if we could do the overnight option for 10 chf - if it serves Wengen.>

and if it only serves Interlaken-Ost then schlepping the bags from there to Wengen is a snap - this is a small station with no long walks though you may have to go up and down stairs to access the right platform

But then in Lauterbrunnen where you have to change trains for Wengen (due to a difference in track gauge or width - trains physically cannot go on) the Wengen train will be right opposite where the train to Lauterbrunnen ends up.

And in Geneva airport there are free luggage trolleys to port luggage from plane to train - as there are in any Swiss station - carry some one Swiss franc coins to disengage the luggage trolley and then when you return it to a return rack by the train itself you will get the coin back.

Great help from everyone, thanks.

flanneruk - "If, as you later say, what you're really trying to avoid is lugging bags on and off trains, PalQ's suggestion of checking them through to your destination at your arrival airport meets your needs perfectly and cheaply - and can be done in the time available to you."

I agree, now I'm convinced that checking them from the arrival airport all the way through is preferable...but according to the website we would have to now pay an exorbitant amount of FedEx fees to get the necessary tags here in time...in fact probably too late now even for that, as we're leaving late afternoon on Monday. We've resigned ourselves to schlepping, which will actually be just fine, but we will definitely remember this service for our next trip.

We're getting very excited about our departure and arrival, finally, in Wengen. We have a good idea of what we would like to be doing during our three full days there, but extended forecast indicates that we may have one day of rain and one of clouds, with only one sunny day. So we'll need to decide which to forego...the Jungfraujoch/Mannlichen/Kleine Scheidigg day, the Trummelbach Falls/Grutschalp/Murren/Shilthorn day, or the Schynigge Platte day. Some things just can't be planned in advance! so we'll go with the flow and see what each day brings. Any advice on your own personal priorities, among these three?

>>but according to the website we would have to now pay an exorbitant amount of FedEx fees to get the necessary tags here in time...

You want to send your bags from Geneva to Wengen? Did you check the sbb rail site?

http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/...isegepaeck.htm

Fill out the paperwork when you arrive.

the Trummelbach Falls/Grutschalp/Murren/Shilthorn day>

After having take all those options several times i would chose this option because of all the great vareity of experiences it affords and also if you have a Swiss Pass it would cover all the cable cars, mountain trains and postal bus Stechelberg to Trummelbach except the Murren-Schilthorn cableway which it would give 50% off on.