Switzerland: Scenic train trips possible for motion sickness sufferer?
 

Hi! I'm spending an extended period of time in Switzerland this coming summer and would love to travel some of the scenic routes. They look formidable to someone who gets motion sickness just thinking about it. I know all the usual remedies. I've tried them all, but is there a trip or two or three that I could brave after loading myself up with medication and wristbands that may not torture me too much ? We will be based in Basel, but would love to see Lugano and need other suggestions, too. Thanks.

P.S. We plan to travel strictly by train. Annetti

Sit in the sits that face the same direction as the train is going. That helps.

Although the trains aren't too wobbly in Switzerland, people who are highly suseptible to motion sickness still may feel woozy.

Hi, Annetti. The Swiss trains are very steady. Perhaps you can try a really short run when you get there to test your meds. Bonine worked well for my Mom. What about the patch that folks are given for seasickness on cruises? Best wishes, J.

I think it is very hard to get motion-sick on a train. The trains are moving smoothly and you have the large windows, so your vision can adjust to the motion. Take a window seat in the direction the train moves and look out as much as possible. By the way, the Swiss train system is the world's best. You can easily book electronic tickets and make reservations: http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm
The most scenic train ride is the glacier express. www.glacierexpress.ch

Hello annetti,

When my daughter was in her teens, she had trouble with motion sickness on road trips. She'd always have to ride in the front seat of our car with the window open, or else!

Obviously, I don't know how sick you get. However, I do know that the Swiss trains have never been anything other than a pleasurable experience for her. No motion sickness problems at all. She does, as schuler mentions, make a point of sitting forward. Plus you can always get up, walk around, go to an area that has windows for fresh air.

Don't load up too much on the meds - you wouldn't want to miss any of the beautiful scenery!

Happy travels!

Sit forward and you should be fine. These are very modern trains - not rickety at all.

Rail Europe has so many Swiss scenic products - i think you can even get on a chocolate train. take a ride to "the top of the world" - jungfrougjoch (sp?)

Thanks for all the encouragement. Any suggestions for a short ride to test myself?

I'm fine on normal Swiss trains as long as I sit facing forward.

I would probably avoid some of the tram type sight seeing trains that go up a mountain, etc. These are smaller and would be more of a challenge (or at least the one i took was for me).

Are you talking about regular motion sickness (like on a plane, boat or the back of a car? - usually you get this on a train only if you are riding backwards - easy to avoid). So - just do;t sit backwards - and if necessary just take dramimine.

Or are you talking about vertigo - a whole different thing - related to heights, nearness to the edge of a cliff etc - which makes you dizzy and disoriented - nausea is only a small part of it - and completely different to deal with.

(I have hideous motion sickness - but VERY rarely on a train - but can stand and look off the top of a skyscraper or mountain with no problem.)

Don;t know wy Switzerland in particular should cause motion sickness.

I think you can also get motion sickness from the peripheral movement of the landscaping nearest the train, that is the scenery that whizzes quickly by, versus the farther horizon that moves slowly. Also, you should not read while the train is in motion. I find it helpful to have some plain crackers if I start to feel a bit queasy.

In theory, everything is possible.

When I was on the Glacier Express, without warning, the train took off moving in the opposite direction. Some people can't ride backwards, and the train was packed.

Also, if you get queazy sitting by the window, you may get sick.

Keep your tummy full, try not to look to the side, but look ahead, don't read or do something which requires to look close. And of course, keep medications handy.

The rest is up to your body, you never know how you take it - the stress of travel may be a factor. Plan shorter trips just in case...

I get sick just looking at moving vehicles. Ginger pills starting the day before keep my sane :) Or so I think!

I even went on the cable car!

Thanks everyone for the idea of sitting facing forward. I would not have thought it a factor. I don't have vertigo, thank goodness, just obnoxious motion sickness similar to what one experiences in the back of a car or on a boat. Here in the States, driving up into the mountains on twisty roads is terrible for me, so I wondered about the train travel in Switzerland. Again, any ideas for short scenic routes to test my mettle out of Basel. Thanks again.

I would suggest doing a short portion of the Glacier Express maybe from Chur to Brig at the most. Take the panorama car. There is some shaking and swaying but very little. The train moves fairly slow

Norrisken: Thanks for a specific suggestion. I'll try it. I hate to miss out on the beautiful mountain scenery!

If you're up to eating I recommend getting a reservation in the dining car. The food was excellent. They have a snack cart that goes car to car also. This site has some really good info on the Express. New cars this summer!
http://www.sallys-place.com/travel/e...er_express.htm
sample train itineraries: http://www.magicswitzerland.com/train_itineraries.htm
Bernina Express : http://www.rhb.ch/berninaexpress/berninaexpress.e.php
Just some from my collection. I've only done the Glacier Express

Ken Norris

Winding roads in the back seat of a car are the worst! Normal trains haven't bothered me at all. Swiss trains are the greatest.

Make sure you and your partner have seats facing each other if your route takes you through Luzern. Because if you are facing forward from Basel to Luzern, you'll be facing backwards after that unless you can swap seats with your SO. If you sit next to each other, you run the risk of having the opposite seats taken by other travelers and you might not be able to sit facing forward the rest of the way.
Also, on the ride from Luzern to Lugano, try to sit on the right hand side of the train. You'll have more vistas that are eye level and down, rather than up high (the higher mountain peaks, etc. are on the left hand side). I occasionally suffer from "top shelf vertigo" (collateral damage from an airbag deployment in an accident) and find looking up suddenly may bring on a feeling similar to motion sickness.

Thanks, Btilke. I liked the idea of having my husband sit across from me, (though I'll miss him!) and if I find myself facing the wrong direction he would be willing to change seats with me. Good thought.

Suze we seem to speak the same motion sickness language. What do you mean by tram type trains? Are those similar to funiculars? Did you bother with meds/wrist band, etc on standard trains? Thanks.

Thanks again for everyone being so kind to respond. You have really given me hope that I can manage a bit and see what Switerland is famous for, its beautiful mt. scenery. Ironically, I find mountain scenry the most pleasurable and most magnificent and yet it is such a strain to enjoy it. Maybe not this summer! here's hoping!

annetti- Yes, exactly. The one I took was Rocher de Nayes out of Montreux up the mountainside, and even it wasn't too bad. That ride proved more a vertigo issue than motion sickness!

I haven't used anything (meds or bands) on trains because they truly don't bother me... as long as I am facing forward. The routes I've been on (Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Sion, etc.) were extremely smooth rides without twists or sharp turns.

But for you for the first journey I would definitely have your "usual remedies" along for comfort. Enjoy, Switzerland is a fabulously beautiful country.