Switzerland train travel
 

My party of 3 will be flying to Geneva from the U.S., and will be in Evian, France (30 miles from Geneva) from Oct.6th thru the 14th. On the morning of the 15th we want to take a train from Geneva to Florence, Italy. (I will probably rent a car while in Evian, and will rent a van for a one-day trip from Florence to Rome, from where we'll fly home.)
On our way to Florence, we'd like to take the train from Geneva to Interlaken (and possibly to Luzern) with a side trip to Jungfraujoch. (On all our train trips we are interested in little or no sight-seeing other than taking scenic photos from the train.)
From Jungfraujoch, I want to arrive at Florence no later than "early the next morning." (It's fine if my train travel in Italy is at night.) I don't know whether time would allow me to travel by way of (1)Zermatt OR (2) St.Moritz. If there's not enough time for either of those, then we could just take the fastest train route from Jungfraujoch to Florence.
The St.Moritz route is not high priority, but if we don't have time for the Zermatt trip, then I'd definitely like to do that as a separate train trip one afternoon while in Evian.
So the main (and probably only) 2 train trips we want to take are: (1)Geneva to Jungfraujoch to Florence, Italy; (2)Geneva to Zermatt (and back to Geneva).
QUESTION: What is an economical means for my train travel? What vendor would you recommend I use to purchase the train tickets?
Any assistance on this is greatly appreciated!!

Mike

Go to the train station and buy a second class ticket.

Sorry, that sounded flip. But is there a reason you want to use a "vendor"? Is there something special about these routes that you think might require something extra?

I have used the trains in Switzerland quite a bit, but not on your exact routes. I always did as I mentioned, just bought a ticket at the train station and got on the train.

Hopefully others will confirm or contradict because I do not want to be giving incorrect advice.

kindly, Suze

You can get timetables and book tickets at the Swiss Rail site, www.sbb.ch. You can also call Swiss Rail and book tickets over the phone. Dial 011 (US international access code) + 41 (country code for Switzerland) + 900 300 300.

I think you pretty much have to take a night train to Florence because either trip (Jungfrau or Zermatt) will take most of the day.

It's about 3-1/2 hours to get from Geneva to Zermatt by train. You could spend the day there, then take a night train that gets into Florence early morning.

It's about 2-3/4 to get from Geneva to Interlaken. From there, it takes maybe another 2 hours to get to the Jungfraujoch, so it will be an all day event. For a shorter trip, you can visit Lauterbrunnen, or Wengen, or Murren instead of Jungfrau.

Alternatively, you could take the train from Geneva to Lucerne in about 3 hours. I would not try to combine both trips (Lucerne and Junfraujoch) as I don't believe you would have enough time.

I usually by my tickets at any Swiss train station. The price for either a Zermatt or Jungfraujoch ticket will be pretty steep (I'm thinking Junfraujoch was around $100 per person, but that's just a ballpark figure) because both require travel on private railways to reach the end.

You will want to check the schedules yourself, but my feeling is that you may be overdoing it a bit to include Luzern and Jungfraujoch on your trip from Evian to Florence. The Jungfraujoch excursion alone can easily eat up half a day. Similarly, St. Moritz from Evian is not something that would take but a half day. I would guess a day trip from Evian to Zarmatt could be a good day trip.

One option might be to go to Zermatt, then continue east to Chur, then down to Milan, then to Florence. I think they have a scenic route that approximates that, although I have not taken it.

Another might be to go through Montreux, then to Spiez, then to Interlaken, on to Chur, and down to Italy. I wouldn't take the routing from Geneva to Bern they usually suggest, as it is not very scenic.

A third option would be to go to St. Moritz, then take the Bernina express route down into Italy, but this would involve some additional routing in Italy. I mention this because many consider the Bernina express to be the most scenic train ride in the world.

Enjoy your trip, and the planning.

I think you need to look at the train schedules, the costs, and then put your ideas back in line with reality.
You can get train schedules at www.sbb.ch
Ticket costs are also available.
The Jungfraujoch trip from Interlaken is about $140 per person.

You will need good funding!!

There are Swiss passes you can buy from home and others available only in Switzerland. On many trains you'll travel free. On others you'll have to pay a reservation fee. On others you get up to a 50% discount. See if any of them will match up with your routes and travel days by reading about them here: www.ricksteves.com/rail/ausswitz.cfm.

What you say you want to do on the way from Evian/Geneva to Florence (and getting there the next morning???) is a program for two or three days at least.

For a reality check look up distances at www.viamichelin.com (even if you don't intend to drive) and trains at www.rail.ch and www.trenitalia.it and get a realistic program going.

As far as ticketing - just buy a ticket in Evian or in Geneva, it's not like flying.

We spend alot of time in Geneva because my husband is on a research project at CERN. The Universitys' apt. is in Saint Genis Pouilly. We have to change currency for crossing from one to the other all the time. The buses and trams in Geneve are very easy to use, and if you get a Eurail pass before you leave, you need only go to the train station and make your reservation. You can do several trips depending on the type of Eurail you opt for. We went to Paris, that was 4 hours one-way. Amsterdam is about 3 hours from Paris. We also went to Zermatt. It is about 2 plus hours to Visp, where you change train to the Gonergratt that chugs you up to Zermatt.
That train leaves on the hour both ways, but there are only a few scheduled back to Geneve. You should definitely check schedules, because it sounds like you want to do alot and you will be at the mercy of train schedules, reservations before hand, possible language barriers ( there are several german "dialects" one of which is pretty local in Zermatt, French who pretend they don't understand even the most fluent speaker and then try to duck and drive with those crazy Italians....) You just can't count on a one-day trip, taking just one day....so good luck and plan ahead.