Train Tickets Geneva to Leysin
 

We arrive in Geneva on 5/17 and have hotel reservations in Leysin. We plan to take the train from the airport to Leysin but would also like to visit Montreux and surrounding area before we take the train to Munich on 5/19. What is the best price option for train tickets as we plan to purchase our ticket after we arrive on 5/17. We are two adults.

www.sbb.ch is the Swiss Federal Railways official site for info on the train to Munich (via a change of trains in Zurich) so price Leysin to Zurich and Zurich to Munich if you do not get a Leysin to Munich fare. There are some limited in number discounted tickets but pretty much I think you'll pay full fare which means there is no reason to buy any tickets until you get to Geneva Airport - buy one from there to Leysin.

Now you could scour the German Railways web site - www.bahn.de/en to see if you can buy a discounted ticket - common in Germany - starting from Zurich - if so and if you want to book weeks in advance (you may be too late to get the limited in number discounted tickets - so if just one fare pops up it means the other fares are gone or they would be noted as some kind of 'Savings fare.

anyway unless saving money just buy when you reach Switzerland - discounted tickets usually lock you into a certain train at a certain time and cannot be changed nor refunded usually.

For lots of great stuff on Swiss trains check out www.swisstravelsystem.com and also these fine IMO sites - www.seat61.com (great info on discounted tickets) and www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. You are not traveling enough to warrant considering any railpass (unless do more elsewhere).

Thanks for your help. We already have our ticket from Leysin to Munich. We were wondering if there was a better idea than point to point tickets while we are in Switzerland as we are staying in Leysin but plan to travel to Montreux and surrounding area on 5/17-5/18. I will take a look at the sites you listed.

Thanks again!

there may be some regional ticket but fares are so cheap for that small trip anyway. by all means consider taking a boat ride on Lake Geneva - say from Montreux to Evian-les-Bains in France - a swank lakeside resort famous for its taking the waters (Evian mineral water bottled here)

I like the boat ride idea! Thank you very much...

Lake Geneva cruises: Villeneuve dp 11.03, 13.03, 15.03, 17.03 to Bouveret - St. Gingolph - Vevey - Clarens - Montreux - Chillon castle - Villeneuve (1 3/4 hrs trip). You can hop off hop on as much as you like.
Bus Lausanne - Munich (daily except Tuesday and Thursday): 40 CHF/33 EUR OW
Bus Zurich - Munich (5times daily): fares start at 9 EUR

Boats have two classes IME - first class for the open-air upper deck up front and 2nd class for the lower deck and open-air lower deck in rear of boat. I love the open-air upper deck - if you have a 2nd class Swiss Pass you can sit in the first class area and pay on board the difference between the regular first and second class fares.