anncollins

We are two couples who will be taking the Viking river boat cruise out o Basel in September. We would like to fly into Zurich on September 2 and take the train to Lucerne. On that day we thought we would visit the city and some of the museums then turn in early We would like to visit the Alps
possibly Rigi or Pilatus not sure about Titlus it is not about seeing snow just beautiful views. Do not know how long to plan for but thought if we had the time we could catch the 3:00PM train to Bern
and visit eat dinner and return on an8:00 train. September 4th we would catch morning train to Basel
do not know how to get to ship dock said it was St.Johannspark leave our luggage on ship and go into Basel for the day. My question is should we get the Swiss Pass even it is a little more expensive we would not have to wait in line for tickets I believe it is 232 e. could you please advise me. Ann

HappyTrvlr

Definitly go to Rigi or Pilatus. Do you have your hotel reserved?
Doesn't the river cruise company give you directions to the port? I would guess you'd take a taxi.
I am guessing with only two trains you'd be better off paying for point to point tickets. Others on this forum are train experts and hopefully will join in.

kja

You can get train schedule and, I think, fare information here:
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

With your plan, you might want to consider sbb's excellent luggage forwarding options:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-service...s/baggage.html

Basel is delightful -- do include some time there if you can!

mokka4

Rigi or Pilatus would be better bets than Titlis, given your time constraints.Be sure to stop in the main train station's Tourist Info office to look at the mountain webcams to see if an ascent is advisable(mountaintop can be socked in clouds, then its an expensive waste of $, and no view). Do the math to see if a HalfFare Card or Transfer Ticket is "worth it" for purchasing rail/mountain travel.

mokka4

Sample train prices:
Luzern to Pilatus Kulm via Alpnachstad = 82 CHF RT
Luzern to Bern = 76 CHF RT
Luzern to Basel = 33 CHF OneWay.
HalfFareCard = 120 CHF, gives only a certain %age off most mountain trips, check validity.

anncollins

Thank you for your advise I will check further in to the trains and I did not know about the luggage I will check into that also.