Jopudding

We have more or less finalized our whole Europe trip but is still undecided on the Swiss part where which villages we want to stay. Will be v glad if someone can give some comments on the below trip: Day 1: travel fm Milan to Interlaken in the morning. Night sledding. Day 2: day trip to jungfrau. Day 3: day trip to wengen. Depart Interlaken to Zurich at 5pm. Day 4: Zurich. Day 5: depart Zurich back to our home ctry at 4pm. Or The following: Day 1: travel fm Milan to Interlaken in the morning. Night sledding. Day 2: day trip to jungfrau. Day 3: day trip to Wengen. Depart to lucerne at 5pm. Day 4: lucerne. Day 5: depart lucerne straight to Zurich airport. Alot have advised against staying in Interlaken as it is merely a place to change trains. However, our concern is that the pickup point for the night sledding is in Interlaken. Furthermore, if we were to stay in Wengen, we have to change trains 2/3 times n will take abt 5 hrs from Milan. Thus, we thought of staying in Interlaken so as to cut down on traveling time. Or will u guys even suggest staying in 1/2 nights in Interlaken & 2 nights in Wengen? Will a 4 day swiss pass be great or should i get the swiss half pass & buy individual tickets? Swiss experts. Pls help. Thanks!

PalenQ

go to www.sbb.ch for regular fares to compare against the Swiss Pass and Half-Fare Card - if you know exactly what you are doig and will do no more then the Half-fare Card may be your best bet - it does cost about $130 to buy however - I often stay in Interlaken itself and think this is a town that is much much maligned by folks who IMO must never get off the main drag that is filled with souvenir shops, etc - but there are parts of Interlaken that are simply dreamy - check out staying in the Matten area that has stupendous views of the Jungfrau Massif from many a hotel balcony and cows graze nearby.

Anyway I always end up taking more trains and lake boats on the two lakes bookending Interlaken than I expected - say if weather in the hills turns foul I may do a day trip to Lucerne or Bern - the pass covers it in full, etc.

Anyway check out these fab IMO sites for great info on Swiss trains, boats, buses and passes and half-fare cards and Swiss Cards and Swiss transfer tickets, etc - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.swisstravelsystem.com.

PalenQ

a 4-day consecutive Swiss Pass could be the most cost effective way if the 4 days comports to your travel time in Switzerland - per day it is much cheaper than the Flexipasses. With the Half-Fare Card you still must stand in line everytime you want to travel to buy tickets - Swiss Pass you just flash when conductor comes around - also valid on city trams and buses, lake boats, postal buses and free entry to over 400 Swiss museums so if any museums come into play like the magnificent Ballenberg Open-air museum in Interlaken area then at about $20 entry fee that could be a factor.

Jopudding

Thanks for the help regarding the passes. We will work out which is the most cost effective once we finalise our trip plan! Travelling in zurich is really expensive

Currently, we are still poundering abt the 4 options
1) Stay in interlaken/wengen for 5D4N
2) Stay in interlaken for 2 nights, 1 night at lucerne, 1 night at zurich
3) Stay in interlaken for 2 nights, 2 nights at lucerne
3) stay in interlake for 2 nights, zurich for 2 nights

Any votes? Thanks!

BarbAnn

Personally, I would stay 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen and 1 night in Lucerne. The train is quick and easy from Lucerne to the Zurich airport.

swandav2000

hi Jopudding,

I agree with BarbAnn above -- having two one-night stays will eat up too much time with packing & hotel chores. You can get to the airport in one hour by direct train from Luzern, so you really don't need to move. You could stay in either Luzern or Zürich for two nights and see the other city as a day-trip.

I personally would stay in Wengen for three nights and one night in a city, either Luzern or Zürich, before the flight. I favor mountains and would spend as much time as I could there.

s

Michael_Guzov

Hi JoPudding,
I agree with the above two posts: it seems better to spend more days in each place, rather than changing hotel each night. Personally: I prefer the mountain villages, Bern and Zurich to Interlaken! Instead of Jungfrau, have you considered basing yourselves in Zermatt and exploring the area near the Matterhorn? As regards the half-price ticket: I believe you need Swiss residency to buy this ticket.
Enjoy your trip!

PalenQ

Half-Price tickets are available to anyone of any nationality - at least the ones that are for a month and are sold at train stations all over Switzerland.

swandav2000

I also have a Half Fare Card; I buy the one-year version, and I'm not Swiss nor a Swiss resident. A friend I know buys the two-year version, and he's German living in Germany. Anyone can buy these cards.

s

PalenQ

Anyone buying a Half-Fare Card should also check out the Swiss Card, which gives everything the Half-Fare Card does plus a transfer from any border or airport to anyplace in Switzerland then another trip from there to any border or airport - need not be round-trip - so folks say landing in Geneva and going to the Berner Oberland and then out to Austria may - could - find with the two 100% covered transfers plus the half-off everything else could - I say could I do not know - find the overall expense lower with a Swiss Card (not sold in Switzerland however I believe).

Jopudding

The Swiss card sounds great. However, if we are traveling from Milan to Interlaken, stay for 2 nights then travel to Zurich, stay for another 2 nights, are we still able to use the Swiss card for the portion from Interlaken to Zurich instead of Interlaken to Zurich airport?

PalenQ

You would I think use it to say you are going to Zurich airport but then just get off the train in Zurich Hauptbahnhof. I will have to look at the conditions of use of the Swiss Card - if in the U S I'd call Byron at BETS (www.budgeteuropetravel.com) as I have bought passes from him for years and he knows all the nitty-gritty about conditions of use - Swiss Cards I believe can only be bought outside of Switzerland.