Good morning,
We are taking 2 different river cruises beginning in about 1 month. First one ends in Lyon and next one begins in Basel one week later. In between we are going to Chamonix and then Lausanne, Switzerland before heading to Basel for the next cruise. I have researched trains between destinations and have an idea of what is available. My question is - Should I buy the tickets before we leave or wait until arrival in each town? I know some of the trains require reservations (Switzerland) and purchasing ahead does save some money, but I will have to make an educated guess on what time for departure at each city. A 2 country pass does not make financial sense - would be overkill for our situation. Anyone have experience with this?
Thanks in advance
Posted by
Green Bay
21160 posts
I don't think any of the trains between Lyon, Chamonix, Lausanne, Basel need reservations and the there is no price advantage to advance purchase. The French trains are TER, regional trains that do not take reservations, and no Swiss trains require require reservations except certain tourist trains with panoramic viewing cars, like the Golden Pass train from Montreux to Zweisimmen. Even that one can be ridden without reservation in regular train cars, with exactly the same scenery out the windows.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
I know some of the trains require reservations (Switzerland)
No! Trains do not require reservations in Switzerland, it is one of the countries where they do not. Normal tickets are valid for any train on the date stated.
In France TGV (High Speed Trains) are reservation only, when you buy a ticket it is for a specific train and states a reserved seat number on the train. Non-TGV's do not require reservations.
Lyon to Chamonix is all local trains (TER, IR, R), no advance purchase needed.
Lausanne to Basel will cost CHF 65.00, 2nd class, if bought on the day at the station. There may be some cheaper advance tickets on the SBB website ( https://www.sbb.ch/en ), but they would restrict you to the specified off-peak train.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you for your responses. In light of this information, I am going to wait on the train ticket purchases until we arrive in each city as we will then have a day or so to figure out our times. I guess my thought that some Swiss trains needed a reservation stems from a trip from Zurich to Lake Como last year which did require a reservation. That must have been because it involved a second country, Italy. We had a 3 country pass for that trip.
Thanks all.
Posted by
Green Bay
21160 posts
Yes, the EC train from Zurich to Milan requires a reservation once you cross the border into Italy, it does not need one in Switzerland. And reservations are included when you buy a ticket. Only need a separate reservation if you travel on a rail pass.