Glacier Express & Itinerary Advice Please!

I would travel immediately to Chur after you land at Zurich. There are 3 connections every hour to Chur, one is direct. Surprisingly, that is the slowest way to Chur because it travels a very round about way (through St Gallen) to get to Chur. The other 2 require a connection at Zurich HB and will get you there in under 2 hours.

2 nights in Zermatt will give double the chance to see the Matterhorn.

Are planning on 1st or 2nd class on the Glacier Express? I am a great believer in the Swiss Half Fare Card if you want to save money. You will be in Switzerland for 11 days, so would need a 15-day Swiss Travel Pass if that is the way you want to go.

Thank you! Looks like there are not seats in 1st class on September 9th on Glacier Express.

So it will take at least 2 hours to get to Chur from Zurich? Travel partner wants to stay the 1st night in Zurich, so looks like a long day of trains to Zermatt on the 9th.

I think we’ve decided on the half fare card which will get us a 50% discount on the Glacier Express to Zermattt unless we are reading that wrong? Then we need to get from Zermatt to Lauterbrunnen where we will buy a Berner Oberland Regional Pass that will get us most places in that area & then most of the way to Lausanne. Any suggestions?

What about special restaurants along the way? Do we need reservations?

The faster connections only take 1.5 hrs to get from Zurich airport to Chur (change at Zurich main station). You can check all train info on sbb.ch/en. I'd go directly to Chur rather than stay in Zurich. There's a nice old town, plenty of shops and restaurants, and you'll save some time the next day before Glacier Express. The ABC Swiss Quality hotel is good and very close to the station, or if you want something with more character, the Stern hotel is nice and has a good restaurant.



Glacier Express only runs a few times a day because it is planned as a slow journey. First class looks like it’s available on the later train if that is important to you. Otherwise, the 2nd departure of the day has plenty of window seats available in 2nd.



Two nights in Zermatt is not a problem, at least not to me! The train journey there will take up most of the arrival day anyway, and then you have another full day to go up Gornergrat, do a bit of hiking/walking around, etc without rushing through everything because you have a train to catch.



From Zermatt, it’s a little less than 3 hours to Lauterbrunnen. You will have to change a couple of times, no way around that, but it is all organized and easy with the Swiss trains. Check SBB website as above for schedules. If the weather is nice, I’d suggest a dinner up in one of the mountain towns. I always enjoy the outdoor terrace at Hotel Baren’s restaurant in Wengen - beautiful views and very good food (much of it sourced locally). Easy 10 min train ride to/from Lauterbrunnen.



From Lauterbrunnen to Lausanne, easiest route is via Interlaken to Bern and then on to Lausanne (2 changes, 2 hrs 45 mins or so). I’ve stayed at that Movenpick in Lausanne. It’s perfectly fine, your standard “business” chain hotel feeling. Most, if not all, rooms have been fairly recently renovated. The location is great - on the lakeside near the boat piers, and next to the “metro” stop that will take you to both the train station and the old town without having to climb up and down the hills. Public transport is free with the guest card from the hotel. There is also a handy supermarket next door. Plenty of restaurants around or head to the old town. On your free days, you could, for example, check out some of the Lavaux vineyards (Chexbres, St Saphorin) where it may be harvest time, take a lake cruise or go to Chillon Castle. Rainy day ideas: The Olympic museum isn't far from the hotel - worth visiting if you follow the Olympics. Or if you are an art fan - the Fondation de l'Hermitage in Lausanne is in a beautiful old villa atop the city and usually has interesting fine art exhibitions (19th-20th C).

For September 9, You should buy Saver Day Passes on-line as soon as they go on sale for your travel date 60 days in advance. It looks like, with a Half Fare Card, they will cost 44 CHF pp 2nd class. That allows unlimited travel for a day on Swiss railways. So the full fare price from Zurich to Chur to Zermatt is 152 CHF, with a Half Fare Card it would be 76 CHF, but with the Saver Day Pass it will be 44 CHF. Purchase on-line at:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/day-pass/saver-day-pass.html

Does not include that 49 CHF Reservation fee. Also, if you want to get the Berner Oberland 4-day Pass, it will include the train from Brig to Lauterbrunnen as long as you travel on the Loetschberger regional line between Brig and Spiez. This line is also more scenic than the fast way that uses the Loetschberg Base Tunnel. Again, with the Half Fare Card, you get a 95 CHF discount on the cost of the pass.

Going from Lauterbrunnen to Lausanne, I also suggest taking the more scenic route via Zweisimmen. Your Berner Oberland Pass will cover the cost to the half-way point at Saanen.

Edit: I looked at the Glacier Express reservation site, and for Sept 9, while there are some 1st class seats available on later trains, none of them are together. For 2nd class, there are plenty of seats, but the 11:05 departure has no window seats available. The 12:16 departure is wide open with plenty of window seats available.

Thank you for all of this information and help!! I truly appreciate it!

One question ..how are people booking seats when we are out over 60 days?

Surprisingly, you can book the seat reservation more than 60 days out, but you can't book a ticket. Go to:
https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/

Thanks! When it’s 60 days out don’t we have to pay the same price to book a seat reservation?
Is it true it’s Chf 49 just for the seat reservation and / or booking fee on top of the ticket? Does the half fare card apply to the 49?

Another question! Do we need to book food on the train in advance? Someone said there is a nice restaurant on board?

Has anyone stayed at Romantica Zermatt?
Thank you!

The seat reservation, really a supplement to ride a special train, is 49 CHF, but seats do sell out, even before tickets go on sale. If you buy now, you can see the layout of the carriages and what seats have already been reserved, then pick the seats you want. Wait and somebody else might reserve that ideal seat.

Many people travel on Swiss Travel Passes, so they never buy tickets. They bought their seat reservations and just show up on the train. Other people might travel with Saver Day Passes. Once they have their seat reservations, they just show up on the train.

Yes, the whole train is a restaurant. When I rode it, they came and took our orders at our seats and served us there, just like we were in a rolling restaurant. The seats are all facing each other across a table. Menu is limited, but food is decent.

Thank you!

By the time I read this all the window seats on the Glacier Express were taken - except for at 14;00, getting us to Zermatt by 20;00 ish! We figured it was worth waiting for…but wow, the day before there were plenty of seats!! I think there must be a tour group taking up everything on September 9th, because we couldnt get into any of the hotels mentioned on September 8th!

Now we are on to booking the Golden Pass train from Zweisimmen to Montreau, and I can’t seem to reserve seats on September 14th because it’s over 60 days out. That was not the case with the Glacier Express. Am I doing something wrong? Has anyone been able to reserve the special VIP seats in the first car? That sounds wonderful!

Thanks to all who have helped me! If we didnt read about seat reservations on the Glacier Express we would have been out of luck…we were sure we had to wait 60 days out!

Well, the Golden Pass seat reservations usually don't go on sale until 2 weeks out. Last time I looked, the VIP seats are no more, taken out of service.

Both Golden Pass trains and the Glacier Express trains are owned and operated by different private companies, so they each have there own policies and methods of operation. The Golden Pass from Montreux to Zweisimmen by the MOB, (Montreux Oberland Bernois), and the Glacier Express is a joint venture of the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn and the Rhaetische Bahn. Yes, it can be confusing, but that is just the way it is.

Looking at Sept 9, there are plenty of window seats in 2nd class on the 12:16 departure.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I think I may have been scammed. Yesterday I booked to seats on the Glacier Express for September 18, 2022. The cost was CHF420.00 each even though I selected that I had the Swiss Pass (or whatever it was called). I did not have an option to select a time. Reading through this thread makes me think I have grossly overpaid and been scammed. Help!?

@grmurphy, you can just as easily start a new thread as post on an old one. But what website did you book your trip on? That does not sound remotely right. I did a quick look at the official GE site, and see they aren't even booking for that date yet - no more than two months out.

The website was www.glacierexpress.ch. I did book 2 Supplement Excellence Class. Would that make a difference?

Based on all the feedback, you can’t even buy tickets out past 60 days, so something is definitely wrong. I’d call them!

So, Excellence Class includes a concierge, special seating, luggage handling, infotainment, a seven course meal with bar service, etc. Well yes, you are paying a lot extra to get a luxury experience. If a basic GE train ride is all you wanted, it would be a lot less expensive. Unnamed regional trains riding the same route would be even less expensive.

That is the correct website. And Excellence Class has very limited seats (only between St Moritz and Zermatt), so that is why you didn't have an option. The 420 francs is for reservation of the Excellence Class seat - you still need a 1st class ticket (or Swiss Pass) on top of that. So I don't think you got scammed if your intention was to book this class of service.
Here is detailed info from the Glacier Express website https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/offers/excellence-class/

Thank you, Stan and hopper 18, for your answers. This is apparently what I scheduled (by mistake). This is the first time we have traveled by Swiss train. The information is overwhelming. I will be more careful on the rest of my reservations and certainly won't do it late at night after I am frazzled from so much searching. I was aware I still needed to purchase the "Swiss Travel Pass". As I understand it, I can't purchase it until 60 days from the day we will use it. Is that correct?

You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass anytime you want. You just have to make sure that the start date on the pass is for the beginning of the period you want to use it.