How to spend 2 days getting to Zermatt?

I would go straight to Lucerne and spend 2 days there before going to Zermatt. Lucerne is easy to walk around in, has great restaurants and the covered bridge over the river is something the kids would love. Hotel Des Alps is right on the river and is where we stayed on the Rick Steves tour of Switzerland. The boat rides on the lake are wonderful if the lake isn't frozen over. The kids would like the tram ride up to Mt. Pilatus.

The other option would be to go straight to Interlaken from the airport and spend 2 days in the valley, maybe even stay in Murren for the incredible view! and then travel on to Zermatt.

If you really want to do the Glacier Express route, go south of Chur and stay somewhere in the Engadine valley - Samedan, Pontresina, St. Moritz. Then double back to Chur for the GE across to Brig. Or Chur itself is not so bad - some Roman history. A lot depends on what's available out stays and what you can afford, since its high ski season.

You're in for a treat! I spent a ski week in Zermatt around 2012 or so and it was my best one, ever.

Luzern is a good choice as an intermediate stop. Mürren and Wengen are more travel-intensive (incompatible with Glacier Express) and don't seem to be worth the hassle for such a short stay.

However, regarding Glacier Express: if you do choose to stay in Luzern, then heading from Luzern to Chur then to Zermatt will be a looong day.
I would rather cut it in half, and join the Glacier Express or any other train in the same route in Andermatt.

So, if travelling the whole Glacier Express route is important to you, then I would skip Luzern and stay in the Engadine (e.g. Pontresina) to be able to start from St Moritz, or perhaps in tiny Bergün, a very pretty village on the Albula Railway with some great toboggan runs to warm you up! But please don't break a leg.

balso, they're starting in Zurich, not Luzern. So that's a bit closer to Chur.

No, they're landing in Zürich and were considering staying in Luzern, hence my comments :). I slightly edited my message for clarity.

Stay in Pontresina, not Chur. Its a very charming alpine ski town.

If you're in Lucerne, the STP completely covers the boat and cogwheel to Mt Rigi; you only receive a discount for Pt. Pilatus.

AND- there's a 25% discount if you purchase your STP now for your trip [fully refundable ]

Have a great time!!

Thank you all so much for the responses. This is so helpful!

Donald—Thanks! I agree that staying in one place for two nights probably makes the most sense. I have a habit of trying to fit in too much and what looks ok on a paper itinerary is often no fun for my family! I’m trying to do better 😊 Sounds like you think Lucerne is a good choice for the two nights we have available.

Stan—thanks! I’d love to do the full Glacier Express route, but I’m just not sure we have time. Wouldn’t going all the way to Engadine be a 7-8 hour train ride (right after an 8+ hour flight)? Or am I getting that wrong? Would this be worth it?

Balso—Thanks! My thought about going to Chur was to maximize my journey on the Glacier Express but without going all the way to Engadine. In terms of timing, I thought it would be about the same to take the train from Lucerne to Chur, then Glacier express from Chur to Zermatt as it would be to go the full route on the Glacier Express.

Pat—Thanks! So I think your comment sums up my 2 options, which are:
1) Arrive in Zurich on 2/17, head directly to Lucerne, spend 2 nights, leave on 2/19 and take train to either Chur or Andermatt to catch the Glacier Express. This option would mean spending time in Lucerne, but not Engadine, and would be less train travel in total.

2) Arrive in Zurich on 2/17 and immediately go all the way to Engadine/Pontresina/St. Moritz. Spend 2/18 in the Engadine Valley, then catch the Glacier Express on 2/19 in St. Moritz all the way to Zermatt. This option would mean spending time in Engadine, but not Lucerne, and would give me the full Glacier Express route. This option would be overall more train travel time.

Anything I’m missing? Knowing what you all know, what would you choose? And why? Thanks!!

Here is a map of the Swiss rail system, in case you have not seen one. It can help you relate these various places to one another in terms of direction and distance.

https://cdn-doc.myswissalps.com/docs/default-source/rail-network-maps/swisstravelpass.pdf?sfvrsn=7788603a_52

You are corrected that going to Pontresina (or other Engadine town) will add considerably the travel time, both on your arrival day’s travel and on the Glacier Express day. As much as I like the Engadine (we stayed 2 nights in Samedan a few years back), I can’t see doing that, particularly as it makes the Glacier Express an 8-hour journey. That is, in my opinion, too much time on a train in one day, especially for the teens.

I have told this story before, but I will repeat it here. Our trips to Switzerland often include some time in our favorite car-free village, Bettmeralp in the Valais. We reach it by cablecar from the valley station at Betten, about 10 minutes east of Brig on the train tracks that serve the Glacier Express. More than once I have been on that platform waiting for our own little regional train when the Glacier Express train passed through (it does not stop here). The train is on the cogs at that point and going quite slow, so I can see the passengers quite well. Many of them appear bored or at least disinterested; some are asleep——not surprising after 6 1/2 hours on the train.

Given that you will be doing this on Day 3 after the long overnight flight (from ????) and still may be a bit jet-lagged and travel-weary, I don’t think it is a great idea.

I think heading straight to Luzern from the Zurich airport is a better idea. There are direct trains (no change at the Zurich main station) twice each hour, at 00:15 and 00:28. The journey is only 25,60 CHF, so not worth using up a day on a Flex Pass. But make sure you buy tickets before boarding.

And speaking of passes, your 16-year-old will unfortunately not qualify for free travel with a Family Card.

So, if the full Glacier Express route is not a must for you, I definitely think option 1 is better.
And for Luzern-Zermatt, I don't think going all the way round to Chur then back west on Glacier Express is worth it. It takes over 7.5 hours.
I would either go via Andermatt as already suggested (6 hours) to travel half of the Glacier Express route, or perhaps a faster but still scenic route using the Luzern-Interlaken express (a great ride!), then on to Spiez, Visp and Zermatt (4 hours).

Both options can get you to Zermatt earlier than 5 pm, so that you can not only unwind before dinner but also sort out ski rental before your first skiing day. Speaking of which, I assume you are relatively strong skiers, intermediate at least? Otherwise, getting around the Zermatt ski area will require some thought to avoid the steeper bits.

Lola--thank you for the great advice! I'm flying from Boston. As we'll just be getting off a long flight, I'm definitely leaning toward heading to Lucerne that first afternoon and spending two nights. My teens thank you, I'm sure! I'll save Engadine Valley for a future ski trip to St. Moritz....

That map was exactly what I was looking for. why is that so hard to find?! The map shows me how much farther Char would be than Andermatt as Balso pointed out. and I agree with you that too much train time will not be enjoyable for the teens. One of the websites (my swiss alps) suggested the following from Lucerne to Zermatt:

Lucerne - Göschenen (Gotthard Panorama Express), Göschenen - Andermatt (cogwheel train), Andermatt - Zermatt (Glacier Express).

Anyone ever done this route? thoughts? I'm having a hard time finding schedules, etc, but seems like a good potential option...less overall train time and still get some of the glacier express.

Regarding the Swiss Travel Flex Pass: Yes, I noticed that my 16 year old won't qualify for the free travel. Rats! worst part is that his birthday is only 3 weeks prior to our trip! I was thinking about using one of my flex days to go from Zurich to Lucerne for two reasons. First, I'm only travelling a total of 3 days and while I haven't done all the math, I believe it till makes much more sense to buy the flex travel pass. Second, I believe that the other benefits of the pass (museums, boats, etc) can only be used on a flex day, so I could use those the afternoon I arrive in Lucerne. make sense?

Wouldn’t going all the way to Engadine be a 7-8 hour train ride (right after an 8+ hour flight)? Or am I getting that wrong?

It is only 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 hours from Zurich airport to St Moritz. 2 train changes and there is at least one train every hour, more often 2 per hour.

If you get the 3-day Flex pass, you could use Day 1 on your full day at Luzern to take the Rigi excursion—-boat to Vitznau, cogwheel train up to Rigi Kaltbad or higher to the top, go sledding or hiking on prepared winter trails (with views over the lake and mountains), have an alpine lunch in one of the restaurants, even enjoy some spa time if so inclined—-then ride the cablecar down from Rigi Kaltbad to Weggis, and take a boat (or bus if you prefer) back to Luzern. The whole trip (transport, but not activities) is covered on the Swiss Pass.

https://www.rigi.ch/en/experience/activities/sledding

https://www.rigi.ch/en/experience/food-drink

Then use the other 2 days to travel to Zermatt and back to Zurich at the end of your trip.

You would want a nice day on the mountain to do this. If is cloudy/overcast in Luzern, check the Rigi webcams as it might be clear up there, above the clouds. It was like that when we arrived for an overnight stay at Rigi Kaltbad—-we looked out upon a sea of puffy clouds, with mountain peaks across the lake sticking up above the clouds.

Webcams link on this page—-https://www.rigi.ch/en

You write:

One of the websites (my swiss alps) suggested the following from Lucerne to Zermatt:
Lucerne - Göschenen (Gotthard Panorama Express), Göschenen - Andermatt (cogwheel train), Andermatt - Zermatt (Glacier Express)

This is exactly the route via Andermatt that I suggested, except that:
- Gotthard Panorama Express is a summer-only boat/train combination; you would need to take a regular train on the same route
- no need to wait for the glacier Express in Andermatt; you can take any train to Visp and change there for Zermatt.

I have travelled parts of the route (Luzern-Andermatt and Fiesch-Zermatt), it is quite pretty and will feel like an adventure.