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Itinerary, Murren & Railpass Help Please

I submitted a posting on April 16(Itinerary suggestions - Chamonix Fr to Luzern 2-3 days) but did not receive any replies. Perhaps I made it too complicated so I will try to simplify my approach in hopes that I can get some help. I have made some decisions after reading other travelers subsequent posts & all the excellent replies.

Here is a tentative itinerary & some questions and I would really appreciate your help.
We will complete the Rick Steves “Alpine Europe My Way Tour” on Sept 25 a.m. in Chamonix France. After reading all the wonderful posts about the Lauterbrunnen Valley & Murren in particular (thanks to Tim-Knoxville), we have decided to return to this area for 2 more days after the tour (tour stays in Lauterbrunnen Town 2 nights 1 full day on Sept 22 & we will likely try & see the Jungfrau). We will return to the area & stay in Murren this time.

Sept 25 - Travel by train from Chamonix to Murren. It appears, from reading the posts that this is a scenic journey with about 6 -7train changes and will take about 4 1/2 hours. Am I correct on this?

Sept 26 - Murren & surrounding area -Schilthorn, Gimmelwald, Trummelbach Falls etc. I have not yet booked a hotel here but I see several suggestions made by posters & will check these out.

Sept 27 - Murren until later day then train to Lucerne (approx 3 hrs). Staying at the Tourist Hotel in Lucerne

Sept 28 - Lucerne - possibly visit Mt Rigi by boat or Mt.Pilatus - opinions on which is best please?

Sept 29 - Lucerne - explore old town, Lion Monument and then later in the day will take the 1 hr. train ride to Zurich airport & stay at the Holiday In Express.

Sept 30 - depart Zurich in the a.m. for flight home to Canada.

Your opinions please on the above and question below.

Train tickets & Swiss Pass -Help! -I have read a few posts on these & have tried to do a little homework but find it quite confusing. Not counting the day on the tour in Lauterbrunnen (doing Jungfraubach 139chf) we will be using trains, boats, gondolas etc on 5 consecutive days - Sept 25 to 29th. Swiss passes are for 3,4 & 8 days so we would have to purchase the 4 day pass 251chf & pay point to point from Lucerne to Zurich -aprrox $25- $30. Is this the best option? I have read numerous posts on passes etc but am still confused & am having trouble pricing out the Chamonix to Murren leg of the trip (Sam, Chris ,Tim, Ken, Tom,anybody?)

Posted by
19658 posts

After looking at the prices, the 4 day Swiss Pass looks like a good buy for you. Some times you can't calculate to the last nickel. The trip from Chamonix-Mont Blanc to Murren BLM doesn't show up on www.sbb.ch, but from Le Chatelard on the Swiss Border to Murren is 99.60 chf, so figure another 10 or 20 chf from Chamonx to Le Chatelard. Mt Rigi and back will be covered 100 % by the Swiss Pass, while Pilatus is only half fare. Round trip bus and cable car Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn is 112 chf, 40 with a Swiss Pass.
What time is your flight? You might think about going there direct from Luzern and skip the Holiday Inn Express.

Posted by
81 posts

Thank you Sam for your speedy reply. I will take a closer look at the info on the Swiss Travel pass to make sure I have priced it out right. Am I correct in understanding that the Half Fare card is used with point to point tickets but not with the Swiss Pass? We did consider staying in Lucerne the night before our flight out but we have to be at the airport at about 8:30 - 9 a.m. and we are able to stay at the Holiday Inn Express on hotel points plus $40US. vs 180CHF in Lucerne. We also thought if we weren't too tired we could also stop in Zurich Old Town (store baggage at train station) & have a look around, then jump back on the train to the airport. Somehow after 3 weeks travel, I think we may be "done in" at that point but you never know. Again, thank you for your help and if I have other questions I ope you don'e mind if I contact you again.

Posted by
19658 posts

Yes, if you get a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass you don't need a Half fare card. The prices are close if you did get a Half Fare Card instead of a pass, but you would need to purchase a ticket each time you traveled. There is also a Half fare Card adder for a Flexi Pass, but I think your plan of a 4 day Pass and pay full fare for the train ticket the last night. The lockers at Zurich are 9 chf for a large locker that might fit all your stuff. So if you buy a ticket to Luzern to Zurich airport, you can take a break for free from Zurich Hbf. The other option is go straight to the airport, drop bags at the hotel, then get day passes to go into Zurich. with day passes, you can use the trams.

Posted by
16893 posts

Yes, your understanding of connections for the long travel day sounds correct, but expect them to go smoothly. If you do miss a connection, it will not usually be more than an hour to wait for the next one at any change point.

Although I don't know what exchange rates will do, Swiss Pass sales for fall travel have been known, so I'd check offers again in August or the first week of September.

Posted by
11294 posts

Just to emphasize something Sam said. If you have a half fare card, you have to buy tickets every time. If you have a Swiss Pass, you only have to buy tickets for things that aren't 100% covered. For anything that is 100% covered, you just show the pass. This is a great convenience. So if the price is close, get the Swiss Pass.

Posted by
4324 posts

Zurich HBF has several locker locations on several floors, each has a change machine next to it. So find the size of locker you need and see if the machine is working (it isn't always), if not look for another locker location and try their change machine.

Posted by
9 posts

One note on the passes is that the Swiss Pass gives you only 25% discount on Jungfraujoch, while the Half Fare Card is 50%, so it makes a difference on that expensive train. It does sound like overall you will be pretty close no matter what you choose, though, so maybe convenience will be worth any minor additional cost.

Posted by
81 posts

Thank you to all for your helpful replies.
Sam & Harold - agree definitely a convenience factor with the Swiss Pass if prices are close.

Sam & phred - thank you for the locker info for the Zurich train station.

Laura - I will keep on eye out for possible sales on Swiss Pass. I am using the R.S. rail Europe website - am I pricing it correctly at $526US for two people?

Snowyshasta -re the Jungfraujoch -we may do this excursion when we stay in Lauterbrunnen with the R.S. tour on Sept 22. Therefore, we would be paying full price as our 4 day Swiss Pass won't start until Sept 25th. I based this decision on a post from Tim in Knoxville that it is easier to get to Jungfrau from Lauterbrunnen than from Murren. If weather is bad on 22/9 then we could switch activities & have another crack at it from Murren I guess. Hard to decide priorities when time is limited.

Thank you all again - I appreciate any input you can give me.

Posted by
1 posts

I am traveling from Rome to Murren for 2 days , maybe Lucerne for a night , and then fly out of Zurich. What pass would get me to all those places and pay for trip to Murren and top of Jungfrau? Tim in Knoxville . . . Wish I had your number so I could ask you questions! I live in Knoxville as well.

Posted by
11294 posts

Tim in Knoxville:

You should start your own thread, since your needs are different from Lynne's. This way, you'll get a notification every time someone replies to your thread.