We have one day after a river cruise to see as much of beautiful Switzerland as possible! You have helped me decide against a rental car but now I need help on the train. We are from Colorado and live in the Rocky Mountains. We would love to see the Alps but realize the very limited time we have. Also, our date seems to be a time when some tours are not running. We will not get to the Zurich train station until about 10am and depart for home the very next morning ( airport hotel). We are thinking about a train route that would give us some beautiful scenery. Any suggestions? Also, it looks like we will be better off buying tickets at full cost since we have just one day? Thank you in advance for any help!
Posted by
Chicago
8166 posts
You can get to Luzern from Zurich in about an hour on the train and weather permitting maybe do an excursion to Mt Pilatus from there.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Where does your river cruise end? It cannot be Zürich, the river there is not navigable. I am guessing Basel.
And how early is your departure from Zürich airport?
You say "Zurich train station", do you mean Zürich city centre station (Zürich HB) or Zürich airport station (Zürich Flughafen)?
My suggestion is that when you get off your boat, do not go to Zürich, go direct to Luzern. This is a lovely city to spend your day, on a lake with views of the Alps. Click here for a 360° panorama: http://tour.luzern.com/360/en/
Basel to Luzern is just over 1 hour, you can get there as quick as you can get to Zürich.
Depending on how early your flight is, you may be able to overnight in Luzern (lots better than staying at an airport). Luzern to Zürich airport is 70 minutes by train.
Just buy tickets at the station on the day. No discount for advance purchase on most trains.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We have transfers to our airport hotel in Zurich after our river cruise. It does arrive into Basel and we would be departing the Zurich airport train station. We have given some thought about spending the day in Luzern but I think we would rather see more of the countryside by train or car. We have an early flight out the next morning, unfortunately! We are most interested in scenery rather than the city.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
klewenkamp, the point about Luzern is you get scenery visible from the town.
An alternative is to do a train round trip. In this case I suggest the Brünig pass line. Try looking up "Brünig pass line" in Google images,
The route would be: Basel - Bern - Interlaken - (Brünig pass line) - Luzern - Zürich airport. This is a U-shaped trip. Taking the bus from Basel to Zürich airport, and then heading for somewhere is doubling back on yourselves.
You can trace this route out on this rail map: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/infrastruktur/trafimage/karten/karte-sts-pass-gueltigkeit.pdf
Posted by
Green Bay
21160 posts
Luzern has tons of scenery. Just get on a lake boat and you will be surrounded by it on all sides.
See if you can get two of the new one day passes. Since you know the day, they can be bought on line 30 days ahead for the best price. It may or may not save some money.
Posted by
Green Bay
21160 posts
Keep in mind that sunset on Nov 11 is about 4:55 pm, so you don't have a lot of daylight to see all the lovely scenery. That "free" bus to the hotel at Zurich airport is going to eat into that daylight. If they have you there by 10:00, it will be at least 1 more hour checking in and stashing the bags and getting over to the airport train station, so you don't get going until 11:00. That is the benefit of Chris F's plan.
Now that does mean you will have luggage with you if you leave from Basel to Interlaken. Fortunately, most of the trains are direct, then the train from Interlaken Ost to Luzern is direct, and there are direct train's from Luzern to Zurich Airport. Something to think about.
If you do decide to ditch the bags at Zurich airport hotel. You can do that trip in the other direction, but it will be in darkness the last couple of hours. You will have done the dramatic views already. Maybe catch the last sunlight on the top of the Jungfrau as you leave.
Another idea would be to head to Luzern, then take a boat to Vitznau to get views of the surrounding mountains, then back to Luzern. Dinner in Luzern, then back to Zurich.
These journeys are going to cost anywhere from 114 to 138 CHF per person at full fare. You can buy Saver Day Passes for 52 CHF per person 2nd class 30 days in advance on-line and that would cover everything. It will help to have an American Express Card as other cards from USA have been problematic for on-line purchases from SBB. Here is the web page to get them:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/1-day-travelpass/saver-day-pass.html
Posted by
Austin, TX, United States
56 posts
I spent time in Switzerland last summer and I agree - ditch the free transfer and make your own way as time is money. I had very little time between arriving in Zurich and meeting up with friends in Montreux so I took the first train to Luzern after arriving in Zurich, stowed my bag in a locker at the train station, walked around and took in what I could then back to the train station with a Rick Steves recommended picnic lunch (baguette, salami, cheese and a nice pastry with a big bottle of water) to Interlaken where I again stowed my bag and headed to Lauterbrunnen, taking in everything I could. Then back to the train station and I took the scenic Golden Pass to Montreux. What a beautiful day that was, It wasn't ideal but I knew I would come back and spend more time!! I am planning a more leisurely 10 day trip to Switzerland for Christmas Markets in December and taking my daughter with me this time so I have someone to appreciate how beautiful Switzerland and plan another future trip.