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Swiss and Germany

Hello-
My wife and I are planning to go on vacation to Swiss and Germany for 10 days in June . We will stay in Zurich for 6 days and travel around and stay for 4 days in Munich and travel around.Should I buy the train passes and which one ?
Thank you

Posted by
21484 posts

You can get around all of Bavaria with the daily Bayern Ticket. 42 EUR each day for 2 people, travel after 9 am week days, anytime weekends. Buses, trams, U-bahn, S-bahn, Regional trains.
https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/regional-day-ticket-bavaria

I probably would not stay in Zurich, but Luzern, as it is prettier, smaller, more central. There is a Tell Pass, which includes everything in the region and is reasonable per day if spending 5 days, 270 CHF per person. Trains, buses, boats, mountain lifts.
https://www.tellpass.ch/en/discover/whats_the_tellpass_about

Posted by
5913 posts

I agree with Sam, that's too much time in Zurich. Lucerne is much more charming, has the lake and Mt Rigi and Pilatus to explore.
And with Munich, I personally would spend some nights in Salzburg.
How did you pick your destinations? What are your interests? Once you have a more detailed itinerary, based on your interests, it will be easier to answer questions about rail passes.
Download to SBB app and DB Navigator app for train info.
How many nights do you actually have? Which airports are you using?
Have you been in these countries before?
Wishing you a great trip.

Posted by
18 posts

and just being picky here... the country is Switzerland, not Swiss.
I'd suggest going straight to Lauterbrunnen too, and skipping Luzern. I'm not sure why everyone loves Luzern... I find it overcrowded and overly touristy... but that's just me.

Posted by
96 posts

I would suggest some more research based on your likes. Zurich and Munich are big historic cities that are some distance from the Alps. Some of the smaller towns south of Lucerne would be good home base for the 6 days in Switzerland. I like Munich but find it to be a day trip destination for me. Salzburg and Berchtesgaden should be considered. Staying near lake Chiemsee would be good for day trips. If you want to see the King Ludwig castles, then Fussen is a nice town to stay.

Your itinerary plan is pretty vague to provide any advice on train passes. MySwissAlps website and videos are good resources to explain what is out there. Salzburg and Munich have city cards. I have used the Salzburg card twice and passed on the Munich card.

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you very much for the suggestions.
Our plan to have2 HUBS. One in Zurich (near train station and take one day trips to Bern, Lucerne,
Interlaken and Montreux ) and one in Munich. In Munich spend two days to see the city, museums and etc and day trips to Salzburg and ? didn't decide yet.
The hotels is very expensive in Zurich. Any suggestions about hotels ?...or better to stay in Lucerne ?
Thank you for your help

Posted by
4 posts

BTW .We were in Switzerland 15 years ago. Unfortunately we remember almost nothing

Posted by
21484 posts

For what you want to do in Switzerland, Interlaken would be a more central location, so check hotel prices there and Luzern. Of course, everything in Switzerland is expensive these days. 15 years ago, the Swiss Franc was 40% cheaper than a EUR, while today it is 6% more expensive than a Euro.