Switzerland Itinerary help (arriving and departing from Frankfurt airport)

Posted by lmhurn on 07/10/18 02:51 PM

Hi,

We will arrive at the Frankfurt airport on 8/14/18 and depart 8/21/18. We plan to spend the majority of our time in Switzerland and would like to spend at least 2 nights in Lucerne and 2 nights in Wengen. Any suggestions on where we should spend our first night, either Germany or Switzerland? Also wondering if it's doable to spend a night in Zermatt and/or Geneva. We are also considering renting a car for the drive from Germany to Switzerland and then taking the trains everywhere in Switzerland. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted by Lola

Seattle, WA

07/10/18 04:11 PM

17427 posts

What time do you arrive?

Train tickets on the direct train from Frankfurt Bahnhof to Basel ( first connect point in Switzerland) bought now for August are inexpensive. I just bought ours ( for the opposite direction) for 39,90€ each on Bahn.de. Traveling mid-August.

Posted by Suki

07/10/18 04:31 PM

11569 posts

Picking up a car in one country and dropping it off in another usually incurs a large drop off fee.

Posted by Sam

Green Bay

07/10/18 09:38 PM

21145 posts

But if you do plan on Sparpreis tickets when you arrive, give yourself a big time cushion. Sparpreis tickets are nonrefundable if your plane is late and you miss your train. Also, I don't see anything quite that cheap for your arrival date. The "walk up" price is about 175 EUR for 2. The best Sparpreis tickets are 59.80 EUR for 2 for an afternoon direct train, and only if you book to Basel Badischer Bahnhof, not the main SBB station.

If you are on Lufthansa, see if you can add a Rail&Fly package. For 29 EUR per person, you can take any train to any station in Germany within 24 hours of landing. Basel Badischer is considered a German station, even though it is in Switzerland. Other airlines (United, American) participate, but you really have to dig to find out about it.

Posted by lmhurn OP

07/10/18 10:52 PM

2 posts

Thank you Suki. You are correct, the drop off fee is double the rental price!

Posted by nevadasteve

07/21/18 12:42 AM

24 posts

I wouldn’t bother with a car and take a train to Switzerland. Easy and way less stressful. If you get a Eurail pass it includes 25% discounts on cable cars, local trains that you might use in Switzerland. It’s about a 3-5 hour train ride from FRA to most destinations in Switzerland.

Posted by Sam

Green Bay

07/21/18 01:55 AM

21145 posts

But don't get a Eurail Pass.

Posted by csu15269

Atlanta, Georgia

07/21/18 12:57 PM

451 posts

No Eurail pass! Switzerland has lots of good passes. When checking ticket prices in Switzerland, the ticket prices assume you have a half fare card.

Posted by thomas

chicago, il

07/21/18 08:27 PM

113 posts

For Switzerland one is definitely better off getting a Swiss pass as it has a lot more than just rail thrown in.

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

07/21/18 09:00 PM

8889 posts

Frankfurt airport has it's own railway station, "Frankfurt(M)Flughafen". The station in the city centre is "Frankfurt(Main)Hbf". There are trains to Basel from both stations, but they are different trains. Get a train direct from the airport, there is no need to detour via the city.
Look up German train times on the DB website: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
And Swiss trains on the SBB website: https://www.sbb.ch/en

You could spend your first night in Freiburg im Breisgau, which is a stop on the train before Basel, or in Basel , or continue to Luzern, which is only 1 hour past Basel.