Travel by train from Lauterbrunnen to Salzburg

Lauterbrunnen to Salzburg is an 8.5 hour trip. Most efficient, with the fewest changes of train is Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken - Zürich - Munich - Salzburg. You can look this up at www.sbb.ch/en.

Your Swiss Travel Pass will carry you to the border with Germany (well beyond Zurich), then you need ticketing. You can book this online, creating an account and signing in indicating you have a Swiss Travel Pass, and then make a reservation for the ongoing trains. Seat reservations might be advisable on trains from Interlaken to Salzburg) as I think I recall you are traveling around Easter time, is that right? Trains get very busy for holiday periods and without reserved seats you may not be able to sit together. Note you can make a seat reservation on Swiss trains even before you buy your pass.

You may also read about the Zurich to Salzburg route called Arlberg Railway at the Man in Seat 61 website. The train stops in Innsbruck, but scroll down the page for the Salzburg info.

For Salzburg questions, use the Austria forum.

Do a daytrip to the Wolfgangsee and take the boat across the lake, highly recommended.

Most efficient, with the fewest changes of train is Lauterbrunnen -
Interlaken - Zürich - Munich - Salzburg

That involves an extra change in Munich. Better go Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken - Zurich - Salzburg. There are direct trains from Zurich to Salzburg every two hours.

If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, and it is still active on the day you leave for Salzburg you just buy a ticket Buchs SG to Salzburg (on eg. www.oebb.at).

Thank you all for the advice. We looked at the Man in Seat 61 - It is gorgeous! Unfortunately there are no open tickets. So looks like we will be going from Lauterbrunnen, Zurich and on to Salzburg.

Is it ok if we purchase our swiss travel pass now, about 47 days until we travel? Then booking our train to Salzburg may be easier? Also, do I need to prebook train tickets from Italy to Zermatt, 4/15? If we miss a train, can we easily get on another one?

Thank you.. Mary & Dan

You can actually just buy tickets from Buchs SG to Salzburg, then catch that train at Zurich using your Swiss Travel Pass. Or you could buy tickets from Lauterbrunnen to Salzburg and indicate that you have a GA Card and you will be only charged for the portion from Buchs SG to Salzburg. You do not need to have the STP in hand when you buy the ticket, just when you travel.

Where in Italy will you be coming from to go to Zermatt?

Thank you for your help. From Italy we will be coming from Milan to Zermatt.

Another change in the above, we really like the idea of traveling to Austria through the Arlberg Pass. I'm trying to book on thetrainline.com site, but am confused. Do you know how I can tell that the train/ticket I purchase will take us through the Arlberg Pass? We will change our hotel in Lauterbrunnen to leave on 4/25 (a day early) to Zurich and then can travel from Zurich at 8ish on the 26th. Will our STP be of any use on the SBB RailJet train? Again, your help and advice is truly appreciated. Mary & Dan

If you travel on the Railjet train from Zurich to Salzburg, the train goes over the Arlberg Pass, albeit through a tunnel. It is the lead up and exit from the Arlberg Tunnel is the scenic part. A Swiss Travel Pass gives you free travel to Buchs SG on the Swiss border.

However, the 8:32 am train from Zurich to Salzburg is not a Railjet train, it is an EC train and goes through Munich and does not go over the Arlberg Pass. Take the 10:40 am Railjet that does. Because it is a shorter route, it will arrive in Salzburg 11 minutes after the EC train.

Checking prices, you can get a Saver offer without the STP for 152 CHF for 2, With the STP, it is a regular ticket and costs 138 CHF for 2.

Thank you! We really appreciate it help. Have a great day!

Looks like you will be put on a train replacement bus at Sargans and take the highway to Oetztal. Engineering work between 4/24 through 4/29.

Unfortunately there are no open tickets. So looks like we will be
going from Lauterbrunnen, Zurich and on to Salzburg.

Maybe you are misunderstanding things. Of course you can get an "open" ticket for Lauterbrunnen - Salzburg. It is only good for two days though, but you can take any train on the route. Most people would buy a Sparschiene ticket though, as it is cheaper. Since you will have a Swiss Travel Pass you just buy a ticket Buchs - Salzburg on OBB. You can stay on the train in Buchs.

Book tickets for Austrian on www.oebb.at. In Switzerland you do not need to book anything. To get to Zermatt, if you Swiss Travel Pass is already valid on your arrival day, book Milano - Domodossola on Trenitalia.

Hello again -we are still confused. We understand that we book our ticket from Zurich to Buchs leaving Zurich at 10:45. Then take the train (railjet) from Buchs to Salzburg. But SBB shows “not available to buy” therefore we think we can’t go thru Arlberg pass to Salzburg. Is this correct? We are sorry to be so confused. Thank you very much..

No, you do not understand. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass you DO NOT book a ticket from Zurich to Buchs, as that's free with your pass. Your Swiss Travel Pass IS your ticket for that portion of the route. You are taking a direct train from Zurich to Salzburg, but the portion of the journey until Buchs is "free" and you're paying from Buchs onward, so you need a ticket from Buchs to Salzburg. I am able to purchase Buchs to Salzburg on SBB. What date are you looking at?

We were looking at Buch's to Salzburg on the railjet not thru Munich.. we can get through Munich but it doesn’t look like we can get through the Alberg pass.

OK, here is the latest as shown at www.sbb.ch/en

You have to take the rail replacement bus from the Zurich Sihlquai bus station to Oetztal, Austria and board the Railjet there to Salzburg. Go to the site above. Coming from Luzern, you exit the north side of Zurich HB at the Sihlquai entrance and walk to the bus station.

To see the route, put in Luzern start and Salzburg Hbf as the end, and Oetztal in the "via" box. Otherwise the SBB route planner will route you through Munich. It will show you the walking route to the bus station, which will be down an escalator mid platform to the Sihlquai passage, then out the door at the end of the passage to the bus station, about 400 yds, and estimating a10 minute walk.

The replacement bus stops at Sargans and Buchs, but under the circumstances, I'd board in Zurich to get a choice of seats together.

It is unfortunate that your travel dates coincides with a closure of the Arlberg rail tunnel for repairs.

PS. When I try a dummy booking, it shows no tickets left, and suggests going through Munich. Bad luck.

PS. When I try a dummy booking, it shows no tickets left, and suggests
going through Munich. Bad luck.

There is no such thing as "no tickets left" in Switzerland or Austria, as tickets are for a route, not a train. So if you see that pop up on SBB it is just a red herring. The programmers that made that site have not bothered thinking about people that try to book tickets before it is open, and so you end up with a confusing error message.

But given the rail replacement bus I would just travel via Munich in stead.

(BTW. Where do you see that there is a rail replacement bus from Zurich to Oetztal? All I see is that the bus is from Sargans)

www.sbb.ch/en: For April 26. Zurich HB to Salzburg at 9:50 shows "B SV400 2471" from Sihlquai to Oetztal, Bahnhof. Bus detail shows stops in Sargans and Buchs SG, arriving Oetztal, Bahnhof at 13:40. Includes walking route from Zurich HB to Zurich, Bus Station. RJX 165 departs Oetztal at 13:48, arriving Salzburg Hbf at 16:03.

The route through Munich also shows a 1 hour shorter total travel time to Salzburg.

Hello again! Your recommendations through Switzerland have been invaluable.. thank you.

We are leaving from Zurich on 4/26 to Salzburg. We have the STP, if we take the EC train at 9:33 thru Munich, what additional ticket do we need to purchase? Still from Buchs to Salzburg? I don’t think this train goes through Buchs. Thank you again. Mary & Dan

That train's last stop in Switzerland is St Margarathen.

You mentioned interest in the Arlberg Pass in earlier posts. Just wanted to mention you could still do that (albeit by bus) if you take the 9:50 BusSV400 from Zurich to Otztal and then the RJX 165 from Otztal to Salzburg. It’s 3 hours 50 minutes on the bus though.

It is definitely beautiful and my favorite train journey. I had taken it a few years ago and liked it so much, I planned it going the opposite direction for today. Unfortunately, the timing meant I had to go by bus. I went from Otztal to Sargans this morning, which was 2.5 hours on the bus.

I have to say, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much by bus as by rail, but if you don’t have plans to come back, maybe consider it.

Thank you both! Hopefully someday we will be back and be able to do the Arlburg Pass..