We are looking for help on the best option to travel on Monday May 2, 2016 from Vernazza Italy to Murren Switzerland. We will then stay in Murren for 4 nights and then travel to Zurich for our final night of vacation before we fly home on Saturday May 7, 2016.
We have researched options and for the flexibility it seems the Swiss Travel Pass might be a good option. Do you agree?
Any specifics on this transportation (train, bus, # of hours to get to Murren) would be appreciated.
Go to: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
Enter Vernazza and Muerren and travel date and it will give you the routing. That will be at least 8 hours if you get an early start.
You won't get a price now as it is a bit early. Also, it looks right now like the BLM railway we be down for maintenance on your arrival, so you will need to use the bus and Schilthornbahn cable car to get there. That could change, its a few months away. Swiss Travel Pass comes in 4-day or 8 day varieties, and you will need it for 5 days if you stay for 4 nights. Maybe a 4 day Flex Pass. It would definitely save you money on your trip from Vernazza as it will save 75 CHF on the travel that day.
Thank you for the quick reply. We will check back on the website in a couple weeks until the price is confirmed.
Deb,
I just went through an analysis of the Swiss Travel Pass versus Flex Pass versus Half-Fare Card for an 8 night/9 day stay in Switzerland later in May. I listed all of the trains we will take and all off the lifts we plan to take. The Half-Fare Card turned out to be the best deal for us, saving us CHF 209. I suggest you build spreadsheet and do the same before buying the very expensive Travel Pass or Flex Pass.
Also, the Berner Oberland Regional Pass is worth considering. It takes care of 100% of the lifts and trains from Interlaken on and within the BO. Last year for an 11 night stay in Switzerland we found the BO Pass plus the Half-Fare Card were a super combination, but you have to do the math to be certain.
Problem with those "regional passes" is that they confine you to a "region". Half Fare Card works all over Switzerland. It's also the best deal most of the time and just allows you to forget about the whole analysis thing and enjoy your trip.
Tim, The Half Fare card also gives you a discount on the BO Regional Pass. It can make sense if you use a lot of lifts and don't want to think about the additional out-of-pocket.
Deb,
I've made that trip a number of times, although I was travelling from Monterosso. Unfortunately, if you want to minimize the travel times that will mean leaving VERY early.
In the same situation, I'd use a departure from Vernazza at 07:29, arriving Interlaken Ost at 14:28 (time 6H:59M, 3 changes at Levanto, Milano Centrale and Spiez). All of the trains after that have a MUCH longer travel time. When you arrive at Interlaken Ost, you'll transfer to the small Berner Oberland Bahn for the short (20 minute) trip to Lauterbrunnen. Before boarding the Berner Oberaland train, be sure to check the small display on the side to ensure that the car you're riding on goes to Lauterbrunnen (at times the train splits at Zweilütschinen). From there you'll use one of two routes to reach Mürren. If you need more information on the routes to Mürren, post another note.
You may enjoy watching this short video that shows the Berner Oberland Bahn......
Thank you so much for the information. We are getting together this weekend to confirm some of our plans!
Instead of Zurich for your final night, consider Luzern. Zurich is a fine city, but it's very expensive and not much there of interest for a tourist. Luzern is a great medium-size town with lots to explore and not nearly as expensive. Plus, it has a direct rail link to the Zurich airport. Trains leave every 30 minutes and take 75 minutes to get to the airport.
We have done more research and feel that the 4 day Swiss flex pass (non-consecutive day pass) will meet our needs. Even though we will be here 5 days we are confident at least one day we will just stay in Murren and hike. We are confused on how to buy our ticket from Vernazza on May 2. Leaving early in the morning is perfect, but do we buy a train ticket to the Italy border and then the Swiss pass takes over as our ticket? We can't find a web site to book the travel. Any help is welcome!
Deb,
It should be very easy to buy tickets for the first part of your trip. If you'd like to buy in advance, I'd suggest buying at www.captaintrain.com (you'll have to register on the site first - it's very user friendly). Buy tickets from Vernazza to Spiez for the 07:29 departure (time 6H:24M, 2 changes). When you arrive at Spiez, you'll be able to use your Swiss Passes from there to Mürren.
You can also buy the tickets for the Italy portion of the trip at the local stations in the Cinque Terre, but the costs will be higher as you'll be paying Base fare for the fast trains (Intercity, Eurocity).
Thank you so much. We have bought our tickets and it was very simple!
