Questions regarding the Golden pass route from Zurich to Interlaken

hi, i know how you feel, i am also leaving soon, and had all the same questions, i found a few of my answers on this website, go to railpasses, and then using your railpass. hope this help a bit!

Thanks, Martine,
I guess I can always find the answers to the Q2-4 when we get there.

Q1: I am pretty sure (from reading Rick's book) that we need to pay teh extra 50CHF if we need to book the panorama coach.
Please can someone confirm this?

Thanks in advance.

aRies, there may be a CHF7 charge for a 2nd class Swiss Pass. There is no extra charge for a 1st class Swiss pass. There is a higher charge for the 8 VIP seats that sit directly over the train engineers. Note that the high-elevation part of this run doesn't start until well west of Interlaken. At Zweisimmen, you will change to a cog train and then proceed to Montreux. Golden Pass has its own website. Also, you don't have to validate in Switzerland. Unlike Italy, the conductors are very diligent and don't miss a person getting on. On the Swiss pass we had, we had to sign it. The conductors often asked for our passport to make sure everything matched.

CLICK HERE for the Golden Pass website. They will respond to your emails. Very nice service from this website.

There are RR station employees on the platforms to answer your questions about which car to board. However, after I board a car I always ask other passengers if I am in the correct car to go to my destination.

Your questions have been dealt with previously on this page. Read all the previous pages including the archives in the Classic View Section of this page.

On our last Swiss ride we met a couple who lives in Zurich. They told us that we might have saved money by buying point2point instead of the Swisspass.

So before you buy your pass research the cost of each to be sure that you buy the cheaper. The number of days you will use your pass will determine its economy.

Thanks Larry and Carl for the information.

Carl, you are right on about researching to see all the options before deciding on the pass or P2P.

I actually made an Excel spreadsheet to compare all the various pass options with P2P tickets. On the left hand side, I entered the costs of literally all the places we'd like to see (museums, lake cruises, Jungfrau, Schilthorn, etc) alongwith the train costs. On the right hand side, I had Swiss Pass, P2P, Swiss Card, Transfer Ticket and BO Pass.

Results: The Swiss Pass won by approx $10 or so over the Half Fare Card. But if we had cut out some options, the Half fare Card would easily have won.

Other advantages:
1) We'll be buying the pass from US, so less CHF to carry and shell out once there.
2) We don't need to waste time going to a ticket window or machine to buy the actual tickets.
3) If we get lost or get on the wrong train/bus/tram/gondola, we chalk it up to an awesome train ride and learn from it but don't need to worry about additional fares!

Ofcourse this will differ for everyone depending on their preferences, how they are travelling, which area they are travelling to, what they would like to see etc.

Moral: I would highly encourage anyone going to Switzerland and travelling by train to do a spreadsheet of EXACTLY all the places INCLUDING prices to and fro. You may think the Swiss pass is good win but you might be surprised. Besides giving you a very clear idea of prices, the sheet might also encourage you to delete or add places.....

HERE'S TO THE AMAZING SWISS AND THEIR EFFICIENT TRAIN SYSTEM :)

Hello,
Has anyone done ONLY the Luzern to Interlaken section of the Golden Pass? Is the scenic part with panorama worth paying the extra CHF50 or CHF7 IF you have the Swiss Pass?
Thanks

One benefit of having the pass over a half-fare card is that you can just board the train---no lining up to purchase of tickets required.

We rode the section from Luzern to Interlaken Ost last summer (2007). Although this was our 4th Swiss trip, it was our first on this section. We always travel in 2d class on Swiss trains. I don't think the views on this section would justify the extra cost of the panorama seats. The windows in the regular cars are huge, and you can usually move from one side to the other if you need to see more.

About using and validating the pass: before your first use, go to a ticket agent and have him or her validate it. They may need to see ID (passport) and if 2 or more people are on the pass (as a Saverpass) they will want to see all of you. If it is a Swiss Pass for consecutive days, they will enter the dates of validity, both the start and stop date. If it is a Flexpass for X number of travel days within 30 days, they will enter the day for the start of the 30-day period; you enter the dates you are using the pass in the little boxes provided as you go. Remember that it only serves as a half-fare card between the first and last days of actual use, not for the whole 30-day validity period. With the Flexpass, you enter the date of use BEFORE you get on the train your first trip of the day. Otherwise, when the conductor checks your pass and sees no date written in, they may think you are trying to cheat. If you are using the Flexpass as a half-fare card on a "non-travel" day, of course you don't write in that date on the pass.

If you don't have reserved seats you can just board any car that is the right class for your pass (1st or 2d). The cars are clearly marked. Most train platforms will have a chart that shows the "staging" of the train, with the class of the cars indicated and where they line up on the platform. The sector signs (A, B, and C) are above so you know where to stand to board quickly.

Hi, You are correct that the Golden Pass starts in Lucerne. The Golden Pass line is made up of three sections: Lucerne to Interlaken, Interlaken to Zweisimmen and Zweisimen to Montreux. The route from Lucerne to Interlaken does have a panoramic car but if you have seen pictures with people seated at the front of the train that is only on the Zweisimen to Montreux section. I took that part and it was really neat. For all the information check out their web sight at www.goldenpass.ch. They have layouts of all the trains. You can even make reservations on the web sight.
You asked how to tell which car to board. The cars all have a 1 or 2 on the outside coresponding to the class and also on the door between cars. The first class is also at the front of the train.
You asked about validating your Swiss Pass. Before you make your first trip go to the ticked window and they will validate your pass. After that the conductor will only look at the pass.
You can get all Swiss Rail information at www.sbb.ch
Don't be nervous about traveling in Switzerland. If you have traveled by train in other places, I am sure you will find traveling in Switzerland easy. But like all trips you have to do some howework to get it all planned. I found the Rick Steves Switzerland book to be a lot of help.
Above you got some advice about comparing exact prices of your travel options. Yes, price is important, but when we were in Switzerland we used the Swiss Pass every day. Between the trains, buses, boats, free museum admission and discounts on lifts, I don't think you can beat it. You also don't have to stand in line and buy tickets except for the few trains that require reservations. If you do want to take the Golden Pass or other scenic routs in Switzerland I would suggest you get your reservations before you leave on your trip. For example on the Golden Pass train where you can set at the front of the train, there is only four seats.
I hope you have a good trip.

Thanks Lola and Donald :)
Defnitely gr8 info.
I think we will just use go standard between Lucerne and Interlaken and take the panorama between Interlaken and Zweissman.

I did find out after reading the Rick's Swiss book in the Scenic section (I can't beleive I missed it before) that is is 15CHF for the VIP reservations and 7CHF for the other panorama.

aRies, you indicated above that you would take the panorama train from Iterlaken to Zweissimmen. As Donald explains, the really scenic part is from Zweissimmen to Montreux. I would suggest that that is where you want to be on the panorama train. Also, the VIP seats are the 8 seats directly above the engineers.

Got it, Larry.
We'll probably do standard all the way and go panorama or reserve the VIP panorama for the Zweissiman-Montreux part.
Thanks everyone for their input.

Just to throw in some comments - can't help with the tickets part of it (we had 1st class rail passes, so we just jumped on), but I was there just a few weeks ago (and dearly wish I was still there). Did Zurich to Lucerne on a regular train, and then did the 2:50 or so departure from Lucerne to Interlaken on the Golden Pass.

It will be easy to find the 'Golden Pass' part of the train; it's the front wagons and they are decorated differently (gold and blue, I think) and well marked. There are two different kinds of wagons: the first one, at the far front of the train, had the larger panoramic windows that wrapped above you. This one was colder than the other wagons for one reason: the windows don't open. We initially sat there but then decided to move back to the next wagon, because the windows, while they don't wrap around, were still very large - and they could be opened. I stick my head and any appendages I can manage out any window I can find, so this was great.

The view is wonderful, especially when it opens up to the beautiful aqua color of the Brienzersee.

PS - Cities like Brienz and Spiez (and probably Thun) are great. We spent a day in Spiez and it had a different sort of feel than anywhere else we'd been in Switzerland. We weren't expecting anything out of it as it seemed to be completely overlooked by guide books, but it was quite pleasant.

LOL on Joel and the "sticking appendages out" part :)
Thanks, Joel! I am so psyched about going to Switzerland, I hope I don't pass out before I get there :) Any other tips for the area? You can rave all you want about your trip. It is so interesting to hear from other people ESP if they've JUST come back.

How cold was it, Joel? I bet we'll get to possibly see snow!! I hope so, nothing like warming yourself with some Swiss hot chocolate while gazing up at the Alps! I don't even care when people talk about Italy or Germany or London. Just reading their posts and feeling their enthusiasm is awesome and INFECTIOUS :)

We were in Switzerland a month ago, it is beautiful and we want to go back for at least a two week trip. It is VERY EXPENSIVE in restaurants, try to picnic from grocery store items----some stores close early and are closed on Sundays so plan ahead. Water and chocolate are cheap. We stayed at Hotel Staubbach in Lauterbrunnen and the views from the breakfast area were amazing and the staff were the nicest people I have ever met ! Have fun !

I didn't find the scenery anything great. From what I've read the best scenery on the Golden Pass route is west of Interlachen.

I certainly am glad I didn't pay any extra.