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Holiday in Switzerland & Heidelberg,Germany

Posted by on

Hi,
My family (2 seniors, 2 adults, 2 kids) will be arriving in Frankfurt airport on 30 May early morning 630am. We plan to take a direct train from Frankfurt to Geneva on the same day.

My queries are as follows:-

  1. Is it cheaper and better to buy the DB bahn tickets for Frankfurt - Geneva or buy a ticket from Frankfurt-Basel and then use the swiss pass?

  2. We will be staying in Geneva from 30 May - 3 June (4 nights). We plan to buy the 8 day swiss pass (use from 1 till 8 June)

Then after that, we will be going to Grindelwald for 5 nights.

We will leave Grindelwald early morning on 8 June (maybe make a lunch stop in Spiez) to Heidelberg.

Since we are travelling on a budget, I would like to check if I should use the swiss pass from Grindelwald to Basel, then buy a train ticket to Heidelberg. If I buy SBB, do I get a discount (with my swiss pass) for Basel-Heidelberg.

Or should I not use the swiss pass and instead buy a direct train ticket from Grindelwald - Heidelberg? This is because on our last day, we won't have much time to visit museums and do much.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused .

Thanks so much for your help!

Warmest Regards.

Elaine & family

Posted by
21153 posts

What ages are the kids? If under 15 they will travel free in Switzerland when you get the free Family Card with your Swiss passes. Might be some savings if you buy German tickets ahead of time.

Posted by
4 posts

Hi,
My kids are 9 & 11 years old.
How soon should I buy the tickets from Frankfurt? Should I buy from DB Bahn?
Thanks.

Rgds.
Elaine

Posted by
21153 posts

Here is how I would approach this.

When they become available to purchase at the end of the month, buy on-line from Deutsche Bahn 4 adult and 2 child tickets from Frankfurt airport to Geneva on the 9:53 departure. This has only one change at Basel. The cost will be 196 euro. The ticket is nonrefundable, but the savings are significant. 4 full fare tickets are 557.60. 2 hours and 20 minutes should be OK even if your flight is an hour late. If you can't make the train, you can get the next train at the full fare price, but you can use your other ticket's price toward that for a 17.50 euro fee.

For the trip to Heidelberg, buy tickets from Deutsche Bahn on line in March from Basel Bad to Heidelberg for 89 euro. You will travel from Grindelwald to Basel Bad on the Swiss Pass. At Basel Bad, the Deutsche Bahn tickets will kick in. You just need to make sure the train you board at Basel station is the same train you have tickets on from DB. Full fare would be 244 euro.

The only issue is that when you buy tickets online from DB, 5 is the maximum number and I don't know the tricks to get around this. Even though the kids will travel free, they still need tickets. FRA to Geneva you can buy in 2 batches, one with 2 adults and 2 kids, the other with 2 adults. Its the same price. If you do this for the Basel Bad to Heidelberg, it will cost you an extra 10 euro.

Posted by
4 posts

Hi Sam,
Thanks for your reply!
We will have 4 nights in Geneva and 5 nights in Grindelwald.
Could you suggest 'not to be missed' things to do when we are there?
we would love the take the chocolate train, cruises, Golden pass routes, and some interesting museums for the kids.
I read that I can also use the swiss pass to go to Chamornix St Blanc, France.

Thanks again!

Warmest Regards.
Elaine

Posted by
21153 posts

I'm usually in Switzerland to ski. The Chocolate Train sounds like a great idea, as well as a boat cruise on Lake Leman (aka Lake Geneva). Since kids love castles (at least I did), visit Chillon near Montreux. It has its own train station, as well as a boat dock where the lake boats stop.

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