Your advice on my Swiss Trip.

Question

Hello Community,I will be traveling to Switzerland this March for 5 days enroute to London. My aged mother will be accompanying me and so I want to plan and understand things well. I am looking to go to some picturesque place in Nature, away from the city, to spend 3-4 days in the Swiss countryside.Q : What place would you recommend which fits the above criteria?For now I am thinking of - Day 1 - Arrival at ZurichDay 1 - Travel from Zurich to GrindelwaldDay 2 - Grindelwald exploring Day 3 - Travel to Interlaken Day 4 - GrindelwaldDay 5 - Travel to Zurich and departure to LondonThe above includes train travel to Grindelwald and back to Zurich, and also local travel between Interlaken and boat rides. Q: Given the above, should I buy individual tickets for everything?Would it be better option to opt for Swiss Pass (3 days flexi)Would a Eurail global pass be a better option; and will it permit me to travel from Zurich to London by train?Any advice on the above will be gratefully received.Greetings.

thibcabe · Accepted Answer

Eurail would probably be the best option, esp. if you intend to continue to London (more below). Otherwise half-fare card + individual tickets if you intend to go to mountain peaks such as Jungfraujoch.

Some advice in chronological order :

Between Zurich and Grindelwald travel via Lucerne even if it takes an hour longer, it's a beautiful route.

Grindelwald is fairly small and isn't worth more than half a day unless you're skiing. Same thing could be said for the whole area. Interlaken is a base for the region and not worth visiting.

Lauterbrunnen - Wengen and Lauterbrunnen - Grütschalp - Mürren are now fully included in Eurail.

You get 25% discount on Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn if you intend to visit a high-altitude peak.

March could have winter or spring weather, don't expect much snow unless you go high up (currently everything has melted...) but rather muddy/brown landscapes.

Have a look at the boat timetables, I don't think they run often in winter (maybe once a day on Lake Thun?). They are fully included in Eurail so that's cool.

The Eurail Global Pass would allow you to travel to London but you'll need to add seat reservations on high-speed trains : 10-20€ within France and 30€ for Eurostar (passholder quota on this one so book well in advance).

To avoid the station transfer by RER in Paris it's better to take a TGV from Strasbourg to Paris-Est. Then it's a 10 min walk to Gare du Nord, have a margin and eat something in Paris. :)

You must arrive 45 min in advance at Paris Gare du Nord as there are passport & security controls before boarding the Eurostar. This system is pretty unique in Europe.

On Day 5 do you have to go back to Zurich ? The fastest route towards London would be via Basel. For example :

- IC61 Interlaken Ost - Basel SBB 06:30 - 08:32

- TER Basel SBB - Strasbourg 08:51 - 10:09

- TGV Strasbourg - Paris-Est 10:47 - 12:35

- 10 min walk + lunch break

- Eurostar Paris-Nord - London St. Pancras 15:12 - 16:30

Also possible to leave later with a later arrival. :)

rvdborgt · Answer

Day 5 Zurich because I assumed that is the only exit point.

Switzerland is very well connected and has many rail lines crossing its borders.

While someone suggested Locarno to be one place that wount be under the snow in late March/ April,

Locarno is highly unlikely to have any snow. The average temperature in March is 13 degrees and in April 17 degrees. It's more likely to have spring weather.

Would it be better to take a plane from Zurich to london? Its just a little more money but less fuss. The idea of changing trains with luggage seems troublesome.

That entirely depends on how you organise it. Don't take too much luggage. Changing trains at some point is inevitable, also if you intend to fly.

Not finding what you're looking for?

Sign up

Social Login

Login to the community

Social Login

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded