Pre cruise Zurich

[patrinka]

We will be staying 2 nights in Zurich end of October pre cruise Basel to Amsterdam. Any suggestions on what to see? Also where is there information on the train to Lucerne and Basel?

[FuelScience]

Official Swiss Rail Site:

 

http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

 

FuelScience

[YoungDubFan]

We went in 1day early for our cruise. We took the S-Hahn train into the Alstead or Old Town area & just walked around for a few hours. We went to the opera house, a few churches & the main train station. Depending on the weather you can take a cruise on Lake Zurich. Look into going to Mt. Pilatus either on your own or through your cruise company. Zurich is a very pretty & walkable city.

[canaturelover]

I would recommend the Walhalla Hotel, Limmatstr 5, Zurich 8005, Switzerland . Book directly on their website and you might save some $$s.

We did the same cruise in 2013 with AmaWaterways, and I wrote a review on CC and on TripAdvisor.

You can take day tours from right across the hotel.

We took the train from Zurich to Basel.

Wishing you as wonderful vacation.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Through Viator we booked the walking Chocolate Tour and the tour to Schaffhausen. We'll be going to Mt. Pilatus as well with Avalon on our final day there.

 

I also read restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor and will book those once there. We plan to do some people-watching, lots of walking and window shopping as well. We may even do a load of laundry in Zurich too since the ship and hotel's laundry prices are astronomical ($17 for a pair of Levi's?!!). :eek:

[waytocruise7]

This would be our tentative itinerary :

Day 1 – arrive in Zurich after about 19 hour flight plus transit. Join a free walking tour to walk off jetlag.

Day 2 – Go to Uetligerg Mountain and do a Lake Zurich cruise.

Day 3 – Day trip to Rhine falls (with Viator)

Day 4 – Lucerne and Mt Pilatus with Avalon before embarkation

In between, we will hop into some museums.

 

We are looking into getting a 3-day Zurich card, a 7vv 9 o’clock pass or a day pass. Would appreciate advice on which transport card is best for our movement.

[QueenofEverything]

DEFINITELY go to Lucerne! It is absolutely beautiful. Go up Mt. Pilatus if you can, the views are wonderful. Getting to Lucerne on the train is very easy to do on your own. Just be prepared, though. Switzerland is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive!

[English Voyager]

You may find this website useful.

 

https://www.zuerich.com/en/visit/tours-zurich?s%5B%5D=field_weight%3Adesc&p=1

[patrinka]

Thanks for the replies. I looked at the Swiss Rail website but I am now more confused. After staying in Zurich for 2 nights we would want to take the train to Lucerne, spend 2 days there and then take the train to Basel. What type of pass should we get for the 2 journeys? Also, is it better to get a 1 day pass for Zurich touring?

[FuelScience]

I would assume that rather than buying a pass, you would just buy individual tickets for each journey at the train station.

 

FuelScience

[jpalbny]

Thanks for the replies. I looked at the Swiss Rail website but I am now more confused. After staying in Zurich for 2 nights we would want to take the train to Lucerne, spend 2 days there and then take the train to Basel. What type of pass should we get for the 2 journeys? Also, is it better to get a 1 day pass for Zurich touring?

 

Just buy individual one-way tickets. You can add local transport day-passes (i.e., unlimited public transport on the day of the train ticket, in the originating city, departing city, or both) to Swiss rail tickets. The prices look good if you need those options.

 

A one-day Zurich public transport pass? We didn't need one for the day we were there but we don't mind a little walking. We just bought single-use tickets to Uetliberg (the mountain that waytocruise7 mentions above). That's a bit far out of town for walking when you've just arrived that day on a red-eye. We'd have thought about hiking it, had we been better rested...

 

I would assume that rather than buying a pass, you would just buy individual tickets for each journey at the train station.

 

FuelScience

 

I agree.

Edited March 17, 2015 by jpalbny

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'm with the OP. I find the SwissRail website pretty overwhelming. We plan to get public transport passes once at our hotel since they sell them there. We will need them to go into Zurich from our hotel. I've been told that hotel reception desks are a good source for getting tickets and information on the right kind of tickets to get.

[YoungDubFan]

When you are getting your train passes from the hotel, have the desk write down the name of the closest stop so you know where you are getting off on the return trip. This really helped us to make sure we were on the correct train and got off at the correct stop.

[DrivesLikeMario]

When you are getting your train passes from the hotel, have the desk write down the name of the closest stop so you know where you are getting off on the return trip. This really helped us to make sure we were on the correct train and got off at the correct stop.

 

Great tip, thanks! I can see us trying to remember what he/she said and getting it wrong and ending up miles from our stop. :D