# All of a sudden Switzerland kept popping up - couldn't resist



## optimist (Dec 1, 2010)

We booked a late October week in the Swiss Holiday Park in Morschach.  It looks like it's in the middle of nowhere with gorgeous views. Anyone been there lately?  The only review is a few years old.  
Any must have experiences while we are there?   

Using AA frequent flyers miles thanks to TUG posting re Citibank credit cards. Thanks you guys!


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## elaine (Dec 1, 2010)

*are you flying into Zurich?*

we flew into Zurich on AA last summer.  I would fly in a day early, and stay in Zurich to tour around, then take train or get car the next day. We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance near the ariport. Easy to take tram #10 there. They always have a package deal going---great hotel, great breakfast (get it included in your rate), great pool, spa free to guest, and decent chance you can get into a room in the AM and sleep. Have a great trip. We loved Switzerland.
Also, if you have not gotten tickets yet, consider flying out of a different city to see more--into Zurich, out of Milan and you can see northern Italy--easy 4hr train ride from Zurich--easy to get to Verona, Cinque Terre, etc.  Or go to another city, such as Munich and then connect via British Air to get home.  It's no more miles to do an open jaw. Have a great trip! We can't wait to go back! I also got the AA miles CC thanks to tuggers. Elaine


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## Loes (Dec 1, 2010)

We have stayed there twice and liked the resort. If you like trains, try the Wilhelm Tell Express. First go by boat from Luzern to Fluelen, then by train to Bellinzona or Locarno in the south of Switzerland. A very spectaculair trip.
www.Wilhelmtellexpress.ch . 

Rent a car and take some trips through the beautiful countryside. Enjoy!


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## optimist (Dec 1, 2010)

elaine said:


> Also, if you have not gotten tickets yet, consider flying out of a different city to see more--into Zurich, out of Milan and you can see northern Italy--easy 4hr train ride from Zurich--easy to get to Verona, Cinque Terre, etc.  Or go to another city, such as Munich and then connect via British Air to get home.  It's no more miles to do an open jaw. Have a great trip! We can't wait to go back! I also got the AA miles CC thanks to tuggers. Elaine




Great idea!  I will definitely do the open jaw option.   I did not buy the ticket yet because it doesn't let you do it till I think 9 months ahead and it's a little too early.
I was hoping not to deal with cars this go around and just stick to a train pass and public transportation.


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## elaine (Dec 1, 2010)

*aa tickets*

aa tickets are 331 days out--a little less than 11 months.  I you know your dates and places, don't wait until 9 month. you can change dates, but not cities.  it is all one way on aa, so you could lock in zurich, then think about your return from 2nd city. have fun planning! Elaine


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## optimist (Dec 1, 2010)

elaine said:


> aa tickets are 331 days out--a little less than 11 months.  I you know your dates and places, don't wait until 9 month. you can change dates, but not cities.  it is all one way on aa, so you could lock in zurich, then think about your return from 2nd city. have fun planning! Elaine



Thanks for this tip. I didn't know you could do one way in AA.  I am a continental user generally.  I will do as you suggest and book the outgoing to Zurich and leave the return open till we figure out our itinerary.


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## Carolinian (Dec 2, 2010)

Another great train is the Glacier Express across southern Switzerland.


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## optimist (Dec 2, 2010)

Carolinian said:


> Another great train is the Glacier Express across southern Switzerland.



Do you know if the 8 day train pass will cover these kinds of trains?  Or is the pass just to get from one city to another?
Also, should I buy the train pass here or wait and do it when we get there?

Thanks.  It helps to have a local expert!


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## caribbeansun (Dec 2, 2010)

A Swiss Pass does not cover the scenic rail routes entirely, you have to reserve a seat and there is a supplemental fee although the supplement is relatively minor.  You have to reserve your seat/pay the supplement in advance of taking the trip.

Here's the  site  with all of the scenic rail options and prices.

We purchased first class tickets, although that wasn't necessary as 2nd wasn't really all that different except for the fact there was always fewer people in first (sometimes nobody but us) so there wasn't any issues with available space.

We did do a trip up the Gornergrat in Zermatt which was a nice experience (I'm not familiar with the location you indicated so I don't know if it's close to that or not).

Switzerland is one of my favourite places in the world - enjoy!



optimist said:


> Do you know if the 8 day train pass will cover these kinds of trains?  Or is the pass just to get from one city to another?
> Also, should I buy the train pass here or wait and do it when we get there?
> 
> Thanks.  It helps to have a local expert!


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## beejaybeeohio (Dec 2, 2010)

optimist said:


> Thanks for this tip. I didn't know you could do one way in AA.  I am a continental user generally.  I will do as you suggest and book the outgoing to Zurich and leave the return open till we figure out our itinerary.



Another tip is to see if there is a connection on your itinerary and then "stopover" there for awhile which AA charges extra miles for.  Last June we did a Baltic cruise out of Southampton and then to Budapest for a t/s week in Hungary.  Since AA OneWorld routed flights to Budapest via London, this was our flight itinerary:  CLE-ORD-LHR and then 2 weeks later LHR-BUD for 40 thousand miles @ as opposed to the 30k for our return flight from BUD-FRA-DFW-CLE.  AA did charge an xtra 10k for the stopover, and in retrospect we should have done our own booking from LHR to BUD for under $200 apiece which was a better deal than using miles and would have added miles to our AA acc't.

Also, there are numerous budget airlines in Europe with great airfares but awful baggage restrictions.


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## elaine (Dec 2, 2010)

*stopovers*

AA changed their stopover rules last year.  On AA FF tickets, there is no stopover in Europe. If you stop, that is your ticket--then you buy another leg for 10K miles to another place in Europe.  For ex., NYC to Munich via London and stopping for 2 nights is NYC to London-30K miles. London-Munich on BA 10K miles.  You are allowed to stopover in Europe if it is less than 24 hours--on the way back last summer, we flew BA from Copenhagen-London, arriving 3PM, then London-JFK the next day at noon--just enough time to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace from the outside. That was not considered a stopover-so 30K miles--and we got to check our luggage all the way to JFK.  On AA FF tickets, you can stopover in the US for no extra cost---we stopped over for an extra day in NYC before flying home to DC.
You can look at flights and manuever sometimes---take a bit later flight arriving into London midmoring, have the day to tour around and take a morning flight the next day to your final destination---such as arrive LHR 8:30 am, and take an 8AM flight the next day to Munich.  Only worth it if you want a quickie look at a city to check it off your list--as did my 9 yr old. It can be 23 1/2 hours, but not 1 minute past 24 hours. You might have to ask for a supervisor to do it. Elaine


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## Kagehitokiri2 (Dec 2, 2010)

you might also visit lauterbrunnen


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## Carolinian (Dec 2, 2010)

optimist said:


> Do you know if the 8 day train pass will cover these kinds of trains?  Or is the pass just to get from one city to another?
> Also, should I buy the train pass here or wait and do it when we get there?
> 
> Thanks.  It helps to have a local expert!



Unless the rules have changed, most of the passes are not valid on the Glacier Express.  There are other trains that connect and you can go the same route using those trains, but not one through train.  The cars of the Glacier Express are designed with extra large windows for viewing, and I would rather pay the extra money to take the Glacier Express.


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## Loes (Dec 3, 2010)

Carribean Sun's information is correct:

This summer we used a Swiss Flexi Pass. This pass gives you 3 to 5 free travel days within a month + other profits, like free entrance at almost all Swiss museums, 50% off traintickets on the other days of the month. We used this pass for the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express. You only have to pay a fee for seat reservation, which can be done through the website.


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## caribbeansun (Dec 3, 2010)

+1

lauterbrunnen, Gimmelwald and the Jungfraujoch - lovely area.  We took the train up and back to the Jungfrau as well as the cable car up the Schilthorn and walked down from the top.



Kagehitokiri2 said:


> you might also visit lauterbrunnen


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## optimist (Dec 3, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  These places you mention, lauterbrunnen, Gimmelwald and the Jungfraujoch,  are they doable as day trips from the TS in Morschach?

I am having a hard time booking a AA frequent flyer ticket for the number of miles I have.  Even though this is very off season, they want 60K miles for one way


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## caribbeansun (Dec 4, 2010)

Yes, they are doable as a day trip by car or train.  Frankly much of the country can be reached by train in a couple of hours provided to stick to more direct routes and the inter-city trains are faster with less stops.

Check the on-line schedule at http://travel.sbb.ch/rail

Point redemptions for air are the same regardless of season.


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## Carolinian (Dec 4, 2010)

caribbeansun said:


> Point redemptions for air are the same regardless of season.



Not with AA, which is an exception to the rule - for TATL redemptions, it is 40K for low season and part of shoulder season and 60K for high season and part of shoulder season.


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## Carolinian (Dec 4, 2010)

optimist said:


> I am having a hard time booking a AA frequent flyer ticket for the number of miles I have.  Even though this is very off season, they want 60K miles for one way



You may want to look at going a day or two early or coming back a day or two later.  Another option is to find a place you can fly for 40K miles R/T in Europe and then take an LCC from there.  Try to find a place other than the UK where you will be creamed on taxes.  There are even places that are practical to travel by train from like Munich or  Milan.  For LCC's, I would look at flying into Ireland, which has low taxes, and then taking Ryan Air.  That would also allow taking a day or so in Dublin.  With an LCC, you might also find a flight into Geneva which may be closer to your timeshare than Zurich.

AA will be adding Air Berlin as a partner in a year or so and that would give more options of flying to Switzerland, but that will not be in time for your trip.  I have an Air Berlin flight scheduled next year so I am hoping they move quickly on ff reciprocity.  Air Berlin is joining One World, and at least one One World carrier, Finnair has already given reciprocity to earning and burning miles on Air Berlin.


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## optimist (Dec 4, 2010)

Carolinian said:


> You may want to look at going a day or two early or coming back a day or two later.  Another option is to find a place you can fly for 40K miles R/T in Europe and then take an LCC from there.




I have tried all these options.  The last few days I  have been sitting with a map of switzerland and checking distances (by train,  because one flight is more than enough stress for me since i hate flying ).  I have come up with nothing that is non stop. (There are plenty of options - but with a change of planes).

But since I  have been tracking FF flights on AA, I have noticed that as they release them, they want 60K for them but a couple of weeks later, they go down to 20K.  So the flights in early October only require 20K miles.  I am just going to keep an eye on it.


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