Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Plane, train, or coach: What’s the best way to travel abroad from Switzerland?

From hopping on a train to taking the bus or plane, there are many modes of transportation you can choose from to visit Switzerland’s neighbouring countries. Here’s a look at some popular journeys and how the transport compares.

Published: 24 April 2023 16:15 CEST
A train in Switzerland
Travel by train in Switzerland to a neighbouring country. Photo by Piotr Guzik on Unsplash

Zurich to Prague

One of the latest additions to SBB/CFF/FFS’s new timetable is a direct night train link from Zurich’s main railway station to Prague (Praha) hlavní nádraží.

You can now hop on the EuroNight from Zurich every evening at 7.59pm or 9.40pm and snooze your way – the journey takes 13.39 hours – to the Czech Republic’s romantic capital. The trains arrive the next morning at 9.35am and 10.45am.

If you’re looking to take the night train to Prague, we recommend investing in Interrail’s One Country Pass. The pass lets you travel to the city – and many others – for a reasonable price. Adults aged 28-59 pay 97 francs to travel to Prague from Zurich for 3 days within the same month.

For those preferring a shorter albeit less comfortable day trip, you can also opt for a coach ride instead. Companies such as FlixBus stop at Zurich Bus Station several times a day and offer both direct and non-direct trains to Prague. Direct trains will take between 9.25 to 10.35 hours, with a roundtrip setting you back 124 francs.

Prague

Travel to picturesque Prague. Photo by Martin Krchnacek on Unsplash

While flights remain your fastest and most convenient way to get around Europe, you can only reach Prague via a direct flight with SWISS. The flight duration is 1h 20mins and a return ticket travelling Economy Light costs 169.55 francs, making this the costliest travel option.

Basel to Milan

The city of Milan is considered a true fashion metropolis and many Swiss residents are drawn across the southern border to indulge in a shopping spree every year.

Luckily, you can reach Milan by coach from Basel’s main railway station up to three times a day. The direct journey takes between 4.55 and 5.45 hours and costs a reasonable 100 francs.

READ MORE: Switzerland mulls new direct Basel – London Eurostar connection

Alternatively, you can choose the more comfortable option and catch a train from Basel SBB to Milan with the One Country Pass six times daily. The trip will take circa 4 hours.

Unfortunately, there are no direct flight connections between Basel and Milan, though EasyJet will get you there with one stopover in Naples for 250 francs return.

A Swiss flight

Flying from Switzerland can be a reasonably priced operation. Photo by JOSE JORDAN / STR / AFP

Geneva to Paris

Not surprisingly, getting to Paris from Geneva is fairly simple. Trains depart Gare de Genève for Paris Gare de Lyon every two hours, and your mini voyage will take you around 3h 20mins. Moreover, France is also covered by Interrail’s One Country Pass – remember, buying a spontaneous one-way ticket to Paris from Geneva can cost upwards of 119 francs.

READ ALSO: Which European cities can you reach with direct trains from Switzerland

If you’re looking to save your money for sightseeing and spend less on travel, you may, however, want to visit the capital by coach. Though slower – the trip will take between 6.35 to 11.05 hours – a one way ticket can be as cheap as 30 francs if you book early.

Reaching Paris via plane is by far your easiest (and cheapest) option. The hassle of travelling to the airport aside, flights between Geneva and Paris only take 1h 15mins and you can snag a last-minute return trip with EasyJet for just 91 francs.

This picture taken on July 8, 2022, shows the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

This picture taken on July 8th, 2022, shows the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Photo: Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP

Bern to Frankfurt

Travel to Frankfurt by coach from Bern’s main railway station takes just under 7 hours and trains leave Bern SBB twice a day. You can buy a one-way ticket to Germany’s financial hub for as little as 36 francs if you plan your trip ahead of time.

For travel to Germany by train, it makes sense to purchase the German Rail Pass, which you can buy at any staffed SBB counter in Switzerland. The pass will enable you to travel Frankfurt and beyond for 3 days within the same month and costs around 197 francs.

Though Bern is home to Bern Airport, it only offers passengers seasonal trips to Lübeck via Lübeck Air. Travellers would then need to hop on a connecting flight to Frankfurt or opt for a train or coach instead.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

How the Swiss train timetable’s ‘biggest change in 20 years’ will impact you

The new timetable will not go into effect until December 15th, but Switzerland’s national rail company, SBB, already revealed major changes in various regions.

Published: 21 May 2024 15:55 CEST
How the Swiss train timetable's 'biggest change in 20 years' will impact you

The region that will benefit the most by what the SBB calls “the biggest timetable change” in over two decades, is the French-speaking part of the country in the west, which the company previously said will experience fewer direct connections and longer travel times between certain cities due to ongoing construction work. 

But faced with criticism from commuters, the SBB changed its strategy.

“The new timetable was created with the input of all the cantons of western Switzerland,” the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

“Even if the service occasionally deteriorates, it provides new direct connections with the west of Lausanne, improvements in regional traffic, as well as reinforced services to the [Vaud] Riviera and Lower Valais in particular.”

And “between Bienne and Geneva, customers benefit from a half-hour rate, subject to a train change in Renens. Direct connections are maintained during peak hours.”

One of the “great new features of the new timetable” is the service to the Lausanne suburb of Renens by certain mainline trains coming from, or going to, other regions of Switzerland.

This will allow some 4,000 commuters bound for western Lausanne each day to get off directly at Renens rather than changing trains at Lausanne station, while it is under construction.

These mainline trains will stop there:

  • InterCity IC5 (Rorschach/Zürich–Biel/Bienne–Neuchâtel–Yverdon-les-Bains–Renens–Lausanne, every half hour)
  • InterCity IC1 (St-Gallen/Zürich–Berne–Fribourg/Freiburg–Lausanne–Renens–Geneva/Geneva-Airport, every hour)
  • InterRegio IR90 (Brig–Sion–Martigny–St-Maurice–Montreux–Lausanne–Renens–Geneva/Geneva-Airport, every hour)
  • RegioExpress RE33 (Annemasse–Geneva–Coppet–Nyon–Gland–Rolle–Allaman–Morges–Renens–Lausanne–Vevey–Montreux–Villeneuve–Aigle–Bex–St-Maurice, every half hour and to Martigny, every hour) 

“Thanks to the stop at Renens of the IC1 and IR90 trains, passengers will benefit from a new non-stop connection every 30 minutes between Renens and Geneva, with a travel time saving of nine minutes compared to today,” according to the SBB.

“The stop of the IR90 trains also makes it possible to offer a direct link between Valais and Renens every hour; the stop of IC1 trains, a direct connection between Bern, Fribourg/Freiburg and Renens every hour.”

 On the other hand, however, following this additional stop in Renens, the shortest journey time between Geneva and Lausanne for mainline trains increases from 35 to 39 minutes.

You can view all the other changes, including on regional lines, here and here.

What about the timetable for the rest of Switzerland?

You can expect these connections in 2025:

  • The half-hourly schedule for mainline traffic in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley makes it possible to double the offer for commuters and people traveling for leisure
  • As soon as the Gotthard base tunnel is fully recommissioned in September 2024, SBB will be able to introduce the full half-hourly schedule into mainline traffic on the Gotthard axis
  • Additional IC5 connections between Eastern Switzerland and Zurich will guarantee a denser pace and more seats
  • To relieve congestion at Berne station, an IC connection stops at Berne Wankdorf in the morning and another in the evening during peak hours. Several mainline trains will also stop in Renens in the future. Thanks to the new stops in urban stations, commuters arrive more quickly at their destinations and central stations are relieved of congestion, as is already the case in Zurich with Altstetten and Oerlikon.
  • Night connections allow passengers to return home late and travellers to arrive early at Zurich Airport on the Bern–Olten–Zurich main station–Zurich airport section.

And this is what’s in store for international trains:
 
An additional pair of Zurich–Munich trains will transport passengers (from Monday to Saturday two hours earlier to the Bavarian capital and bring them back in the evening (Monday to Friday and on Sunday) two hours later.

As soon as the Gotthard Base Tunnel is fully in use again in September 2024, direct trains to Bologna and Genoa, as well as the EC Basel–Lucerne–Milan and the tri-national Frankfurt–Zurich–Milan train will operate again .

The direct Zurich–Brig train will now run all year round and will be extended to Domodossola.

Next step

On May 23rd, the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) will initiate the consultation procedure for the proposed timetable. 

Any inconsistencies can be reported until June 9th, 2024.

The new timetable will come into force on December 15th, 2024.

SHOW COMMENTS