MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Festive season on the Glacier Express
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Hi everybody, I would like to book reserve seats for the end of December or early January but I can’t find between 14 th of December to the 1 st of January seats. Is it going to be released later? Or already gone ?
Seasons 2019
High season = 30-May-2019 – 15-Sep-2019
Mid season = 30-March-2019 – 29-May-2019 and 16-Sep-2019 – 13-Oct-2019
Low season = 01-Jan-2019 – 29-March-2019
Please note: There will be no Glacier Express trains running between 14-Oct-2019 to 14-Dec-2019
then what happens between 14-dec-2019 to 1- Jan-2020???
I’m really interested in that period!!
Also tips are welcome for New Year’s Eve in the Swiss alps events
best regards,
Thanks , Andi
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Hi Andi and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
It’s definitely running from 15 December onwards; just busy at that time of year.
You’ll start to see more seats available from 5 January onwards. Check various dates here shop.rhb.ch/gex_en/spe cials/daytrips/glacier -express and http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress/packages.
ps There are no high, low and mid-seasons on the Glacier Express; that’s a construct created by some retailers to artificially inflate seat reservations prices. There are times of the year when they run more trains than at other times.
The problem may be that in mid winter (even around the Christmas period) only 1 Glacier Express train runs per day – where as up to five GEX trains run every day in summer
Another thing, Andi. If you can’t get seats on the Glacier Express you can still follow the exact same route on regular trains. You just need to change a few times, you miss out on paying reservation fees, the commentary and the expensive food but the scenery is just the same. 🤓
Hi Andi,
nice to hear that you are coming to Switzerland 🙂
At http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress you can read about the differences between regular trains versus Glacier Express. You can reserve your seats at http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress/tickets too.
Could you tell us a bit more about what you prefer for New Year’s Eve? Are you looking for a party or something more relaxing?
Hello,
I too have been trying to make reservations for scenic trains for mid December . I contacted them and they said that due to time table changes I would not be able to make a reservation till mid to late November.
Happy travels.Hi , finally ,thanks , that could be the reason!!!
Hi Ildikó ,
I would say both! Definitely party on that night but before and after skiing relax and good food and spa and some art or festive music event one night.
Hi Rockoyster ,
good idea I’ll check them, I don’t mind to do the parts separately even stop for a night at a nice place up in the hills.
Indeed,
Take care with the hyped-up marketing of the Glacier Express. In practice the Glacier Express is just an ‘exclusive’ train on a normal railway route with plenty of other normal – non supplement , reservation-free trains on it.
It is worth taking a moment to understand the Glacier Express and its history:
It was created (as one train each way daily) with the notion that well-healed travellers taking long holidays in Switzerland in the ‘Belle Epoque’ era (1930s) would stay in Zermatt and then also go and stay in the other fashionable resort of the time, St Moritz. The train was named (mainly) after the Rhone Glacier which has now melted so much that you don’t see it from the train and in any case the train runs under the Rhone Glacier in a base tunnel which replaced the Furka mountain section in 1982.
Points to bear in mind about the Glacier Express:
Although the whole journey is in the mountains, a lot of it is in valleys – where you get some good views of bubbling rivers but not all the time – there are some mundane sections.
in truth there are only 4 really spectacular sections – in order West to East: the loops around Grengiols and Fiesch; Andermatt – Oberalppass – Disentis; Ruinaulta (Rheinschucht aka Rhein gorge); Albula north ramp loops and spirals Tiefencastel – Filisur – Preda
The trip is a long one – tourists can frequently be seen sleeping rather than watching the view and missing the spectacular bits anyway!
the same railway lines can be travelled using ordinary local trains which are no slower in practice due to the single track infrastructure
If you are already holidaying in the Swiss Alps you won’t necessarily see anything more spectacular from the Glacier Express that you would not have already seen on other jaunts.
Just getting link to your post above to contribute to http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/glacier-express-pass-from-happyrail-no-where-found
Hi Andi,
Did you manage to reserve your Glacier Express seats on your selected dates from the links provided? As pointed out by rockoyster and 1960man, the Glacier Express only runs one service a day in winter so seats may be limited.
As for tips on things to do on New Year’s Eve in the Swiss Alps,in general most places will have their own fireworks. Big cities and towns obviously will offer more things to do. Where exactly in the Swiss Alps will you be on New Year’s Eve?
Regards,
Anna
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