Ask the Wanderwege Desk

What the desk actually does

Kunsthaus Wanderwege is an independent editorial project, not a booking agency. That means we cannot issue tickets, make reservations on your behalf, or access any railway or museum system. What we can do — and do well — is answer the questions that official timetables and pass comparison pages tend to obscure.

Common questions we handle every week: whether the Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card makes more economic sense for a nine-day itinerary that includes Jungfraujoch, Gornergrat and a few museum days in Zürich and Basel; which lake steamer services are covered by which passes; how to combine the Pilatus Rundfahrt with a stop at the Historisches Museum in Lucerne without doubling back; and whether Fondation Beyeler in Riehen is worth the CHF 30 entrance on top of a Museums Pass.

We also field questions about seasonal closures — the Rigi summit restaurants, for example, run reduced hours outside July–August — and about family travel, including which family-friendly attractions are covered by the Junior Travelcard.

If your question involves something we genuinely do not know, we will say so rather than guess. Independent means independent.

What to include in your message

The more context you give us, the faster and more useful our reply will be. Please include:

• Travel dates or duration — even approximate (e.g. "late September, 12 days") helps enormously with pass calculations and seasonal advice.
• Departure and entry point — arriving by air into Zürich Airport is different from crossing by train from Milan or Geneva.
• Destinations already decided — list them even if you are unsure of the order. Jungfraujoch, Zermatt, Oeschinensee, Stein am Rhein — whatever is on the list.
• Traveller composition — number of adults, children's ages if relevant. The Junior Travelcard for children under 16 travelling with a parent changes the arithmetic significantly.
• Pass or ticket option you are already considering — if you have seen a price on the SBB website or elsewhere, tell us. We can give an independent second opinion.
• Budget sensitivity — if cost is a hard constraint versus convenience, let us know. Sometimes a regional pass or a set of point-to-point tickets beats a national pass for a short trip focused on one region.

Questions without any context ("Is Switzerland worth visiting?") are harder to answer helpfully. Specific questions get specific answers.

Response time and office hours

The desk is staffed Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:30 Central European Time (CET / CEST in summer). We aim to reply within one working day for most queries. During peak seasons — late June through August, and the Christmas–New Year fortnight — response time may extend to two working days. We do not operate on Swiss public holidays.

If you are planning travel within the next 72 hours and need an urgent answer, we suggest also consulting the SBB contact line at 0900 300 300 (CHF 1.19/min from Swiss landlines) for booking and ticketing matters.

For route inspiration while you wait, our complete reviews section covers dozens of Swiss destinations in detail, including practical logistics, ticket types, and honest assessments of whether the trip is worth the price.