Alpenroute Editorial is a travel-information desk, not a ticket agency. We do not sell train passes, gondola tickets, or accommodation — and we receive no commission from any operator. Our business model is simple: readers who need more than the published guides can pay for a plan built specifically around their trip. Everyone else reads the guides for free.
The three tiers below represent the range of what the desk provides. Before ordering a paid tier, read through the All Reviews page and the themed guides for panoramic trains and glacier viewpoints — if the published material already answers your question, there is nothing to pay for.
Planning tiers
- Full access to all 12 experience reviews on the All Reviews page
- Seven themed guides: panoramic trains, glacier viewpoints, lakeside towns, historic quarters, winter resorts, food and markets, family day trips
- Fare and duration comparison tables in CHF with pass-validity notes
- Regional breakdown and logical trip-sequencing guidance
- Seasonal timing advice for each experience (crowds, weather, first departures)
- No registration or email sign-up required
- Day-by-day sequence of connections built around your specific travel dates and entry/exit cities
- Departure times, platform numbers where known, and transfer windows for each connection
- Mandatory reservation notes for panoramic trains (Glacier Express, Bernina Express, GoldenPass Express)
- Identification of where a Swiss Travel Pass, Half Fare Card, or point-to-point fare is the cheaper option for your specific journey
- Practical notes on luggage storage, early-morning access, and ticketing points at each location
- Delivered by email as a PDF document within three to five working days
- One follow-up question answered by email within 48 hours of delivery
- Everything in the Route Plan tier, plus:
- Full pass-cost analysis: Swiss Travel Pass (2nd class), Swiss Half Fare Card, Swiss Travel Pass Flex, and regional pass options all costed against point-to-point fares for your exact journey sequence
- Accommodation-area recommendation for each overnight, with the transport logic explained (proximity to station, access to next-day departure)
- Written destination briefing for each stop: what to do, what to skip, how much time to allow, meal options near the station
- Basel desk view on seasonal conditions during your specific travel window
- One round of revisions if your dates or destinations change before departure
- Delivered within five to seven working days; priority processing available on request for trips within ten days
What each tier includes
| Feature | Reader | Route Plan | Full Itinerary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published guides and reviews | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Day-by-day connection sequence | No | Yes | Yes |
| Departure times and transfer notes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reservation-requirement flags | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pass-cost analysis (STP vs HFC vs p2p) | No | Basic | Full |
| Accommodation-area guidance | No | No | Yes |
| Written destination briefings | No | No | Yes |
| Revisions round | No | No | Yes (one round) |
| Follow-up questions | No | One (48 h) | Included in revisions |
| Delivery format | Web | PDF by email | PDF by email |
| Price | Free | CHF 49 | CHF 129 |
The ordering and delivery process
Ordering a paid plan takes four steps. None of them require a phone call or a meeting.
1. Send your trip details
Use the contact form and select your plan tier in the dropdown (or follow the direct links: Route Plan, Full Itinerary). Tell us your travel dates, your entry and exit points in Switzerland, the experiences you want to include, and any constraints — budget, mobility considerations, travelling with children, or a fixed overnight location.
2. Receive a payment link
Within one working day we will confirm that your request is clear and send a Stripe payment link. Payment is accepted by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and TWINT. Bank transfer is available for the Full Itinerary on request. We begin work after payment clears. A VAT invoice (CHE-302.554.918 MWST) is generated automatically and sent by email with the payment confirmation.
3. We build your plan
Standard turnaround is three to five working days for the Route Plan and five to seven working days for the Full Itinerary. During June and July allow up to seven or nine days respectively. If your travel is within ten days of your order, flag this in the form and we will do our best to prioritise. The plan is built against current SBB and private-railway timetables, not historical data, so departure times reflect the schedule valid on your actual travel dates.
4. Receive your PDF
The completed plan is delivered as a PDF by email. Route Plans run to approximately six to ten pages. Full Itineraries typically run to fifteen to twenty pages depending on trip length and number of destinations. If anything in the document needs clarification, respond to the delivery email and we will answer within 48 hours. Full Itinerary clients have one round of revisions for date or destination changes, invoked by email before departure.
Frequently asked questions
No. Alpenroute Editorial AG is a travel-information desk, not a ticket agent or travel agency. We do not sell Swiss Travel Passes, Half Fare Cards, regional passes, or individual train or gondola tickets, and we receive no commission from SBB, RhB, or any other operator. Our work is research, routing, and written guidance delivered directly to you. You purchase tickets independently through SBB.ch, the relevant cantonal or private railway, or a licensed travel agent. This independence is what keeps our advice free from operator influence.
The Route Plan (CHF 49) is a day-by-day sequence of connections, departure times, and booking notes for your chosen experiences. It answers the question: which train do I take, when do I need to be at the platform, and where do I change? The Full Itinerary (CHF 129) goes further: it includes pass-cost analysis comparing the Swiss Travel Pass, the Half Fare Card, and point-to-point fares for your specific dates; accommodation-area recommendations for each overnight; a written briefing on each destination covering what to do once you arrive; and one round of revisions if your plans change between booking and departure.
Standard turnaround is three to five working days from receipt of your confirmed trip details and, for paid tiers, payment confirmation. During June and July the desk receives a higher volume of requests; in those months we ask that you allow up to seven working days. If your travel is within ten days of your request, please flag this in your message and we will do our best to prioritise. We do not offer same-day or next-day turnaround as standard because a genuinely useful route plan requires time to check current timetable validity and accommodation options in your specific travel window.
Payments are handled via Stripe's hosted payment page, which accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and TWINT (Swiss mobile payment). Bank transfer (IBAN to a Swiss account) is available for the Full Itinerary tier on request. Payment is due at the time of order; we begin work after payment clears, which is typically immediate for card payments. We do not hold card details on our own systems — Stripe processes and stores all payment data in compliance with PCI DSS. A VAT invoice is issued automatically on payment; our VAT number is CHE-302.554.918 MWST.
Yes. If you order a Route Plan and subsequently decide you want the full-itinerary treatment — pass-cost analysis, accommodation notes, destination briefings — write to [email protected] with your original order reference and we will invoice you for the CHF 80 upgrade difference. The upgrade is available at any point before we deliver the completed Route Plan. Once delivered, a full re-engagement at the Full Itinerary rate applies for material changes to your trip dates or destinations.
The desk covers the full Swiss rail network, including Rhaetian Railway routes in Graubunden, Zentralbahn and BLS routes in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland, MGBahn in the Valais, and the standard SBB InterCity and regional network. We also cover the principal mountain railways (Jungfraubahn, Gornergrat Bahn, Pilatus Bahn, Rigi Bahnen, Titlis), Lake Lucerne and Lake Geneva steamers, and PostBus connections for routes that require road links. If your itinerary involves a specific route you are unsure we cover, ask via the contact form and we will confirm before you order.
Yes, the Reader tier is entirely free and requires no registration or email sign-up. It gives you full access to everything published on this site: the twelve experience reviews on the All Reviews page, the seven themed guides covering panoramic trains, glacier viewpoints, lakeside towns, historic quarters, winter resorts, food and markets, and family day trips, and the comparison tables and pass-validity notes throughout. If the published material answers your question, you do not need to pay for anything. The paid tiers exist for travellers who want a plan built around their specific dates, origins, and preferences — not for those whose questions the published guides already answer.
Ready to plan your Swiss route?
Start with the reviews, check the panoramic trains guide or the glacier viewpoints page, then send the desk your dates.
Ask the Basel desk