Doc Holiday: Can you tour independently on Switzerland’s trains?

Switzerland has one of the best and most scenic train networks in the world, but what is the best way to see it?

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

We’re considering a rail tour in Switzerland in September or October. Is it possible to do this independently?

There’s no need to book a tour. Switzerland, as you can imagine, has one of the best rail networks in the world, making it entirely possible for you to book an independent – and entirely flexible – adventure to suit your needs.

Switzerland has many famous rail routes, including the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz, Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano, GoldenPass Line from Montreux to Lucerne, and the Gotthard Panorama Express, a combination of train and boat from Lucerne to Lugano. You could combine these (and more) to create your own grand train tour of Switzerland. Find all the details on each section of the journey, timetables and make reservations at myswitzerland.com.

The Swiss Travel Pass is an all-in-one ticket that allows unlimited travel on most trains, as well as buses and boats across the country, for a fixed number of days, and also provides free or discounted access to many scenic trains and cable cars and more than 500 museums. Book it online at sbb.ch or at the above Switzerland site. The SBB Mobile App has real-time schedules, platform details and updates as you navigate the Swiss rail system. Check prices against the Eurail Global Pass – the latter can sometimes be cheaper. Eurail doesn’t cover everything of course (lake boats and some private railways are out, for a start), but it does offer discounts so you never really know until you crunch the numbers.

Make seat reservations on scenic trains such as the Glacier Express and Bernina Express as soon as you can (you won’t need to make reservations on regular trains), and book accommodation. High-demand places include St Moritz, Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken and Zermatt.

Cruise lines have a long history of avoiding areas of conflict and would likely reroute their ships before a war began.

We’ll be on a Baltic cruise in April with MSC Cruises, but we’re wondering what happens if war breaks out while we’re on it?

Cruise lines have a long history of avoiding areas of conflict and would likely reroute their ships before a war began. Should things change suddenly while you’re at sea, ships may be directed to the nearest safe port. I had a chat with the team at MSC, who said: “The health and safety of MSC Cruises passengers and crew is, and always will be, our top priority. All guests will be communicated with, should any changes to their itinerary be necessary for any reason.” They added that in such a scenario, MSC would “provide all assistance possible” getting passengers to their intended disembarkation port.

While cruise lines can and do assist guests with arranging transport and accommodation, it’s usually your travel insurance that comes into play here.

All cruise passengers should have a policy that covers them against risk related to cancellation, trip interruption, repatriation costs, medical assistance and related expenses.

With their smaller size and reduced passenger capacity, river cruises are fantastic for solo travellers.

I’d like to do a European river cruise, but everything I see seems to be aimed at couples. Is there a company that actively welcomes solo travellers?

I don’t know why so much of cruise lines’ promotional material features couples. With their smaller size and reduced passenger capacity, river cruises are fantastic for solo travellers. Seeing the same 100-odd faces every day (especially during hearty communal dining sessions) increases the chances of making new friends, plus cruise lines are increasingly either advertising solo itineraries or waiving/reducing single supplements so they’re more attractive to those travelling on their own. Some are even adding solo staterooms, although they’re limited and book out quickly. Although offers come and go regularly, I urge you to look at Tauck, which offers savings on all its European river cruises for solo travellers, including no single supplement for Category 1 staterooms. Another cruise line to consider is Uniworld, which currently has reduced single supplements across its 2025 sailings.

Emerald Cruises has some terrific offers for next year, including no single supplement on select central Europe or France cruises in an Emerald Stateroom or Emerald Suite, as well as other savings of up to 75 per cent off single supplements. They also have some gorgeous single staterooms.

Keep your eyes peeled, too, for offers from Avalon Waterways, AmaWaterways and Scenic. I’m especially psyched about the solo offerings from British operator Riviera Travel, which not only has four to six cabins with no single supplement on each departure, but select voyages across Europe have been exclusively reserved for solo travellers. It sounds like it could be exactly what you’re looking for.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: Can you tour independently on Switzerland’s trains?