Travelling to Lugano

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Hi all

We are planning a trip from Zurich to lugano with our 1 year old son in 2 weeks.(July30 to Aug 3) Which one would ypu suggest :by car or by train? We have a Babycarriage, 1 luggage + 1 small bag

By Train:

Advantages:

Zurich - Lugano = 2.15 hrs

Disdvantages:

Ticket =260 CHF for 2 person ( two way)

Curious about how the seating will be and whether we will be able to place our luggage and babycarriage without disturbing others. How to keep our lil one calm and quite. He dont sit anymore in laps. Always crawling around. If you want to go around places in lugano ( like San salvatore, Swiss minatur) you will have to depend on public transportation.

By Car:

Advantages:

You are flexible. You can stop whenever you want.( our lil one is not so comfortable in sitting in his child seat in car for a long time. Travel cost = max. 2 Full Tanks ( approx. 150 CHF or max. 200 CHF)

Disdvantages:

Traffic ( anyways planning to avoid Gotthard Tunnel; but taking San Bernardino or other passes may also increase travel time) Parking in Lugano ( extra charges) Travel time of minimum 3.5 hrs without traffic block and without any stops in between.

So i am really confused which one to choose.

Any tips for the trip from anyone?

THanks in advance

2
If no traffic, car is 2 hours (train station to train station), not 3.5 hours.

Train is 2h16-2h24, if it's on time.

However, traffic will be hell in two weeks, so take the train.

Tom

3
I would advise taking the train and try to reserve the seats. It just costs a bit extra but it really helps during very busy train rides.

We normally go to Lugano or Locarno with the train and as we have a membership with Mobility we just book a car for short trips around Lugano and the the little towns in the Italian border.

Either way I hope you have a great family holiday. Lugano (and Ticino in general) is a beautiful part of Switzerland.

4
Buy the train tickets in advance (supersaver) and reserve seats to the EC. Pretty comfy.

5
Thank you all.. We finally decided to go by train. And luckly we were able to get "Sparbillette" for a cheaper price. ( e.g--> Lugano to ZH 19.80 CHF without GA/Halbtax). altogether much cheaper than car. Altogether below 100 CHF for 2 person to and fro.