Travelling Switzerland by Train with Luggage

Travelling around Switzerland by train with luggage is much easier than many first-time visitors expect.

I usually travel with a small backpack and a medium-sized backpack, and I have never had a serious problem finding space for my bags on Swiss trains. I have travelled with luggage through places including Zurich, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Kandersteg, Lausanne and Montreux.

The Swiss railway system is well suited to travelling without a car, and that includes travelling with bags.

My main advice is simple: bring luggage you can comfortably move yourself.

A normal backpack, carry-on or medium suitcase is manageable. A gigantic suitcase is possible, but it makes train travel, transfers and smaller stations unnecessarily annoying.

Quick answer: is it easy to travel Switzerland by train with luggage?

Yes.

For most travellers with one manageable bag or suitcase, I would not worry about travelling Switzerland by train.

Question	My experience
Is there space for luggage?	Usually yes
Are backpacks easy to travel with?	Yes
Is a medium suitcase manageable?	Yes
Can you bring a large suitcase?	Yes, but I would avoid oversized luggage
Are short transfers difficult?	Usually not
Are stations easy to navigate with bags?	Generally yes
Are lockers available?	At many stations
Have I had problems travelling with luggage?	No

The bigger issue is usually not the Swiss railway system.

It is simply how much luggage you decide to bring.

Can you travel Switzerland with a large suitcase?

Yes, you can travel around Switzerland with a large suitcase.

But that does not necessarily mean you should bring the largest suitcase you own.

Swiss trains are used by commuters, tourists, families and travellers with luggage every day. Larger bags are not unusual.

The problem starts when your suitcase becomes difficult to lift, carry or move quickly.

You may have to:

• get on and off trains quickly;
• move through busy stations;
• use stairs or lifts;
• change platforms;
• manoeuvre through train doors;
• find space without blocking other passengers.

With one normal suitcase, that is usually fine.

With several enormous suitcases, the journey becomes much less convenient.

If you are planning a car-free trip around Switzerland, I would pack with mobility in mind rather than maximum capacity.

What luggage do I travel with?

I generally travel fairly light.

My usual setup is a small backpack combined with a medium backpack.

That means I can keep my luggage with me without having to think much about where it goes.

On the train, I often keep my bag between the seats or near my legs when there is enough room.

In first class, I have generally found there to be plenty of space.

I have never had a situation in Switzerland where carrying my normal luggage became a serious problem.

That is one of the reasons I think the luggage question often sounds more intimidating before the trip than it feels once you are actually there.

Where do you put luggage on Swiss trains?

It depends on the train and the size of your luggage.

With a smaller backpack, I often keep it close to me.

Larger luggage may need to go in the available luggage spaces on the train.

The exact layout varies between train types, so I would not rely on one specific storage arrangement being available on every service.

The practical rule I use is:

keep small luggage with you and use the larger luggage areas when your bag becomes too large to keep comfortably near your seat.

Do not block aisles or doors.

And if your luggage is so large that moving it around the carriage becomes difficult, that is usually a sign that you have packed too much for this type of trip.

Is there more room in first class?

In my experience, yes.

I have found first class noticeably easier when travelling with luggage simply because there tends to be more personal space around the seats.

That does not mean you need a first-class ticket just because you have a suitcase.

Second class is perfectly usable.

But if you are already considering first class for comfort, the extra space can make travelling with bags more relaxed as well.

Are short train transfers difficult with luggage?

This is one of the things first-time visitors often worry about.

You open the SBB app and see a connection with only a few minutes between trains.

That can look uncomfortable if you are carrying luggage.

In Switzerland, I generally find short transfers less stressful than in countries such as Germany.

One reason is reliability.

When the first train arrives roughly when expected, a short scheduled connection feels much more manageable.

Swiss timetables are also designed around connections, so a transfer that looks surprisingly short on paper is not automatically unrealistic.

That does not mean every connection will always work.

Delays still happen.

But personally, I do not add huge amounts of extra time to every journey simply because I am carrying a backpack.

If I were travelling with several very large suitcases, small children or someone with limited mobility, I would be more conservative.

Swiss stations are generally easy to use with luggage

I have travelled with luggage through larger stations as well as the smaller stations you encounter when travelling into mountain regions.

Overall, I find Swiss stations well organised.

At larger stations you can generally use lifts and other accessible routes if you do not want to carry luggage on stairs.

I personally have not needed to search for a lift because of my bags, but the infrastructure is there.

SBB also publishes accessibility information for passengers who need additional assistance.

This becomes particularly useful when travelling with:

• heavy suitcases;
• a stroller;
• limited mobility;
• multiple bags;
• young children.

For a normal backpack or medium suitcase, I would not make station accessibility a major concern when planning a Swiss trip.

What is it like with luggage in Interlaken?

Interlaken is one of the easiest places to use as a train-based travel hub.

I have travelled through the area with luggage without problems.

The main thing to understand is that Interlaken has two important stations:

Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost.

Which one you need depends on where you are staying and where you are travelling next.

For journeys towards Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, Interlaken Ost is particularly important.

If you are unsure which one to use, I have a complete comparison of Interlaken West vs Interlaken Ost.

That matters more than the luggage itself.

Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald with luggage

I would also have no problem travelling to Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald with normal luggage.

These are tourist destinations where visitors regularly arrive by public transport.

You do not need a car simply because you are carrying a bag.

The biggest practical issue is what happens after leaving the station.

If your accommodation is uphill or some distance away, an enormous suitcase suddenly becomes much less attractive.

That is another reason I prefer packing reasonably light for Switzerland.

You may spend most of your journey on excellent trains, but eventually you still have to move the luggage between the station and your accommodation.

For route details, see my Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen train guide and Interlaken to Grindelwald train guide.

Kandersteg with luggage

Kandersteg is another destination where travelling without a car works very well.

If you are visiting Oeschinensee as part of a larger trip, however, you may not want to bring all your luggage towards the lake.

That is where luggage storage becomes much more useful.

The same principle applies elsewhere:

if you are changing hotels but want to explore during the day, store the suitcase rather than dragging it around with you.

Can you store luggage at Swiss train stations?

Yes, many Swiss stations have luggage lockers.

SBB specifically recommends station lockers for travellers who want to store bags, backpacks or suitcases while stopping somewhere before continuing their journey. Locker sizes and availability vary by station.

This can be extremely useful on a travel day.

For example:

1. Check out of your hotel.
2. Travel to the next city.
3. Leave your luggage at the station.
4. Explore for several hours.
5. Return for your bag before continuing to your hotel or next train.

That is much more comfortable than carrying everything around all day.

SBB currently lists locker facilities at major stations including Zürich HB, Zurich Airport, Lucerne and Montreux, among many others. Lausanne and Vevey are also listed among stations with certain locker facilities.

Always check the specific station before relying on a locker, because locker type, size and availability can differ.

My experience using lockers at Zürich HB

I have personally used luggage lockers at Zürich HB.

It is a very useful option if you are passing through Zurich but do not want to carry your bags while walking around the city.

That is exactly the kind of situation where station lockers make travelling Switzerland without a car easier.

You do not need to plan the entire day around your hotel.

You can leave your luggage, explore and return to the station later.

For a large central station like Zürich HB, that flexibility is particularly useful.

What if your suitcase is too large for a locker?

SBB also offers staffed luggage storage at some Travel Centres for bulky luggage that does not fit into a locker.

At the time of writing, SBB states that individual items can weigh up to 23 kg, and acceptance depends on available capacity.

I have not used this service myself, so I would treat it as an available official option rather than something I can personally recommend.

There is also station-to-station luggage transport on selected routes and at participating stations. Again, I have not personally used it.

For most normal trips, I would first ask whether you actually need that much luggage.

Do you need SBB’s luggage transport service?

Probably not for an ordinary trip.

SBB does offer luggage transport services between participating stations.

That can be useful in specific situations, especially if carrying luggage yourself is difficult.

But I have never needed it.

If you can comfortably move your own suitcase or backpack, simply taking it on the train is much more straightforward.

I would see luggage transport as an additional convenience rather than something every tourist needs to arrange.

What luggage would I avoid?

Huge suitcases.

Not because Swiss trains cannot accommodate tourists with luggage.

They can.

I would avoid them because they make almost every other part of the trip worse.

You have to move them:

• into the station;
• onto the platform;
• onto the train;
• off the train;
• through your destination station;
• towards your hotel;
• through villages;
• potentially uphill.

Switzerland is one of the easiest countries I know for travelling by public transport.

Packing a suitcase you can barely move yourself takes away some of that advantage.

For a multi-stop train trip, I would much rather have a manageable backpack or medium suitcase.

What about several suitcases per person?

I would avoid this as well.

One manageable piece of luggage per person is much easier than trying to control several bags during every transfer.

The more often you change hotels, the more important this becomes.

If your itinerary looks something like:

Zurich → Lucerne → Interlaken → Montreux

you will repeatedly get on and off trains.

Saving a few kilograms and one extra bag starts feeling very worthwhile after several travel days.

Should you worry about luggage theft on Swiss trains?

I would still use normal travel precautions.

Keep valuables such as your passport, wallet, camera and phone with you rather than leaving them inside an unattended large suitcase.

When possible, keep an eye on your luggage.

I would use the same common-sense approach that I use when travelling by train elsewhere in Europe.

I would not, however, let fear of luggage problems stop me from travelling Switzerland by train.

Is a backpack better than a suitcase in Switzerland?

For the way I travel, I prefer backpacks.

They make transfers easy and leave my hands free.

They are also useful when the journey continues beyond the station into a village or towards accommodation.

But this is mostly personal preference.

A medium rolling suitcase is perfectly realistic for a normal Swiss itinerary.

The main advantage of a backpack is simply mobility.

The downside is that you have to carry the weight yourself.

So I would choose based on what you can comfortably handle rather than assuming you need specialist luggage for Switzerland.

Should you pack lighter for a car-free Switzerland trip?

I would.

Not dramatically, but enough that you can handle your own bags without needing help.

A good test is:

Could I comfortably get this bag off a train and onto another platform by myself?

If the answer is yes, you are probably fine.

If the answer is:

Only if someone helps me lift it,

I would seriously consider packing less.

My advice for first-time visitors

If this is your first trip to Switzerland without a car, luggage is probably one of the things you can worry about less.

Bring a bag you can manage yourself.

Use station lockers when you want to explore between hotels.

Do not panic when SBB gives you a short connection.

And avoid turning your train holiday into a moving exercise by bringing several gigantic suitcases.

I have travelled with bags through Zurich, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Kandersteg, Lausanne and Montreux without the luggage becoming a significant problem.

The Swiss train system is one of the reasons travelling the country without a car works so well.

Your luggage does not fundamentally change that.