Hello grandpabobLink opens in new window. Thanks for the feedback. In theory, it is advisable to adhere to the itinerary that was communicated during the reservation process and subsequently confirmed. The sole risk, albeit not unimportant, is that you will be denied boarding and unable to travel with the desired connection. It is true that, aside from group travel, Swiss people are not accustomed to booking seats for their train or bus trips. Group reservations are intended to enable public transportation companies to allocate their rolling stock to the anticipated passenger volume or to divide the groups among various services to provide an equal opportunity for travel. On the other hand, the tour guide can rest assured that the group will have seats for their journey. This is planning the Swiss style, for a good reason. For instance, if you plan to take a postal bus with a group of 30 people, the bus operator might send a second bus to accommodate everyone. If you opt to leave an hour early, you might be ignored and pushed to the back of the line; as a result, the bus driver will ask you to maintain the confirmed connection. The same applies to trains: if there are an excessive number of groups, the train staff may request those whithout reservation to disembark. Most schools in Switzerland conduct their annual school trip during June and September, which are traditional months with a high volume of group travel. Depending on the line and date of travel, you may encounter the situations I just mentioned if you deviate from the original itinerary. Of course, the decision is entirely yours, and there may be the opportunity to travel earlier or later. As someone who works as a train attendant, I just want to stress that you will not have any priority if you do so. Does that make sense? Happy travels. Kind regards,
Roland