GillsinEurope

Looking for advice on where to stay and what to do this Christmas in Switzerland. My family (me, hubs, and three young daughters - ages 9, 7, and 4) will be traveling from Vienna to Salzburg to Fussen and then onto Switzerland. We arrive in Vienna on Dec. 18 and will stay there until the morning of the 21st. I'd like to do Salzburg on the 21st, Neuschwanstein on the 22nd, and then head into Switzerland on the 23rd and spend 4 or 5 days there (preferably in the same location). I originally thought St. Gallen, but am open to ideas on where to go.

1. Do you think we should rent a car from Salzburg to Fussen? Private tour? Train seems to take a long time to get there since we'd have to head into Munich for transfer.

2. What (if anything is open) on Christmas Eve and Day?

3. We're flying out of Geneva to go to Barcelona afterward Switzerland. Should we stay near to Geneva? I'm wanting more open land and snowy mountains though...

* We don't want to break the bank. Hard not to in CH I know. We like airbnb and homeaway, but aren't opposed to hotels. We're not big skiiers.

PalenQ

then head into Switzerland on the 23rd and spend 4 or 5 days there (preferably in the same location).>

For snowy lands you'll have to go into higher Alps and the Interlaken area is perfect for that and ease of getting around by its myraid of mountain trains and aerial cableways. And there are groomed trails for easy winter hiking.

Anyway trains are the best for Switzerland, especially Alpine areas where cars are typically banned- anyway for lots on Swiss and European trains - www.sbb.ch; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Some kind of travel pass -either Swiss Pass or one valid in just Interlaken area or Half-Fare Card may be good - especially if taking expesnive mountain trains and cableways - a couple of those can make the Half-Fare Card pay off itself.

PalenQ

2. What (if anything is open) on Christmas Eve and Day?>

Churches?

1. Do you think we should rent a car from Salzburg to Fussen? Private tour? Train seems to take a long time to get there since we'd have to head into Munich for transfer.>

Have you checked driving times? Probably faster than trains but still seems like a really long poke especially with potentially dicey winter weather. But maybe quicker than I think and probably best bet - bus tour.

Melnq8

We've spent Christmas in Switzerland and plan to do it again this year.

We previously stayed in Scuol, and had no issues finding an open restaurant or two. We spent Christmas Day hiking to Hof Zuort, had a nice lunch, then hiked out and had a nice dinner in town in Scuol.

This year we will stay in Ilanz, and are hoping for a similar experience.

Ski areas are open and quite busy over Christmas - they offer the snow you're looking for, but can be quite expensive. Most ski areas require one to two week bookings over Christmas and New Year - even hotels, so it can be quite a challenge to find accommodation for less than a week. Even if you're not a skier, it's fun to go to the top of a mountain for hiking along a groomed trail, have lunch at a bergrestaurant, etc.

But, travelling at this time of year can be a serious budget buster.

If you don't want to break the bank in Switzerland, you'd do best to look for quiet towns and stay away from places like the Berner Oberland and Zermatt.

If it were me, I'd look for towns along the fringe of ski areas and train or bus in for day trips. You can save a heap by booking apartments, but unfortunately, many of them also have minimum stay requirements over the holidays.

GillsinEurope

Thanks for the feedback!

- I think bus tour to Neuschwanstein from Salzburg is a good idea. May be a bit more $$$, but not having to drive on wintery roads could be worth it.

- We did Berner Oberland 5 years ago and LOVED it. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen and were able to walk, take buses, and cableways everywhere. Not sure if I'd want to do it again since there is so much more to see that we haven't yet, but definitely wouldn't be opposed to it either!

- I will look into Scuol and Ilanz. That area wasn't on my radar, but if you went for Christmas and are going back toward that area it must be good!

- I don't want to rent a car while in Switzerland so wherever we do stay (apartment or hotel) will need to be within walking distance (in the cold snow) to a bus stop.

- Is my idea of St. Gallen area bad? If so, tell me why.

Thanks again!

Alec

I've only been to St Gallen in the summer, but it's a city with excellent transport, accommodation and eating out options. Nearby you can visit the small cantons of Appenzell, very traditional, with cable car to the mighty Saentis.

PalenQ

Lucerne could be a nice base - day trip to snow at Engelberg and Mt Titlis or Pilatus - Bern is one of the nicest cities anywhere.

Melnq8

Gills -

Just an FYI that Scuol and Ilanz are a bit off the beaten path, not where most visitors to Switzerland find themselves. We just happen to like off-the-beaten path.

neckervd

In half a day only, you cannot do much at Salzburg. May be it would be better to reach Salzburg the evening before, for example Vienna dp 16.40 - Salzburg ar 19.08

Salzburg - Fuessen:
the car ride may be 30 min faster (1 hr up to the castle) than the train (4 hrs), but only BY GOOD ROAD CONDITIONS. Snowfall and black ice cannot be excluded in December.
Last entry into the castle around 15.30. Book your ticket 2 days ahead.

Best trains from Fuessen to Switzerland:
Fuessen dp 17.05 - St. Gallen ar 21.43 - Zurich ar 22.53, change at Buchloe
Ulrichsbruecke-Fuessen dp 17.17 - Kempten ar 18.28. Sleep there and leave Kempten the following morning at 8.43 for St. Gallen (ar 10.43) - Zurich (ar 11.53)

Fuessen - Scuol:
Ulrichsbruecke-Fuessen dp 17.17 - Feldkirch ar 20.42, change at Kempten and Lindau. Sleep there and leave Feldkirch the next morning at 7.38 for Scuol ar 10.15, change at Buchs SG and Landquart

GillsinEurope

Lucerne could be a good base. I'll look into that too. I'm still torn about St. Gallen though. Maybe we'll just go for a day.

Thanks for the time tables neckervd. Those are helpful. I kind of like the idea of sleeping in Kempten the night before heading into Switzerland the next morning. That's a good idea. It'll make the castle day shorter with less travel.

We'll have a full day in Salzburg. I'm not too worried about being there longer. We've been there before too...like 10 Christmas's ago. We're just so excited to show our girls the magic of Christmas in Europe. It's so different than in the US. And they still believe in Santa and elves and flying reindeer so now's the time to travel! One night in Salzburg is all I can do since the last day to see Neuschwanstein is the next day before they close for Christmas.

You are all so great for helping us out. It's going to be a great trip! Now I just need to find places to stay...at Christmastime! Yikes!

neckervd

"One night in Salzburg is all I can do since the last day to see Neuschwanstein is the next day before they close for Christmas"
http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisc...ist/admiss.htm

PalenQ

I'm still torn about St. Gallen though. Maybe we'll just go for a day.>

I only looked around St Gallen on a day trip and nice city and all but not nearly the awesome setting as Lucerne on a lovely lake surrounded by Alps- many more easy excursions from Lucerne than St Gallen IME.

GillsinEurope

Hmm...I wonder why I thought the 22nd was the last open day. Looks like they are open the 23rd too! Maybe we'll extend our Salzburg adventure.

You may have convinced me PalenQ. Lucerne is towards the top of the list now. Thanks! What do you think the best route would be to get from Neuschwanstein to Lucerne? I think my main concern now is finding a place to stay that is close to transportation. I'm not keen on the idea of trekking through mountains of snow with three little ones every time we want to go explore. When we stayed in Lauterbrunnen we were very fortunate to have a bus stop right across the street!

Also, what do you guys think of the location of this hostel in Salzburg?

MEININGER Hotel Salzburg City Center - Fuerbergstrasse 18-20, Salzburg Salzburg
https://tinyurl.com/yafg89vm

PalenQ

What do you think the best route would be to get from Neuschwanstein to Lucerne?>

day trip - none -too far - six hours each way

GillsinEurope

Quick question: When we book train tickets from wherever we stay in Germany to wherever we're staying in Switzerland are we able to get off the train in a city the train stops at to look around for an couple hours before heading back on the train to our final destination? I think we did this in Belgium, but I'm not sure if that's common in other European countries. We were pleasantly surprised we were able to do that on our travels last year.

On another note, I found the house we stayed at in Lauterbrunnen five years ago is available to rent over this Christmas! We may go back since it was so gorgeous last time we were there. Do you think it'll be too sleepy over Christmas though?

neckervd

Fuessen/Kempten etc. - Switzerland:
don't buy these tickets in advance, but just before departure (at the station counter or at the ticket machine) if you plan to stop over. The ticket you get there will be valid in ALL trains during the whole day (or even during more than 1 day if it's a international ticket). That means you can stop over as many times as you like.
Web tickets may be cheaper if you book well in advance, but they will be valid in the train you booked only.

In the case you go from Salzburg up to Lindau (instead of Kempten) in 1 day, you can fully use the Bavaria ticket https://fahrkarten.bahn.de/privatkun...untry=GBR#stay

Lauterbrunnen will not be sleepy, but very shadowy around Christmas. The sun will remain behind the mountains most of the day.

Melnq8

Lauterbrunnen will definitely not be sleepy! It's a transport hub and will be very busy with skiers headed to the slopes for skiing.

Unless there's now snow of course...

The days are very short though and as Lauterbrunnen is in a valley you won't see much sun. If you plan to use Lauterbrunnen as a base for seeing the rest of the BO, this may not be a determent, but keep in mind, to see the sun in Switzerland in winter, you need to head UP.

GillsinEurope

Thanks guys. Good to know about the day of purchase ticket to Switzerland. I'll keep that in mind if we want to be spontaneous on our way over from Germany.

I don't think I'd use the Bayern Ticket from Salzburg since its slower and the castle closes earlier in the winter months. Do kids ride free with paying adults on the train?

Good point about the sun going down earlier in the valley. I don't think we'd mind that too much since we'll most likely be doing lots of day trips around BO. But that is something to think about. Is Lucerne higher up?

Lastly, is there ride sharing like Uber that we could use around Neuschwanstein castle? If we wanted to go from Fussen to Kempton that night I'd rather have someone drive us since it'd be much faster than another bus. Though with 5 of us that may be difficult.