Rotsukon

Hi there,
I'm going to Switzerland from October9th-25th. From 9th to 14th I am gonna travel with my family(my mom and my brother). From 14th-16th I will travel by myself and my boyfriend will catch me up from 16th night to 25th and this period I would like you to help because this is our first trip in Switzerland for all of us so I probably have to travel to main spots twice!! I need your help....

We are in and out from Zurich.
First period (family time and fyi, my mom is 79 years old)
Oct 9-11 Lucerne; two peaks (Rigi, Pilatus), old town
Oct 11-13 Interlaken ; Thun, Lauterbrunnen
Oct 13-14 Zurich then my brother and my mom fly back to Thailand.

Second period (by myself)
Oct 14-16 Zurich, Bern, Basel (any better ideas?)

Third period (with my boyfriend)
Oct 16-17 Zurich (spend a night time because he will be arriving in the evening and we will leave early on 17th)
Now here is my question: these are places we want to go ; Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt, Montreux,Lausanne, Ticino, Bernina Express ride, St.Moritz from 17-25 October,

1. We can not decide itinerary like where to go first or where to base?

2. What would you suggest to me how to enjoy Lucerne and Interlaken the second time like where else I should go in those areas?

3. What we love is to see differences in cities especially in landscape, we'd like to chill out (actually we would love to stay where we can sit by the lake and read and are soaked by the view all day), we also love chocolate and food. So if you have any suggestions that meet our hope, it would be great. I am willing to change or cut out some cities if it worths cutting.

Thank you so much in advance for your kindly assistance.

Rotsukon

Christina

I don't think you can do all that in a week (last itinerary). The places aren't even connected well as to do the Bernina Express you go SE from Zurich to Chur, then take the train to Tirano. there's no way by train to get from there to Interlaken, etc without going back to Zurich. You can take a bus from Tirano to Lugano, which takes about 3 hours. Then to get to Interlaken (or Montreux, etc), you have to take a train from LUgano through Luzern. Or, you can take a train to Montreux from Luzern in about 3 hours -- there is a scenic railway on that route, also.

I really don't understand your agenda as you say you will have already been in Lucerne and Interlaken at the beginning of your trip. And a couple times you keep coming back to Zurich during your trip. I get that it is central and maybe train times not as long in Switzerland, so I'm not sure if you intend to do Basel and Bern as daytrips from Zurich or what. That sounds like a good idea as they are only about an hour by trip, I can't imagine you moving hotels so much.

You could do Interlaken as a day trip from Zurich, actually, it's only about 2 hours. And it isn't really on the way from Zurich or Lucerne to Montreux.

I guess you could take the Bernina Express down to Tirano, stay one night, turn around and go back somehow to Zurich/Lucern and then go to Montreux. You could then take the train to Lausanne. You wouldn't have much time in Montreux or Lausanne, of course, I guess a day or so. The train from Lausanne to Zurich is only a couple hours and is a good route for your return. All of this could be done in a week, I guess, if you don't stay in any place more than a night or two at most in 1-2 places. I'd forget Interlaken on that part of your trip, as well as Zermatt, of course. Or forget the Montreux/Lausanne stuff and just do Interlaken/Zermaat with your BF and go back to Zurich from there.

PalenQ

If taking that many Swiss trains - your should look into a Swiss Pass - check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com for lots of info on Swiss trains and passes.

I think the Bernina Express is Europe's top scenic train - well worth going out of your way for but spend a few days in that wonderful area and don't just do a train by - get off at the summit stations, walk around the glacier-fed lake to the nearby glacier, etc. Base in St Moritz or Pontresina.

nytraveler

I would not spend the first night with your BF in Zurich since it just adds another hotel stay and wastes time. You can get to Lucern in about an hour via train from the station under the airport. I would go directly there.

Since you have already done Rigi and Pilatus (but this may be too much for your mom) you could do Titlus, see a couple of villages and ride a lake steamers (but do check schedules for Oct).

Agree that you have too many other places listed. You need to look at a detailed map and also at the train connections and pick a couple of places.

Since you have not done western switz at all why not do Geneva, Montreux, and visit some of the small towns such as Gruyere and Thun on day trips.

PalenQ

Great advise from nytraveler - go right to Lucerne and skip a Zurich that many findd underwhelming or overwhelming perhaps!