pranay007

Planning to stay in Fluhli, Switzerland for 8 days.

1. To do a Jungfraujoch trip in a day, what time do we catch the train from this place and what time do we return by night. Are trains open till midnight.?

2. Need to do a scenic journeys by train? Does the swiss pass offer some train rides with scenic routes?

3. What are the good castles we can see around? Does Bern or Lucern or Thun have castles? Does Swiss pass cover that?

4. Is Rhine falls possible from Lucerne? How do we do it?

Basically we want to do One Jungraujoch trip, one nice train trip (2-4 hrs only) , one good (1 or 2 hr) cruise, one good castle, one good lake, good views.

Please advise what we can do in those 8 days.

Irishwhistler90

Thun had a very nice castle! I really enjoyed my visit there! It is covered by the Swiss Pass and after quite a lot of stair-climbing, you can stand in all four turrets, gazing at the beautiful views out the open windows! ( Little tip: if you stand in one turret, and you get someone else to stand in the turret visible from yours, you can get really cool pictures of each other in castle turrets! ). I don't know if it's the best castle in the area ( It's the only one I visited ) but I certainly enjoyed it's picturesque, fairy-tale look and feel, and the fact that it was very accessible, and the lady at the reception booth was very helpful, even with her limited English! My grandmother and I did a lake cruise on Lake Thun, followed by the castle visit, both of which were very enjoyable, even though the weather was rainy on and off.

mokka4

If you are travelling by train, you can check each of your trips at www.sbb.ch and click on english.

Fluehli itself does not appear to have a rail station--it is served by bus alone. The nearest station is Schuepfheim.
Thun is the nearest/only castle, at 1 hr 30 mins travel by train. Once in Thun, you could make a day of it and take the steamer to Interlaken, then train/bus back home to Fluehli.
Fluehli to Bern takes 1 hr 23 mins with one change to the train in Schuepfheim. I rather like the small city of Bern...there are plenty of cafes for people-watching and arcaded shops for buying. Walk along the main drag to its end and climb up to the Rose garden for wonderful views of the Aare River.
Fluehli to Schaffhausen (Rheinfalls) takes 2 hr 40 minutes.

To Jungfraujoch is a major daytrip at 4 hrs 42 minutes ONE WAY. You must change trains 4 to 5 times along the way. The earliest start that I can see from your home base is 7:10 am, arriving at 11:52 am OR 8:10 am, arriving at 12:52 PM.
To Zurich it takes 1:49 minutes with two changes in Schuepfheim and Luzern....
You might consider more "local" trips to truly experience Switzerland. The Jungfraujoch is by no means the be-all and end-all. I think two great nearby mountain trips would be to Stans/Stanserhorn at just 1 hr 24 minutes away or Titlis/Engelberg at 2 hr 43 minutes. Titlis is just spectacular, ascent in stages--I suggest getting off at Truebsee (lake) and having a small picnic, then getting back on the next lift to the top. You will also find these trips are less expensive than the Jungfraujoch, but also with great hiking possibilities.
Zug is a lovely nearby town for exploring at 1 hr 20 mins.
Research these and other 'local' towns--your experience of Switzerland will still bew more than rich!

mokka4

Oh, and of course, I neglected your most famous "other" local mountain trip--Rigi Kulm at 2 hr 35 mins one way---another spectacular heights trip!

pranay007

Thanks a lot Mokka and Irishwhistler for your comments and feedback. I was also wondering if I hire a car from the Zurich Airport for those 8 days, will it be really helpful while doing sight seeing ? Is the gas price, parking at museums/castles expensive? Whats the speed limit in Switzerland.

Will I really save time and while the weather in September 9th to 18th very cold for an outsider or just a light jacket do?

nytraveler

Well you've certainly picked a very out of the way place to stay. I assume this is a time share you are getting for free - if not - definitely find a place to stay much closer any of the many sies you want to see. Have you considered the cost of all of this transit (not sure how many of you ther are) versus staying in a hotel nearer the activities.

I can reco mountains: Rigi, Pliatus but Jungfraujovh is the best
Lakes: Thun, Brienz, Luzern
Castle: Thun has a very vertical one and is an adorable town; Gruyere is a very cute town and has a somewhat less picturesque one

Can;t comment on trains to and fro since we always drive in Switzerland.

PalenQ

marking for later comment

PalenQ

2. Need to do a scenic journeys by train? Does the swiss pass offer some train rides with scenic routes?>

Yes all of Switzerland's legendary scenic trains - ones that actually go somewhere - and not just to mountain tops - are all covered by a Swiss Pass - the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Golden Pass, Heidi Express, etc. Glacier Express does impose a steep IMO seat reservation charge for passholders but others mainly do not and if do is a rather minor charge.

For loads of great info on Swiss trains, scneic trains, etc check out these great IMO sources - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.sbb.ch - latter official Swiss Railways site sith fares to compare to passes (Swiss Passes are often significantly cheaper if bought in the U.S. than in Switzerland over the past several years - may not always be true but check prices in CHF - Swiss fransc for buying there and those in dollars if in North America). But since you are in Switzerland for 8 days the 8-consecutive-day Swiss Pass may well be a good deal for you since it would cover practically all your travels, except trips to mountain tops via cable cars, gondolas, etc - that is usually 50% off) - and never have to wait in ticket lines - just flash pass.

pranay007

We chose this place since it was offering panoromic view of the swiss alps and is in the sorenburg region. The surrounding Entlebuch region is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and features hiking and cycling trails.

Thanks to all for the wonderful feedback.

FoFoBT

The direct (no changes) train route between Bern and Luzern that stops in Schüpfheim is one of my favorites. It's a pretty ride. However, you have picked an off the beaten track place to stay and I suggest you focus on the region rather than flinging yourself around on really long train rides. Mokka4 gave some good suggestions. Murten is also a possibility - a small, attractive lakeside town with a castle - http://www.murtentourismus.ch/en/nav...-MurtenFR.html
It takes about 2 hours by train from Schuepfheim if you go the easy route - the RE to Bern, than Sbahn to Murten. You can shave at least 20 minutes off the trip if you're willing to change trains twice and risk some fast connections (4 minutes between trains).

PalenQ

Murten IMO is a lovely Swiss city that is often overlooked for by the foreign tourist who undertandably dwells on the fantastic Alpine regions. But I found Murten's setting, on an idyllic lake backdropped by idyllic hills to be neat and the city itself romantic with its gret setting. There are boat trips on the lake (vlid with Swiss Passes like nearly all boats in Switzerland).

greg

I was in Murten 2 days ago, and it seems to be visited mostly by the Swiss locals. I heard a lot of German with accents as well as some French with accents also. I heard no English except for the restaurant servers. I saw no group tourists, either. I took the S5 train from Bern and unlike other trains frequented by the tourists, the on train announcement was only in German and French. The train from Bern is the type that splits off at Kerzers to Neuchatel and Murten, so you either hop onto the correct half of the train, or understand German and French announcement telling passengers to move to the correct half of the train, or pay attention to the digital display on board telling passengers to switch the car. It was an easy day trip from Bern where all the transportation was covered by the Swisspass. The rampart is under repair in several places, so you have to back track to a few access stairs to get from the ground level to the rampart level.

pranay007

If I have a car and want to do Jungfraujoch, whats the rail or bus station or nearest place I can park my car so I can take the trip up safely. considering I am first time driver in switzerland. I will be driving from Fluhli

PalenQ

Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald are the closest places you can drive to and then have to take trains from there - from either you take a train to Kleine Scheidegg, where you transfer to the Jungfraujoch train - no direct trains.

I would pick Grindelwald as IMO it offers even a more awesome panorama of the ice-bound Jungfrau Massif than even Lauterbrunnen does - spend some time in either village after doing the train trip or even stay overnight in these two Alpine gems known for their flower-bedecked chalet-style guesthouses with balconies from which you can get intoxicated sans alcohol just on the sweeping views from them!

PalenQ

To add a treat to the Jungfrau day when return from Kleine Scheidegg rather than taking the train right back to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen take one of the easiest walks in the Jungfrau region and one of the most fantastic IMO - the ridge walk Kleine Scheidegg to Mannlichen - a lfat easy few mile stroll over a wide path with stunning views over both the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald valleys and at Mannlichen over Interlaken wedged between its lakes far far below.

From Mannlichen chairlifts go down to Grindelwald or Wengen and from Wengen you join the train to Lauterbrunnen.

PalenQ

You may want to park at Zweilutchen (sp?) the station where trains from Interlaken split, with one half going to Grindelwald and the other half to Lauterbrunnen - this would enable you to take a train up one way and another route back down - go up from Grindelwald - rolling thru that great natural amphitheatre to Kleine Scheidegg and after returning from jungfraujoch station then at Kl Schiedegg take the train down a different way to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen, this time descending thru the lush gorgeous Lauterbrunnen valley.

FoFoBT

A NYTimes article with some travel info on the Entlebuch region
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/08/28...tml?ref=travel

PalenQ

If you park at Zweilutchen and take the train back down to Lauterbrunnen from Jungfraujoch then there is a really easy gently downhill walk you can take over nice paths back to Zweillutchen - all along a bubbling river.

PalenQ

Haven't much considered myself the Entelbuch region and will put it on my list from what was said above.