Switzerland 4-nights itinerary

myswitzerland.com is a big place might be a bit too much for 4 nights. seat61.com/switzerland usually hop regional trains around the Paris trains leave from Berne and Geneva. Also consider a stop for Isola Bella in the Stresa/Baveno area it is BEAUTIFUL.I like the Hotel Grand Dino booking.com there.
So pare back a bit for me but basically looks fine.

Good luck!

Suggest you look at travel distances between areas and start over.

BTW Titlis is accessible from Engleberg.

Hi chuastan,

Yes, one great resource you need to plan your trip is the Swiss rail site

www.rail.ch

where you can check the schedules for all of your trips.

To avoid wasting time by switching bases -- you can estimate that you lose about half a day with every move because of the chores of packing up & checking out, then checking in & unpacking again -- I recommend that you have only one base. If you based yourselves in Bern, you could reach everything on your list in about two hours.

Except the Jungfraujoch. It'll take about 3h18 to reach the Jungfraujoch from Bern, but you can break up the trip with stops in Wengen, Grindelwald, and/or Thun to have a walk around and get a bite to eat.

BTW, Interlaken itself isn't a draw; it's only the start point for excursions to the villages and the peaks above. Just cross it off your list.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Thanks for the great suggestion Swandav,

I will probably consider either Berne or Lucerne as the common base. Just thinking if I would be able to cover all those places coming from this base location.

Also, for the mountain tours like Jungfraujoch day trip, do you advise to book online or does the hotel offer such packages?

Hi again,

If you based in Luzern, then the train trips will be too long imo for a day-trip.

Luzern-Zermatt 3h13 each way
Bern-Zermatt 2h06 each way

Luzern-Jungfraujoch 4h44 each way
Bern-Jungfraujoch 3h18 each way as noted above

I've learned the hard way that doing a day-trip longer than two hours in each direction is ruined -- too much time inside a closed-up moving box. There is truly diminishing joy.

No, don't book an excursion to the Jungfraujoch ahead of time. You need to have clear weather for the trip, or else you'll spend a lot of money and time just to stand inside a cloud! You need to wake up, check the weather, and if it's clear, go immediately. There is also no need to pay someone to do this for you when all you need to do is buy the train tickets and step onto the train.

Have fun planning!

s

Thanks so much for the very insightful reply Swandav.

Basically, your suggestion is Berne would make the most sense as the common base, and then just travel from there to Zermatt, Berne, and Lucerne. I think this is feasible, only the Zermatt would be quite a stretch but still doable?

Or would it be better to stay a night in Zermatt coming from Milan, then the next 3 nights in Berne (for Berne/Interlaken/Lucerne)

How about this sample itinerary?

Day1
Arrive in Zermatt (overnight stay)

Day2
Cogwheel railway up to Gornergrat (majestic Matterhorn), and other spectacular summits. Then proceed to Interlaken in afternoon for overnight stay there.

Day3
Excursion to Jungfraujoch - top of europe.
Then board train to Lucerne (via Berne) in afternoon.
Overnight at Lucerne.

Day4
Excursion to Mt. Titlis
Overnight in Lucerne.

Day5
Proceed to Paris via Basel.

Since this is your first time to Switzerland, I agree you should dial it back again, but OTOH, I disagree with Swandav about doing day trips that take over two hours each way - I've done many day trips from Basel to Gstaad or Lugano or Wengen or Rapperswil (via the leisurely Voralpen Express - bit of a misnomer there) and have never felt like I've "ruined" the day by spending that time on the train - for one thing, there's plenty of scenery to admire while in transit.
I also did dozens of day trips from the UK to Paris or Brussels and felt the pleasures of those days were worth the transit time involved.

Hi again,

Remember that every time you move bases you lose about half a day of outside time because of the chores of packing up & checking out, then checking in & unpacking again. With three bases, you could figure that you would lose about 1 1/2 days of outside time. That's why I suggested you have only one base. And the trip from Bern to Zermatt isn't "quite a stretch"; it's only two hours.

FoFoBT, remember that most of these folks are moving fast and have only 3-6 nights in the country, packing and unpacking, and moving around. Yes, when someone has 14 nights in one spot -- or when someone lives there -- it's no big deal to spend three or more hours in transport each way for a day-trip. But when you're in the middle of lots of travel and lots of train trips, then those hours inside a moving box have a greater impact.

Also remember that this is from my experience, not just a theortetical opinion. I know that everyone has different experiences -- but that is mine.

s

You don't say when this trip is, but be aware that you can fit the Jungfrau into a particular time slot and not see a darn thing when you get there if the mountain is shrouded in clouds that day. On my first trip there as a young girl, we waited 3-4 days for a clear day.

FWIW, I agree with swandav2000 about the diminishing returns of long day trips and frequent hotel changes.

Well, I am going to chime in and say that with four days your above itin. is a complete waste of time.

With only 4 days, I would stay in the Bernese Oberland (Interlaken, Wengen, Murren, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen).

There is no reason to go to Bern or Luzern if you are staying in the Interlaken area. Just go to Thun for the day. Or Spiez. Take a boat ride on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun and get off at one of the little towns along the lake. There in nothing in Bern or Luzern that is so fabulous that you just have to see it. The Lion of Luzern Monument is very nice, but it takes 15 minutes to view it.

Then what are you going to do for the rest of the day? Take a boat ride on Lake Luzern? You can take a boat ride on Lake Thun or Lake Brienz.

Window shopping in Luzern is also nice, but the prices will send chills up and down your spine. You can window shop in Interlaken or Thun.

Interlaken has boutiques and shops that sell Ferragamo and $10,000 Wempe watches. If you want eye candy just walk along the main drag between Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West.

Why would you want to go to Mt. Titlis if you are going to the Jungfraujoch? Mt. Titlis will pale in comparison.

Why go to Zermat and look at the Matterhorn when you can just stay in the BO and take the cable car up to the Schilthorn? OR walk from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen and PASS right in front of the majestic Jungfrau?

No. You don't have enough time to do your original init. I would definitely change it.

Just my two pence.

Tschuss,
Pepper

IMO being on a train IN Switzerland is NOT "wasting 1/2 a day" since at least you are treated to sometimes spectacular scenery which I never consider to be a waste but, obviously, opinions vary.

As to Zermatt and the Matterhorn view. be aware that the view of the peak can be obscured, and totally so, by the atmospheric conditions above the village itself. You can be in the village thinking it is a great day and then you go above and all you see are clouds.

Now, the rail trip UP to Zermatt can be interesting in and of itself but be careful in adding Zermatt in if the ONLY thing you want to view is the peak itself.

As someone else pointed out, Mt. Titlis is somewhat easier to access from Luzerne (via Engleberg) and the trip via rail up TO Engleberg takes about an hour each way; from there you have to walk 5-10 minutes over to the cable car station for the trip up to the summit and that involves changing twice along the way.

I've done this very trip from Luzern in 1/2 a day start to finish so it is doable.

Really appreciate the replies/advices in this forum.
As I really dont know much about Swizerland, now this somehow got me more confused on how to best maximize and enjoy the full 4 days there.

From the looks of it, I seem to really like visiting these areas: Matterhorn, Jungfroujuch, and probably Berne?

Any kind souls willing to help on a draft itinerary I can build on? My travel dates btw would be entering the country on March 27 and departing on Mar 31 morning.

Thanks in advance.