Hi,

I and my husband are planning a trip to Switzerland in second week of august for 10 days. We have not booked our flights yet, we can fly in/out of zurich/geneva, but i was considering both flight in and out of zurich. Looking for suggestions on our tentative itinerary -

day 1-2 : directly proceed to lucerne - stay for 2 days - dont want to cover Titlis.
day 3-5 : stay in Lauterbrunnen for 3 days - day trips including Jungfrau
Day 6- 7 : 2 days in montreux - cover Lac Leman

We have about 3 days more and would like to cover some of the scenic routes - like BE train route, Summit area or Flüelapass, Davos, probably stay in Pontresina? How do I best incorporate this in my itinerary?

Thanks

Are you planning to do the Bernina Express route and then repeat it? i ask because if you do the full route you end up in Tirano and then have to make your way back. You could do the bus to/from Lugano option.

here's a link for further info:

http://www.rhb.ch/Bernina-Express.2188.0.html?&L=4

Would you consider flying into Zurich and out of Geneva? That would make your stay in Montreux a bit simpler since you can easily get an early morning train from there directly to the Geneva airport.

Hi aps111,

I don't think it would be a good idea to add on the destinations you list because they are on the eastern side of the country; it will take a full day to get there and then to get back to Zürich to fly out, and you just don't have that much time.

In fact, I don't think you have enough time in the destinations you list! Remember that every time you move, you lose half a day of "outside" time due to the chores of packing up and checking out, then checking in and unpacking. With three separate destinations already, you've lost about 1 1/2 days of vacation time.

For instance, for "day 1-2" in Luzern gives you really only one full day there. You will arrive on day 1 and check in and unpack, so you have maybe half a day on that day. You have the full day on day 2, and then on day 3, you are leaving. That's really not much time to see anything beyond the main sights --

Similarly in Lauterbrunnen, on day 3 you arrive and unpack and can see bit, then you only have days 4 & 5 as full days to sight see.

So, I would add the extra days to the destinations you already have. I would stay in Luzern for 3 nights, in Lauterbrunnen for 4 nights, and in Montreux for 3 nights. Then fly out of Geneva.

Have fun as you plan!

s

If it's easier or cheaper to fly back from ZRH, do so. If there is no difference, take into acount that GVA would fit better into your programme.
As to your itinerary, there are tons of possibilities; most trains and buses in Switzerland run every 30 to 60 minutes.

You may have a look at
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/home.html
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

May be you check something like this:

Day 1: Lucerne
Day 2: Morning trip to Pilatus (cog railway). Lucerne dp by train 16.18 - Lugano ar 18.47. Sleep close to railway station (Hotel Montarina or so)
Day 3: Lugano dp by bus along Lake Lugano and Lake Como to Tirano ar 13.00, have lunch, dp by Bernina Express 14.22 - Pontresina ar 16.26.
Day 4: Pontresina, excursion to Diavolezza glacier, Roseg glacier or Corvatsch glacier, may be with some hiking
Day 5: Pontresina dp 9.05 by Glacier Express to Andermatt ar 13.44, dp by bus 15.59 via Schoellenen Gorge and Susten Pass to Meiringen ar 18.10, train to Interlaken ar 18.55 - Lauterbrunne ar 19.25 (you may also travel from Andermatt via Furkapass - Grimselpass to Meiringen or via Brig - Kandersteg - Spiez to Interlaken).
Day 6-8: Lauterbrunnen etc.
Day 9: Lauterbrunnen dp 8.33 - Golden Pass Panoramic Express - Montreux ar 12.13. Chillon castle, Lake Geneva cruise

Montreux - Zurich airport (3 hrs journey) trains every 30 min
Montreux - Geneva airport (1 1/4 hrs journey) trains at least every 30 min

Thanks for the suggestions. It's the same cost, whether I fly in/out of Zurich/geneva/ Milan/Munich.
I was wondering if it will make more sense to fly in from Milan and do the eastern portion - pontresina, tirano, Lugano from Milan, and then proceed to Lucerne, lauterbrunnen and montreux and fly out of geneva?

Or do vice versa- flying into geneva and flying out of Milan is possible too.

Given that you're traveling in August, I suggest basing yourself in the Gstaad area for the last bit. It's beautiful, lush and green, great hiking, good food, lots of hotel choices, you can sightsee easily to Gruyeres etc. And if it's a hot, sunny day, you can relax at one of the wonderful outdoor pools, like this one in Chateau d'Oex: http://www.chateau-doex.ch/fr/4saiso...cine_printemps

If you choose to fly home from Zurich, then, IMO you should head straight to Lauterbrunnen the first day, then Montreux, then Gstaad, then Luzern -- that puts the end of your trip close to Zurich.

If you choose to fly home from Geneva, then go with Luzern, Lauterbrunnen, Gstaad, and then Montreux. Have Montreux last as it's not far from Geneva airport.

MXP - Bernina:
There are tons of scenic itineraries (via Lake Maggiore, via Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano and finally Lake Como) but all of them are time consuming and need many changes between trains, boats and buses.
If you arrive with luggage, you better travel via Milan Central railway station (1 hour in the wrong direction). The train ride along this itinerary takes 3 1/2 hrs up to Tirano(Swiss border close to Bernina). Milan airport Terminal 1 dp every 2 hrs from 9.22 until 15.22 - Pontresina ar every 2 hrs from 15.50 until 19.50, resp Poschiavo (Switzerland) ar 20.23 if you leave MXP at 15.22.

As you will be tired after an overnight flight, I would't do this long train ride on day 1. If you want to arrive via Milan airport, stay the first day at Stresa/Lago Maggiore, only a few miles north of MXP and begin more serious things on day 2.
http://www.illagomaggiore.com/en_US/..._lago_maggiore
http://www.borromeoturismo.it/script...g=en&loc=bella

I was wondering if it will make more sense to fly in from Geneva and do montreux, lauterbrunnen and Lucerne, then proceed to the eastern portion - pontresina, tirano, Lugano and fly out of Milan?

http://www.jetbus.ch/orarijetbus.pdf
http://www.rhb.ch/Bernina-Express.21...90.0.html?&L=4
http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadm...013/31.162.pdf