Hello all!

My husband and I (early 30s) are planning to visit Switzerland with our daughter in October (she will be turning 1 in October). I have looked through various threads on Fodors, TA and myswissalps and have come up with a draft itinerary based on the many recommendations I've seen. I would greatly appreciate any advice and suggestions on my initial draft!

Some background: we are a fairly fit couple and are looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of city living. We love the nature and quaint towns. We would love to go on hikes and are comfortable with moderate day hikes (but this will be the first that we will be doing with our daughter). I'm not familiar with Western Europe and have only visited the UK and several places in Eastern Europe. My husband, however, have traveled to Switzerland, France, Germany as a child but not as an adult. We are looking to experience Europe together and have chosen Switzerland as our first destination to enjoy the nature and get a flavour of European culture and living.

The tentative flight details are as follows:
Arrive Zurich: 1 Oct Sunday @ 6am <i>OR</i> arrive Geneva: 1 Oct Sunday @ 9am (stopover at Zurich)
Depart Zurich: 16 Oct Monday @ 10pm

We will have 15 nights and my initial thought is to split it into 4 bases. I'm considering these 4 as my bases in chronological order: Vevey --> Lucerne --> Wengen --> Murren.

<b>3 nights in Vevey </b>
- staying the nights of 1-3 Oct (Sun to Tues)
- day trip to Montreux
- my initial plan was to do Lucerne --> Vevey --> Wengen --> Murren to reduce the travel time on Day 1. However, I'm interested to visit Farmer's Markets and it seems that arriving in Vevey as our first stop allows us to visit it on Tuesday morning.
- should we fly into Zurich then take a train to Vevey? Or fly to Geneva (includes an internal flight from Zurich to Geneva) then take a shorter train ride to Vevey? There is no cost difference between the 2 flights.

<b>4 nights in Lucerne </b>
- staying the nights of 4-7 Oct (Wed to Sat)
- interested to do day trips to Bern, Basel and Zurich
- day trip to Basel -- I would love to visit the zoo. If I visit the zoo, will I have enough time to walk around Basel to enjoy the city?
- day trip to Zurich (my husband LOVES flea markets and he would be thrilled to visit one of them in Zurich. I've checked that the flea markets only open on Saturdays -- also one of the reason why I swapped Vevey and Lucerne)
- am I spending too much time on day trips and neglecting the nature in Lucerne area? Will the landscape in Wengen/Murren area more than make up for it? I know I can take the above day trips from Wengen too on a bad weather day, but I will be in Lucerne first and can't anticipate the weather in Wengen (or are the weather forecasts pretty accurate in general?)

<b>5 nights in Wengen </b>
- staying the nights of 8-12 Oct (Sun to Thurs)
- aim is to enjoy the area and to do walks/hikes in the region and to just relax completely
- should I reduce 1 night here and add it to Lucerne?

<b>3 nights in Murren </b>
- staying the nights of 13-15 Oct (Fri to Sun)
- I know Wengen and Murren are really close by, but I have read that people do split up the stay and enjoyed Murren. I am still undecided between splitting Wengen and Murren. Thoughts?
- should I reduce 1 night here and add it to Lucerne?
- I am aware it'll be a long journey from Murren to Zurich. Will you suggest I stay somewhere closer Zurich? My flight is at 10pm on 16 Oct though.

<b><i>OR</b></i> should I do Vevey --> Wengen --> Murren --> Lucerne? I thought it would be more enjoyable to end my trip with the beautiful nature of the Jungfau region but this arrangement seems to make sense too. This intersperses the cities with nature instead of having it as 2 big chunks, and allows me to be closer to Zurich on the final day. Decisions, decisions!

Thanks for taking the time to read and I welcome any suggestions to make my itinerary better!

My opinions:

- fly into Zurich and go on from their to Vevey. Adding Geneva would not seem to me to provide a substantive advantage, and has the disadvantage of adding a connection. I could be wrong...

- As you note, Wengen and Murren are very close to one another, and yes, some people do spend time in each; so it's your call and I all of your options are good ones. FWIW, if you stay in Wengen, do consider paying enough to ensure that you have a really good view.

- I must admit that 8 nights in the Bernese Oberland sounds like a lot to me, but I think it depends on just how much time you want to simply relax, how willing you are to take long day trips, and other matters of personal preference.

- If I’m following, you are planning on 3 days in Lucerne, and you are considering 3 different day trips to cities from Lucerne, so I think you may be shortchanging Lucerne itself, not to mention the area around it. There are some wonderful things to see in Lucerne, and the boat ride on the lake can be a treat – and that doesn’t even count trips into the mountains around Lucerne! Of course, you can always wait to decide on your day trips until you are there and see how you feel, but remember that some of these trips can also be made from the Bernese Oberland.

I’m not sure what your best route would be, but know that I would consider the climate. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about typical weather patterns to help you with that -- sorry.

Switzerland is spectacular – enjoy!

Hello kja! I was just reading your delightful sampling of Switzerland. Can you imagine, your contribution 4 years ago is still helping travellers today. Thank you for that! Btw, 30 days is *not* a sample - it's pretty much a meal!

We do intend to get a room with some views. With a one-year-old on the trip, I am guessing we might end up spending quite some time in the room while she naps

Yes, I'm concerned about shortchanging Lucerne - hence, the 2nd route (Vevey --> Wengen --> Murren --> Lucerne) might make more sense. Because then I can make some trips out of Bernese Oberland during days with bad weather.

I'm glad you are finding my TR of use. My "sampling" was a huge "meal" for me. But even so, I still barely sampled Switzerland's gems -- there is SOOoooo much to see and enjoy there! Feel free to add a note or question to my TR if you want.

I didn't stay in Mürren, although I visited it. I must admit that I preferred the views from Wengen. I'm not sure how to describe the difference, except to say that even though the views from Mürren were glorious, the views from Wengen were even more dramatic, and there was something about the lighting at sunset that absolutely took my breath away. Too, Mürren seemed a bit more tourist-y to me; JMO. If I were to stay in both, I think I'd put Mürren first, because I think I would find it a bit of a let down after Wengen. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if others have exactly the opposite reaction....

I think your logic for putting Lucerne last makes sense. And you might want to shift at least one night to it -- many of the places that make for reasonable day trips from the Bernese Oberland are also reasonable day trips from Lucerne, so that might increase your flexibility. Your call, though, and again, either choice could be wonderful.

Enjoy!

Thanks again kja! I am seriously considering moving 1-2 nights from Murren to Wengen and add what's leftover to Lucerne. I know either way I will love the trip but I can't help but try to plan it to the fullest!

The rest, any other thoughts?

I would not take nights away from Wengen/Murren, but, instead, would take my daytrip to Bern from Wengen/Murren, on a rainy day when the mountain scenery is not good. You can probably see Lucern, Zurich, and make your Basel daytrip with a four night stay, if you take Bern out and cover that from your other base.

I think I would put Lucerne at the end of the trip, as you can go from Lucerne to ZRH to catch your flight out (it's an easy train ride), but with a 10 p.m. departure, you can make the trip to the airport from the Berner Oberland on departure day, if you really want to.

Hi twk,

Thanks for your reply! I am now considering this itinerary -- Wengen/Murren >> Vevey >> Lucerne. This allows me to enjoy the Bernese Oberland area in early Oct when perhaps more activities are going on as compared to mid Oct. This itinerary will also allow me to be in Vevey on Tuesday and a Zurich daytrip on Saturday to enjoy the markets!

Your idea to take the daytrip to Bern while staying in Wengen/Murren is also perfect! And it's also a better idea now that I am staying in Wengen/Murren first.

Thank you again!