sukha

Hi,
We are 2 couples travelling with 2 kids aged 5 and 8 yrs. Our trip to switzerland is in Oct. from 15-23rd morning, when we fly out. Below is the itinery we have proposed.
Do the ferry services in ticino close down by Oct 21st? How cold will it be in Switzerland as i am travelling with kids and What should i pack?
We are planning to buy the Swiss Saver Pass for 8 days, Does this pass cover most of my journey?

Route 1: Zurich – Locarno – Interlaken – Lucerne/Zurich
Day 1: Land in Zurich. Direct train to locarno.(DOES THE SWISS PASS COVER A CISALPINO TRAIN?) OR Train to Lucerne. Boat to Fluelen. Train to locarno. WE HAVE CHOSEN LOCARNO OVER LUGANO, IS IT A BETTER IDEA?

Day 2: Full day locarno and nearby.

Day 3: Full day visit Lugano and nearby

Day 4: Check out and board centovalli train to spiez via brig and and domodossola in Italy. DO WE NEED VISA FOR ITALY! (we are from India). ALSO DOES THE SWISS PASS COVER THIS TRAIN? Take train to Interlaken. Check into hotel oberland??

Day 5: Take mountain excursion to Jungfraujoch, visiting picturesque hill resorts of Wengen & Lauterbrunnen enroute.

20.11.07 Day 6: Full day trip to Montreux (we plan to cover Vevey, chebrex and return to Montreux from Rivaz)? ARE THERE DIRECT CONNECTIONS TO MONTREUX FROM INTERLAKEN? WILL I BE ABLE TO VISIT BERN IN THE SAME DAY?

Day 7: Ballenberg and Speiz Oberhof

Day 8: Check out . Board train to Lucerne/zurich and stay overnight.

Day 9: take early morning flight from Zurich to India.

IS IT A BETTER IDEA TO WORK THE OTHER WAY i.e. FROM ZURICH-INTERLAKEN/BO- LOCARNO/TICINO-ZURICH?

Please advise

JN

Luzern and Locarno are our favorite places in central switzerland and ticino, respectively. Both have lovely settings, easily navigable and with good restaurants.

I recall that the swiss pass covers both cisalpino and centovalli trains. Sit on the left side for best views on centovalli.

If you have an early flight, save Luzern for the last leg of your trip. Only 1.25 hrs to the zurich airport. check out www.sbb.ch for schedules.

sukha

thanks for the reply.
i need more information:
since i'm travelling with kids my main concern is the weather. how will it be in october and what to pack?

regards

kleeblatt

Before flying over, check out the weather websites. You might get snow, rain or sunshine. It might be so warm you'll wear shorts in the mountains or so cold you'll need gloves and a scarf. Always bring a windbreaker or something similar. A scarf can also come in handy.

Whenever we go up into the mountains, we layer our clothes. The weather can change very quickly.

My favourite weather website is: wetter.com.

sukha

thanks JN and schuler,
that was helpful.
JN i need to know if the Centovalli can go right upto Speiz? as some one told me we need to take a cisalpino from domossodola to speiz? Also would luggage be major problem in centovalli?
Also i am worried about the ferry services on the lakes- locarno, lugano and lucerne. When do they stop operation in oct? Can stresa, gandria and morcote be accessed by bus or train instead?
my questions dont seem to stop, sory to bother you guys

thanks once again

Maudie

Sukha,
Centovalli is an area at the top of Italy and means 100 valleys. The train is a special one that runs from Domodossola in Italy to Locarno in Switzerland and vise versa, It is covered by your Swiss Pass, we had to pay 2 francs each as we had a new train with panorama windows. There was plenty of room for our luggage which the conductor took and put in a luggage area. Here is the website:
http://www.centovalli.ch/
I gather you are going from Locarno to Domodossola then onto Spiez so you will have to change trains at Domodossola and catch an ordinary train to Brig then probably change again to Spiez. Domodossola to Brig is only about 1/2 an hour and most of it is through a tunnel. It will all be very simple to do but I think you need to spend some time on the swiss rail site:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm
Grab a map and spend some time exploring all your options, you can even print out your timetables and take with you or tell the staff at the train office where you want to go and they will give you a printed card with the times, changes and platform info - very helpful. You may want to check out the Swiss thread by PALQ on trains. It is very long but very helpful - but his name in the search box above.
Also I think your kids would enjoy Ballenberg - we saw plenty that seemed to be.
Good luck!

Maudie

Here is the link to Palq's Swiss train thread:
http://tinyurl.com/39cxzc

sukha

thanks Maudie that was really great: PalQ's train information is simply divine. I am still reading it and now the bernina express is seeming extremely tempting! how does one pack so much in just 8 days?
i want to see everthing in such little time!
thanks a lot

kleeblatt

Yes, but do your kids want to?

Don't overdo the train rides. Children appreciate the landscape only so much and then they get tired of being on the train.

I'd save the Bernina line for another time. You've got a full itinerary as it is.