A two week trip to Switzerland and around
 

Hello folks,

I along with my wife and son are planning a 12 to 14 days vacation In Europe , preferably Switzerland. Which other countries can be tied along with Switzerland. We plan to go this year in May and are not skiers (however would love to do snow activities, if available)

Our idea to visit Europe is not to take many countries at a time. So will appreciate if anyone can chip in with trip ideas.

Thanks for your time and any valued inputs.

May is too late for winter sports, except in the Zermatt - Plateau Rosa summer ski area.
If you want to do just a few steps in the snow, you may go by train, Postbus or gondola to any place above about 2000 metres, like
Gornergrat, Fiescheralp, Simplon Pass, Glacier des Diablerets, Eigergletscher, Schilthorn, Bernina Pass, Pass dal Fuorn, Juf, Titlis.......

Italy is a natural to twin with Switzerland and Paris is just 3-4 hours by train - Germany just to north. Trains are great - check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteruopetravel.com and www.ricksteves for lots of things on trains and where to go by them.

In Switzerland I always recommend the Jungfrau Region around Interlaken for first-timers - take trains to snow and glaciers.

Just spend it all in Switzerland. By going to the French, German, and Italian influenced areas - you can have 3 very different experiences in the same country.

If visitng more than one area and staying in each some days then strongly look at Swiss Travel Pass - Swiss trains are fantastic and cars are not even allowed in many Alpine areas. Passes also good for lake boats, buses, city transports and free entry to 470+ Swiss museums as well as trains - and give 50% off usually cableways and trains to mountain tops. www.sbb.ch and www.swisstravelsystem.com for lots on trains.

Switzerland is centrally located in relationship to the rest of the continent. So you could add on any of the neighboring countries if you really wanted to... bordering countries are France, Italy, Germany, or Austria.

AND also Lichtenstein!

I was glad to spend the month of June in Switzerland a few years ago. I had been persuaded by the experts here on Fodor’s to move my trip to June rather than May, as I had originally planned; if that’s possible for you and your wife, you might want to consider it.

I would strongly encourage you to consult a few good guidebooks – I found the Michelin Green and Rough Guide more useful than most. And while I wouldn’t recommend my itinerary to anyone (it was very fast paced and specifically designed for my interests), you might find some value in my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/

(And BTW, there are 4 distinct languages in Switzerland -- French, German, Italian, and Romansch, which is spoken in Graubunden. Each area is, IMO, different from the others and each is a delight.)

Thank you very much guys, always appreciate the response out here. Yes there are quite a few places which can be tagged along with Switzerland, thanks to its geographical location. I have done Italy few years back (loved it to tee) but would like to visit a new destination.

Will do a research and also go through ideas you wonderful folks have suggested. And off course , like always will get back for more information.

Once again, thanks a lot for your time and valuable inputs.

What are your interests ? Swiss Rail is great, and as others have mentioned the Swiss Travel pass was very useful and saved a good bit of money for a recent trip with son. Many discounts and esp on mountain trams, which are vert expensive. Check out Zermatt, Wengen, Murren for high mountains, no cars allowed in any of these villages. Train up to Gorgernaut in Zermatt is awesome, a bit touristy there. Also enjoyed Zurich. Since Switzerland is a small country the trains are so easy to use, very efficient, and on time. Use open jaw flying, inn one city like Zurich, spend few days ant train down hitting some vjillages on the way down to Italy?, such as Murren, Wengen, Zermatt etc. So much to see. Sue

Thanks for the reply Sue81. Will definitely find out about the places you have mentioned. Yes the Italian side will be a good experience, simply love Italy

Just wait until you see Switzerland esp the Lauterbrunnen valley, Italy is great but Switzerland and this area is unbelievably gorgeous. Sue

The Engadine is a great part of Italian Switzerland and a great way to get to Italy- via the awesome Bernina Express - which goes up and over the Alps and right by glaciers - use it to to to Lake Como and Milan and beyond.

One of the many great things about Switzerland is the convenient location in the center of Europe. It is just a couple hour train ride to France, Italy, Germany, Austria and more. On the other hand the country is so beautiful and there are so many places to visit that it will definitely be enough for a week or two. From what I remember there is barely any snow there in May, maybe somewhere really high on the glaciers. The french part - Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux is something I enjoyed the most, great for walking, biking, mountain tours, wonderful lake and also right across the Evian

In May, the snow line in Switzerland may be around 2000 metres. Therefore, many alpine pass roads will still be closed.
Many mountain railways and lifts will not run in the first half of May or during the whole month of May.
You will find almost no running transport to high Swiss, French or Italian mountains, except around
Jungfrau area
Zermatt area
Engelberg - Titlis.
In Engiadina, only the Diavolezza cableway will run.
At Chamonix, only Mer ce Glace and Aiguille du Midi will run.

The lifts and mountain trains don't run because of snow but for maintenance in this off-season time when few are using them. Yet Jungfrau, Zermatt where most folks go will have main ones running. Great info as usual from neckervd. wow!

The Italian Italian side of Alps is also cheaper across the board than Swiss Alps.

"The Italian Italian side of Alps is also cheaper across the board than Swiss Alps"

Of course. And the snow line will be higher and the sunshine brighter. Ideal for mountain hikes. But don't count with any running lift or with many open hotels or restaurants. Even at Courmayeur, one of the most famous places in the Italian Alps, with tons of hotels, only 3 of them were open when I was there the last time in low season.

How about the Grand Tour of Switzerland?
Either by train https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-be/...itzerland.html
Or by car https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-be/...itzerland.html
We plan on doing the latter this summer, but on our own pace.

MyriamC, your grand tour is very well covered and explained beautifully. Thanks

Yes transports on Italian side not nearly as numerous as on Swiss side - probably because more folks go to Swiss areas.

I'm not sure it matters -- but I'm not sure it's clear when people are speaking of the Italian Alps versus the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.

I traveled much (not all) of the "Grand Tour" in my month-long visit to Switzerland. I must admit that I would not have liked trying to fit the whole tour into a trip of less than 2 weeks. JMO.

They don't seem to open up in Northern Italy until like late June if you want to visit the Dolomiti or the Alps.

That's not our aim, either! It will be a trip of 3 weeks at least.
I submitted the links because they're good for a planning a trip in Switzerland. I also have the guidebook and the map .. so much useful information!

Hi, You don't mention how old the son is, but You might like a stop in Zermatt in So Switzerland. In July there was much snow up at higher elevations as there always is. While it is a bit touristy, and no cars, the Matterhorn is amazing. There is a small museum partly underground that is well worth a stop, and esp the second floor that explains the horrible mtn climb accident that is part of the history of Zermatt. Then there is the train up to the Gorgernaut (sp), which is an awesome ride, and a must so, and expensive, so get the Swiss Rail pass. Good restaurants in Zermatt. Also behind the church is the mtn climber cemetary with the names you many young men whose lives were cut short, their pik axes etc. Also take Swiss Rail on up to Lauderbrunnen Valley....WEngen, Murren, Grindelwald for a real treat with amazing mountains.. this is my favorite part of Switzerland. Sue

OK one more thing, do consider an open jaw trip, fly into maybe Zurich and out of some airport close to where you plan to depart. By booking these two flights separately it was much less expensive, and the airline agent told me to check this out and it was, so check this. Not sure if this is always true or just certain times of the year, but it was for me coming from US South. There are ways to cut the cost in Switzerland, like using the grocery stores, get meals included in hotel which I found less expensive esp breakfast, which maybe be included in some places. Sue

And bring anything sundries, etc you will need from home or other countries. somethings can be shockingly expensive.

As a rule, it makes more sense to book open jaw flights at one time (rather than separately) using the "multi-city" option on flight search engines.

Hi Kja, I thought the same thing about booking open jaw at the same time, but I found that Delta was significantly less expensive if I booked my flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam and then return from Zurich/Atlanta but did it separately. i did check the cost before booking, it is worth checking this, and the airline agent one night told me to try this. Perhaps is was a certain time of year or the fact I was booking pretty far ahead, just check it out. Saved a lot. Sue

@ Sue81: thanks!