I am a newbie here so saying I am overwhelmed with all the info I am reading is an understatement. We are a couple in our mid 30's who will be going to Switzerland for our easter break for 7 nights. We arrive in Zurich and leave from Milan. We have done alot of reading about switzerland and we really want to do lugano zermatt, lucerne and Gstaad. We also would somehow like to do a day trip in the Obernese Oberland and go up to Junghfrau mounatin.
this is our first trip in 7 years without our kids so unlike our previous holidays we do not want to just stay in one area and take it easy.
You all seem so knowledgeable so how can I plan this trip? btw I do not know if this helps in anyway but we are 2 individuals that are non skiers. We enjoy good food, shopping and culture.

Hi kubla,

I'm sure you'll be getting a lot of good help here for your trip. First, I'd like to ask when exactly is your spring break? Is it in April or May?

I'd also like to say that the day-trip to the Jungfraujoch isn't a good idea, or at least not a good idea from the bases you mention. The trip from Luzern to the Jungfraujoch is about 4h30 each way, and from Gstaad to the Jj is about 4h15. So I think that you have to make a decision: either change one of your bases to be closer, or enjoy the mountains at the bases you've chosen.

One base that is both interesting and closer is Thun on Lake Thun. If you chose to do Thun as a base, you can easily to Gstaad as a day-trip

The itinerary for your trip (as now planned) is pretty easy and follows the map: Luzern then Gstaad (or Thun), then Zermatt, then Lugano.

You can get train schedules & fares at www.rail.ch.

Good luck!

s

We also will be in Switzerland for spring break - into Zurich, out of Frankfurt. We plan to stay in Lauterbrunnen - Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn, some hiking, and a trip to Zermatt if the weather is gorgeous. We have visited Lucerne on a previous trip and it was very pleasant.
Just a hint - the first hotel I tried to book was full for the week before Easter. You may want to get some reservations made soon.

Both kubla and kbrennan should strongly look at the Swiss Flexipass, which starts at 3 days of unlimited train, bus, lake, everything practically in the country travel and then gives 50% off everything the other days, up to a one-month period.

50% also on Jungfrau - which costs in full $120-140 or so i think and Schilthorn as well.

Especially if you go to Zermatt

Swiss Passes are currently cheaper in the US than for the same pass bought at stations - significantly so last time i checked. For any Swiss train info or Swiss Pass info, info on Specialty trains like Golden Pass, Glacier, Bernina Expresses, etc. i always recommend BETS (800-441-2387; www.budgeteuropetravel.com) for their expertise and lack of usual $15 mailing fees. Their free European Planning & Rail Guide has a great chapter on Switzerland trains and itineraries, etc. - free on their web site. I also find www.ricksteves.com has great Swiss train and rail info.
But i'm pretty sure with your both fairly wide ranging train travel the Swiss Pass could be a bargain...and so easy to use - no buying tickets just hop on.

For kbrenan,

Did you know that the trip between Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt is about four hours in each direction? That's eight hours of travel in one day -- I think it would spoil your memories of the day. I would much prefer to be outside, enjoying the mountain air and a mountain restaurant.

Also, concerning the weather -- it can change quite a bit in four hours while you're on the way! And the weather can be vastly different in Lauterbrunnen than it is in Zermatt, so a sunny day in L could be cloud-socked in Z.

Anyway, just some things to consider.

s

Just a thought have you fully understood the cost of going to Switzerland? We are talking some pretty hefty money to do some pretty basic things.

If you are happy then have fun

Also, depending on when your spring break is, April is not the ideal time to visit Switzerland. It's in between the ski season and the summer season. Some hotels are closed. We were in the Bernese Oberland in early June once and not everything was open yet.

Hi kubla,

I'm assuming when you say Easter break this will be the first week of April, and that you already have your tickets, flying into Zürich and out of Milan. Also, I'm assuming that when you say you want to "do" a city, you mean you want to spend the night there, having time after arrival to walk around, shop, see the sights, and find a nice place for dinner, rather than just pass through on a day trip.

You have seven nights. I suggest you spend the first 2 in Luzern. You can get there from the Zürich airport in an hour; direct trains leave at 47 minutes past the hour, and other trains require a simple change at the main station in Zürich. That will give you a full day to see and enjoy Luzern.

As swandav2000 mentioned, it is not realistic to do the Jungfraujoch as a daytrip from Luzern. Instead, I suggest you spend you third night in Interlaken (or better yet, Grindelwald or Lauterburnnen), and get up early the next morning and go up the Jungfrau. Then continue on to Gstaad for your fourth night, and proceed from there to Zermatt.

That leaves 3 nights to divide among Zermatt, Lugano, and possibly Milan if you need to spend a night there before your flight out. If that is the case, you might consider dropping Lugano and spending two nights in Zermatt.

As this is a vactaion week in Europe, you will need to get your hotel reservations as soon as possible.

bilboburgler - I am interested in your comments about the cost of going to Switzerland.

My husband and I are considering a trip there in Summer 2008 - we are throwing around ideas for different places in Europe, and Switzerland is a front runner. How is Switzerland compared to other places in Europe as far as costs go? Since the exchange rate with the US dollar is better compared to the Euro, it seems like it would be less expensive to travel to Switzerland.

We went to Germany last summer and spent about $300/day everything except airfare included for the 2 of us. That included hotels at about $100/night, about $125/day for food, local transportation, admission fees, and incidentals. We also had a rental car for about 4 days and did some shopping, which is included in that $300/day.

We were hoping to keep costs at a similar level on the next trip. What do you think?

I'm not sure where some of this info is coming from.

From Luzern to Interlaken (where the train up the Jungfrau leaves from) takes about an hour. Naturally it takes time to ascend and descend the mountain - but that's part of the fun of the journey - not time it takes to get there.

A key issue is the time of year you're going. Ascending the Jungfrau makes sense only if the weather is good - not only at the botton - but also at the top - otherwise you're above the clouds and can see absolutely nothing. We tried 3 days before we found a day with good weather at the top - although it was fine in the valleys every day - and this was in June.

You can do this from Luzern (which also offers boat rides and the chance to go up Mt. Pilatus and Mt Rigi as well as the sights/museums of Luzern) or Interlaken (from which you can see Thun with it's adorable castle and/or Brienz with swiss counry museum and many woodcarvers shops, as well as the 2 lakes and waterfalls).

The trick is to call the train station early in the am and they'll tell you what the weather is at the top - so you know if you want to ascend to not.

Just realize that April in the mountains can still be heavy winter - and that the top of the mountain is below freezing and has skiing even in the middle of the summer.

Just for your information, the Hotel de la Paix in Lucerne is a less expensive place than some others. The location is good, right by the entrance into the "old city" which is a delight to walk, shop, dine in. It is just a short walk to the lakeside as well.

De la Paix is very basic, but clean. Very small lobby, breakfast buffet, and I think the computer in the lobby might (?) be free?

nytraveler,

the information is coming fromthe swiss rail site, sss.ch. The minimum travel time from Luzern to Interlaken is 1 hour 50 minutes (via Brienz). The train up the Jungfraujoch does not leave fro Interlaken; it leaves from either Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen, towns which are well past Interlaken. The minimum travel time from Luzern to Jungfraujoch, again accoring to the Swiss rail website, is 4:34 (on a train that makes 5 changes), or more usually 4:42. That is one-way. So total train time from Luzern would be more than nine hours, making it a very impractical choice as a daytrip from Luzern.

But you point about the advisability of this trip at all is well taken. It is very expensive, and difficult to predict that on any given day it will be clear enough to make it worth-while. That is why most peeople like to stay in either Grindelwald or Lauterbrunne, where they can look up and see if it is clear (and even then it might be socked in by the time you get up there).

J_correa--to answer your question: yes, Switzerland CAN be very expensive, but it doesn't have to be. The cities--Zürich, Luzern, Geneve, etc., are the most expensive, along with the expensive resorts such as Gstaad, Zermatt, St. Moritz, etc. But most people don't go to stay in the big cities, or the fancy resorts; they go for the beauty of the mountains and the charm of the smaller villages.

We generally pay between 160 and 240 Sfr per night for our for our double room. If there are more than two people, apartments are the way to go; it is considerably less per person, and they are widely available in the mountain villages such as Wengen, Mürren, etc. You don't need a rental car, particularly if you are in the mountains, where there are car-free villages. The cost of train travel can be reduced by selecting the right pass. Restaurant meals can be expensive, but the quality of the food is very high. I'm thinking we usually pay 20 to 25 Sfr for an entree at dinner, plus wine, salad, etc. Or you can get a nice 3-course dinner at most hotels for Sfr30 by staying on half-board.

Bottom line, for comparison, our last (2005) 2-week trip was $300 per day all in for four of us, exclusive of airfare, but including train travel. So I think you could do a trip for about what you paid in Germany, if you don't hang out in Zürich or the expensive resorts, and stay in 3-star places rather than 4+.

Please excuse the typos---I was doing 2 things at one. I meant "Swiss rail site, www.sbb.ch".

Thanks enzian. It sounds like Switzerland is very doable with a reasonable budget. I have been looking into Swiss passes and decided that we would likely not rent a car - just take trains and buses. Seems very easy. We would also not spend much time in the expensive resort areas - not our style anyway

I went to BO and Zermatt at the end of January.

I spent two nights each in Grindlewald and Zermatt.

To fit this in during a week, I basically spent only a night in Zurich and a night in Geneva, my entry and departure points and didn't stop in Luzern at all.

You can check sites like zermatt.ch or wengen.ch and enter your dates there. Then several hotels will reply back with offers.

I had a good sized room at Hotel Sarazena Zermatt and it was pretty reasonably priced with breakfast. But their kitchen was modest so I wouldn't go for the half board for dinner.

They unfortunately don't have secure booking through their web site so you have to fax a credit card number to them.

In Grindlewald, I stayed at the Sunstar, which is a nice place, big restaurant, with more amentities for about 150sf a night IIRC.

Oh and Google for Jungfrau webcams or Bernese Oberland webcams. If you can't find one, I will post a link.

I checked weather right up to departure and it was good. Also, in the towns, they post a forecast and print it out. I think at one of the train stations, they're suppose to have a cam of what it's like at the peak but if you're in Grindlewald or Wengen, you can tell what the weather will be like.

And it's definitely better to stay in Wengen or Grindlewald than Interlaken.

Enzian - I have driven between Luzern and Interlaken at least 5 separate times and never did it take more than an hour. And if you look at mappy or viamichelin you'll see the same.

We always do road trips - and esp in Switzerland - where you may want to get out and stop at any cute village or lake or ? IMHO this is the only sensible way to travel. Train is way too confining - and time-wasting - as your info indicates.

Oh - and the train up the Jungfrau leaves from the Interlaken Est station.

for nytraveler,

Well driving may be the "only sensible way to travel" for YOU. For me and for many, many other folks, the only sensible way to travel is to relax and actually enjoy the trip, maybe with a picnic and some wine. I especially enjoy mixing with the locals on board, which is impossible when hermetically sealed in a car.

Since there are so many places in Switzerland that are car-free, you'll eventually get on a train somewhere. So why double pay for transportation?

What you call time-wasting, I call down-time. I always have the train schedule for my day-trips, so I usually wait no more than 10 minutes for the train. And if it is more, well, great! I have time to get a cup of coffee at a cafe and, yes, watch life tripping by. I don't feel compelled to rush from destination to destination, collecting sights for my scrapbook.

And the train to the Jungfraujoch actually leaves from Kleine Scheidegg.

s

Getting back to the original poster, Kubla, I'd have to say that your plan is too ambitious. Too many places for seven nights. If it were me, I'd feel put through the ringer, running here there and everywhere for a glimpse rather than picking two or three areas for a more leisurely investigation.

That being said, I'd suggest the first two nights in Luzern. Take in the lake, Altstadt, Lion Monument, Bourbaki Panorama or Transport Museum, some excellent food at the Old Swiss House, Hotel Des Alpes or Rotes GAller and stay in a place with a Pilatus View--Hotel Des Alpes for around 245chf/nt or Des Balances for a ton more.

Then pick one mountain place such as Zermatt, Gstaad or the BO. Spring can be rainy, foggy, cloudy, so pick the area with best chance of decent views.

End up with two nights in Lugano or Locarno to take in the Swiss-Italian ambiance and generally warmer weather.

To me, this is a do-able trip that will whet your appetitite for a subsequent visit to see the other areas your time didn't allow you to visit this time around.

nytraveler---I'm sure you are correct about the driving time from Luzern to Interlaken, but most of us were talking about the train. As for getting up to the Jungfraujoch, the train from Interlaken Ost only takes you as far as Grindelwald. You get off that train onto another that takes you up to Kleine Scheidegg. There you change again for the actually train up to the Jungfraujoch.

We have spent six weeks in Switzerland and have traveled only by train and cable car. And we've seen plenty of charming villages and lakes, including a number of them that cannot be reached by car. And we've never had to search for a place to park our car. It's all a matter of taste, but I'm one who definitely prefers the Swiss Transport System (train, boats, and lifts) over a car.

I wonder if kubla is ever going to come back and check for answers?