First time to Switzerland & would like some advice
 

Hello,

We are a family of 3 who will be spending 7 nights in Switzerland next June. Originally we planned to go to Spain but hubby had a total change of heart....I am not familiar with Switzerland at all, so I am starting from point zero and would love some advice from all the experts here. We will spend 7 nights in Switzerland prior to getting on a 7 nights river cruise cruising from Basel through Germany, and it ends in Amsterdam. I like to use Lucerne as the base for the first 3 days and the following 3 in Interlaken, staying close to the train station. I am thinking of planning our itinerary like this:

Day 1 -Arrival in Zurich. Take train directly to Lucerne. Get oriented, probably cannot do too much touring after a long flight from SFO
Day 2-Lucerne-Tour in Lucerne
Day 3-Day trip to Bern. Good choice? Seems lovely!
Day4-Train to interlaken. Cruise Lake Brienz or Lake Thun? Other suggestions of activites?
Day 5-Interlaken--Day trip to Jungfraujoch. Hope weather permits.
Day6-Interlaken-Thinking of going to Murren. Any other places you would recommend besides Murren?
Day 7-Train to Basel. Spend day in Basel and will get on river cruise the next day.

My husband and I are in our early 40's and our son is 12 years old who is a great traveler. We are pretty much "slow travelers" and don't like to rush around. We enjoy nature, history, architecture and great food. We like to take lots of walk when we travel but we are not necessarily the best mountain hikers. We hate to have to pack and unpack and hop around everyday so I am only planning on lodging in Lucerne and Interlaken. Basel is a must for the last night since we have to make sure we get on the river cruise the next day.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Help me out here. Your husband decided you are going to Switzerland as opposed to Spain. Is HE familiar with the country?

I would not stay in Interlaken. You can be close to the train station in Lauterbrunnen or in Grindelwald.

Originally we were planning to go to Spain and we have been there before, and hubby could speak decent Spanish. However he really wants to try the river cruise and this is why we are now planning this trip. No, he is not familiar with Switzerland and I am always the main travel planner. So what is the reason we should not stay in Interlaken? Is it too touristy?

I love Interlaken but like Dukey says first-timers to appreciate the awesomeness of it all should stay eyeball to eyeball with the glacier girdled peaks arising over lush cow-dotted meadows from your hotel balcony - Interlaken has only a distant view of the ice-bound Jungfrau Massif.

My favorite town is Grindelwald - the best views IME - a whole amphitheatre of ravishing vistas and so many easy excursions to do from there. Others love Wengen too Grindelwald has more kitsch for younger kids to do IME (and Interlaken too).

Grindelwald is just a 20-minute train ride above Interlaken so it is easy to get down to do a boat ride on either of the two sweet lakes bookending Interlaken.

the Jungfraujoch train is quicker from Grindelwaldl

Be sure to do the very easy Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg 'ridge walk' - a fairly flat wide trail that any age can walk the 2 miles or so on with views down to both the Grindelwald Valley on your left and the Luaterbrunne Gorge on your right (west)side.

I also love the Lauterbrunnen-Murren-Schilthorn-Gimmelwald-Lauterbrunnen loop and Lauterbrunnen is just a short train ride away.

For lots of good info on trains in Switzerland and the Jungfrau in particular as well as aerial cable ways, etc I always spotlight these IMO superb sources: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.swisstravelsystem.com.

If traveling about everyday and take trains and boats in this area and the Lucerne area a Swiss Pass may be a good deal for you - kids uner 16 get a free Family Pass so they never pay a cent to ride anything - gondolas, toy-like mountain trains, lake boats (which a Swiss Pass also covers in full as well as giving free entry to 470 Swiss museums and sites), etc A Swiss Saverpass for two adults traveling together on one pass.

You have to leave your itinerary open in order to ascend the Jungfrau. The top s often wreathed in clouds (even if the valley is sunlit) and you will see nothing at the top. We were in Interlaken 3 days before we got a day clear at the top. (Of course we visited a lot of other places: Thun, Gruyere, Brienz, Swiss life museum, boat trips, Bern, etc - but we had a car).

Staying in one of the town slightly up the mountain is also perfectly viable and will make it faster getting to hikes (we don't hike - although we will walk miles in cities.

Just be aware that while Spain is one of the least expensive places in western europe Switz is the most expensive outside of Scandinavia.

Hi quanmama,

Yes, like others here say, you may want to consider staying up in the mountains rather than down in the flats in Interlaken. The number of tourists in June shouldn't be overwhelming, but in my mind, it's just nicer to be IN the mountains rather than looking up at them.

I also prefer a car-free village; to me, that gives such a unique and peaceful environment, and it really enhances the majestic feeling of the mountains. My favorite village is Wengen, which is not as remote as Mürren.

I would suggest that you switch your itinerary and go to the Jungfrau area first. Arrival day is a wash, so chalk it up to travel and keep going until you're in Wengen (or your base town in the Jungfrau region). The next day, you wake up and POW you enjoy the mountains immediately.

But most importantly, if you end in Luzern, you'll be just a quick train ride to Basel -- maybe an hour.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Thank you for all the advice! It certainly helps a lot and I am rethinking about our plan for sure. I know Switzerland is very expensive..I was shocked by the hotel prices! But no matter what it will be a nice trip :-)

. We were in Interlaken 3 days before we got a day clear at the top. (Of course we visited a lot of other places: Thun, Gruyere, Brienz, Swiss life museum, boat trips, Bern, etc - but we had a car).>

This is why the Interlaken/Jungfrau Region makes so much sense over say Zermatt - bedcause if funky weather does set in it is easy to still do somethings that are fun even in poor weather. And having a car is not cecessary because trains and postal buses will take you there easily too.

After reading up more online, I have to agreed that Grindelwald s gorgeous! I am pretty sure we will stay there instead of Interlaken. Does anyone have any recommendations on lodging? I like Hotel Gletschergarten. It seems quite reasonable and fits our needs. Any suggestions is much appreciated. Also are there many restaurant choices in Grindelwald based on your experience?

We stayed in Hotel Belvedere in Grindelwald which was spectacular!

If you do not stay there you should at least give the restaurant a try, especially on the night they have their dinner buffet!

Masterphil: I was looking at the Hotel Belvedere and love it as well, but the price is more hefty than Hotel Gletschergarten. We might splurge and stay there since it is going to be 3 nights only.

Any Swiss hotel that I have been in is adequate - never a dive - anything in a pricey range - well over $150 will be great and a swell unlimited buffet breakfast where you can load up calories for the day and help avoid the high food prices even in supermarkets.

quanmama...if you are like us, you won't be spending much time in the hotel in this incredibly beautiful setting! Get the pass that allows you on all of the gondolas, lifts, etc. and spend the day in the mountains!

Walking from the train station to Hotel Belvedere is a small restaurant on the right (when we were there we were drawn in by the Kase Fondue sign (after a major hike from First)) The owner loved my wife and I and kept asking us to join us in a shot of schnapps! What he didn't know if that my wife doesn't drink schnapps and I had to do 2 shots for every one of his! Thank God it was "staggering distance" to the Belvedere. :) The Fondue was fantastic!

Still one of my favorite places on this planet!

Enjoy!

Many folks here prefer Wengen over Grindelwald, but I love Grindelwald - for the ambience of groups of hikers, alpinists, etc coming and going, gear in hand and best of all the wide wide WIDE amphitheatre-like views - and once I was camping in Grindelwald and a thunder storm hit - not unusual at all - and the torrents of water cascading off the near sheer cliffs of the Jungfrau Massif were tremendous to see and hear.

Seeing the alpinist on the peaks - at night their lights - and the glowing red of the sheer facade in the setting sun - oh my God - think Pink (from Yosemite but true here too).

Your son (and you and spouse as well) would no doubt enjoy the Transport Museum in Lucerne. Fabulous array! A boatride on the lake is also absolutely lovely. Lucerne is one of the most beautiful places on earth, IMO.

I've stayed in Interlaken a couple of times and have been "up" the mountain(s) on day trips to the smaller villages. They are beautiful indeed. We prefer staying down below, which gives us more freedom to head to Gruyere or take a boat ride, etc., without having to make the trip back down the mountain to do so. I also have (minor) problems with nose bleeds at some heights so prefer to sleep at lower elevations at night. We actually like all of the choices for food and activities in Interlaken. Yes, it can be bustling with tourists/travelers.

You are traveling to my favorite country in Europe! Enjoy!

All the advice are great! I just booked a hotel in Lucerne and am happy with the type of room we got and the price is very reasonable. I am still working on the lodging in Grindelwald and that should finalize soon as well. I always like to secure lodging as soon as possible because I know I am pretty picky when it comes to lodging even though we don't necessarily spend much time in the room. Not that we need to be at any luxurious hotels but it has to be well located, spacious, and clean (and within our budget!)

We just came back from Switzerland - we are a family of 5 and loved it! Our itinerary was a bit of the opposite direction - we arrived in Geneva and spent 3 nights in Zermatt, then 3 nights in Wengen, and then 1 night in Lucerne. Of course, we wanted to spend more time in the mountains, so we didn't do Berne. I am in the midst of working on my trip report and will try to post. We were very active - via ferrata, paragliding, hiking. Kids loved it! (and mom and dad too)

Surfmom: I would love to see your trip report! I am sure this won't be our only trip to Switzerland and it would be nice to read about others' experience.

Given your interests, I wonder if you have considered staying in Lauterbrunnen for your time in the Bernese Oberland?

Lauterbrunnen is a nice town but it don't have the mind-boggling views that Grindelwald has - Lauterbrunnen is in a deep valley - some nice views but not the sweeping panorama of views Grindelwald has.

Kja: Thank you for the suggestion. I think I will stick with Grindelwald. I just got my hotel's reservation confirmation today. The owner of the hotel has been very responsive and courteous and I got a small discount booking directly with them via email. After going through some of Grindelwald's photos online, I believe this is the right choice for our family. We could hardly wait :)

Hello all,

I am back! After our wonderful trip to Tokyo, I am now 100% ready to plan our Switzerland trip.

Now we have 4 nights to spend in Lucerne which I am grateful for. Also I am debating if we should extend our trip with 2 nights in Zurich prior to getting to Lucerne. One of the reasons is that since we will have long flights to endure coming from San Francisco, so we want to be able to hit our hotel as soon as possible. Going to central Zurich seems closer than getting to Lucerne from the airport. On our Tokyo trip, our boy was so tired after the long flight that we almost could not wake him up on time to get him off the train from the airport to central Tokyo lol. Do you think it is worth to spend the two nights in Zurich? First day we likely won't be able to do anything other than resting and walk around a bit to get acquainted with the area, so we should have one full day the next day to tour Zurich. Your opinions is welcome! I definitely won't change the 4 nights in Lucerne since we do want to spend time in Lucerne plus making day trips to Bern etc.

I liked Zurich a lot -- it has some wonderful churches (the Chagall and Giacometti windows of the Fraumunster are stunning), some very good museums, and some interesting squares and places to stroll.

Bookmarking: I just booked tickets US > Zurich, Venice < US.

quanmama
Regarding staying in Zurich or not on arrival, it depends on whether Zurich is a destination or someplace you felt useful as an arrival sleeping city.
If you are taking the Swiss Air direct SFO-ZRH flight, it arrives around 3:40pm. It you are traveling only with carry-on, you would be in Zurich around 4:30pm or in Luzern around 5:30pm. Not much difference towards what you thought you are getting - getting to the hotel much earlier.

If I were to extend the trip, I would add to somewhere else unless I have a compelling reason to visit Zurich more than just an overnight city.

Bookmarking

Thank you, Greg and Kja! It turned out that hubby could not get extra time off from work so now we are sticking with 4 nights in Lucerne, 3 nights in Grindelwald and then head to Basel the same day we get on the river cruise instead of staying overnight. No complains here since any number of vacation days is better than none!

Btw is it possible to go to both Bern and Murten on the same day? I hate to rush but we probably won't have enough time to see both places in two separate days.

I think that depends on what you want to see and experience. I spent 1.5 days in delightful Bern and sincerely wish I had had more time there. I didn't make it to Murten....

I'd reverse the 4 and 3 days - 4 in the Jungfru Region and 3 in Lucerne though you can't go wrong in either case.

Bern is just as easy a day trip from Interlaken environs as it is from Lucerne - I say this because if poor weather sets in whilst in the Jungfrau Region there is not much to do and this can happen anytime - so having a day trip or two in mind from there is a good idea perhaps.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for all the advice given. I have been looking up on different types of Swiss pass and I am still a bit confused on which one would be the best deal for us. Here is the tentative plan we have:

Day 1 Zurich airport-->Lucern (lodging in Lucern)
Day 2 Lucerne-Day in Lucern. Mostly walking to see the city
Day 3 Lucerne--Day trip to Bern
Day 4 Lucerne--Swiss transport museum, Lake cruise afterward
Day 5 Lucerne-->Grindelwald. Plan to store luggage at Interlaken station & tour around Interlaken a bit before heading to Grindelwald
Day 6 Grindelwald-->Jungfrau if weather is good
Day 7 Grindelwald-->Lauterbrunnen & Wengen?
Day 8 Grinfelwald-->Basel to catch our river cruise

Should I get the Swiss Travel Pass Flex 4 days for Day 1,3,5&8 and just pay separately for the other days? Or should I go ahead with the 8 days pass?

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Hi again,

To be certain you get the best deal on train ticket prices, you or someone just needs to do the math.

Go to the Swiss railway site

www.sbb.ch

and price out each of your trips, including the one up to the Jungfraujoch. Then compare the sum of that travel with the various passes.

I used to have to do a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the various combinations and options, and each time I did it, the Half Fare Card came out as the most economical choice. These days, I just get the HFC and am happy.

Have fun!

s

no one should just get the half-fare card without looking at the Swiss Card which often gives the exact same thing as a half-fare card but more for an overall cheaper price. Example both if you want the real cheapest deal.

and re passes - I always end up using my pass more than I thought - like in Interlaken on a whim going down and hopping on a Lake Thun boat in late afternoon - without thinking about the price, etc.

If you have every move every day in stone then you can sese the best bottom line and still if at all close the pass's provision of just hopping on trains, boats, etc without have to buy tickets each time as the half-fare card does is another factor.

swandav always makes out that the half-fare card is best for her and it probably is (though the Swiss Card could often be even better) but she neglects to say that she usually goes just to one area - she should put in that caveat so that it is not misunderstood that she is saying for the average traveler going to 3-4 places will not usually find the HFC or Swiss Card better than a pass.

If staying in one place then the Swiss Card is often the best ticket to ride - being usually a bit cheaper than the HFC which will be the best deal for relatively few peoples' actually travels.

Pal,

Whether a traveller goes to one place or to 3 or 4, doing the math will reveal which pass or card is best.

The Swiss Card would not have been better because I usually get a discounted ticket to my destination. If the OP does travel only from the Zurich airport to Luzern for the first trip, the Swiss Card would not be a good idea, either.

BTW, I think you remember that we discovered that the Swiss Card is no longer offered.

Another BTW -- I was once standing in a long line while the SBB agent was giving advice to a few travelling couples in front of me. In virtually every case, he recommended the HFC. So I would say that contradicts your suggestion that the HFC is good for "relatively few peoples' actual travels."

s

Hi all,

I just went on sbb site and did some calculations. Looks like we will definitely come out ahead with a 8 day Swiss travel pass (not the flex one). Plus I really like the idea of "ticketless" traveling and as PalenQ said, we could hop on a boat or train ride without thinking about the price and if it is worth it.

Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate it!

Rebecca :)

swandav - I just called Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com and asked him about the Swiss Card changes - I have bought passes from him for years and he will always IME answer questions even if not buying - he said the Swiss Transfer Ticket now has a provision to buy a Half-Fare Card at half-price in conjunction with buying the Transfer ticket - Half-Fare Cards cost $128 in the U.S. - not sure what they cost in Switzerland but $64 + The Swiss Transfer ticket - $151 giving you a ticket from any airport or border point to any place in Switzerland and then one back to any airport or border point plus the $64 for a total of $215 would give you a half-fare card for a month and the two hop on at will train trips. Kind of hard to figure out - I'll have to digest so my info is not dated as it was!

Thanks for your good research, Pal! That was a pretty good deal; I'm sorry they don't offer it any more. Let us know the best way to get a similar one.

s

Well the Swiss Transfer ticket replaced the Swiss Card - or morphed into it - so to see if it is efficacious add $151 p.p. to $64 p.p. gets $215 for two train trips of any length and a half-fare card - the very same half-fare card - not easy for the average person to figure out.

But if you bought the Half-Fare Card straight up it would be $128 (not sure of price in Switzerland but presume it is similar) so your two train trips would have to exceed a total of $87 to make the Swiss Transfer Pass + 1/2 off 1/2 fare card a good deal. that is about $44 for each train trip which seems like a great deal for many.

Hello! I just want to say thank you to all of you who had given me all the wonderful advice. We had the greatest time in Switzerland. The highlights were definitely the time we spent up in Grindelwald and touring the surrounding areas. Many places were beautiful and simply picturesque! We got very lucky with the weather when we got up to Jungfrau and everything went perfectly that day! We made good use of our 8 days 1st class Swiss Travel Pass and we loved the idea of not having to worry about getting tickets for all the rides and such. The only problem we encountered was that one day there were so many Chinese tourists groups reserving many of the train sections including the 1st class! We actually got kicked out from one of the 1st class section because it was reserved and we had to get our luggage and walked all the way to the other end of the train in order to find a seat. It wasn't the worst thing and we were happy to be able to sit in a quiet section without having to share it with the loud tourist groups. Again thank you!

Another piggyback question resulting from Quanmama's report- I am under the impression that Swiss trains do not implement seat reservations. It's first come first served in the class of your ticket. Is this understanding correct? Many thanks...

((B))