Any questions or remarks about travelling in Switzerland? Bring them in here! <BR>

Hi! I am in the final planning stages of our first European trip. We will be in London for 5 nites, Paris 3 nites, <BR>Rome 5 nites, Florence 2 nites, 1 nite in Venice, and then into Switzerland. <BR>I'm trying to decide whether to base in the Interlaken area and take side trips (we'll have 4 or 5 nites) or to base in Zurich. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Kathy

It depends on what you want to do. You can use Zurich as a good base for exploring places like Lucerne or Bern. However, I think Interlaken would be better. It is about 1 to 1 1/2 hours from Bern and within two hours of Lucerne, and it allows you to be very close to all the incredibly beautiful alps of the Berner Oberland. My suggestion would be a little different though. With that much time, consider staying at least two nights in the mountains; maybe in Wengen. Then one night in Lucerne and one in Bern. Then spend a day in Zurich before you fly out. I have done a lot of day trips, but I always feel that I get a different impression of places when I stay overnight there. Interlaken is great as a base, but I regret not staying in the mountains when I was there. It will be more special that way.

I have in mind a trip that includes the following destinations: Zurich, Lugano, Appenzell, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Interlaken (plus various excursions from there), and Lucerne for 2-4 days each. I'd be interested in centrally located, reasonably priced hotels (not more than a total of $250 for accommodations (a suite or 2 rooms) for a family of 4. Also, what about altitude sickness in the Alps, especially Jungfrau? Is it likely or unusual?

Your itinerary sounds ambitious but doable. We just got back from 9 days in Switzerland, and it was great. Not cheap, but great; outside Zurich prices are lower but don't expect any really cheap rates. On the brighter side, the quality of accommodations is generally good . Your $250/night budget for 2 rooms should get you by if you don't require luxury; there's a tourist office in most train stations that can help you. As to alititude sickness at Jungfrau, your ascent is gradual enough that it shouldn't be a problem. When you do arrive at the top, take it slow for the first little bit to avoid symptoms. Be sure to bring along sunglasses, as the glare on the snow is fierce! And if you plan to go outside to romp take along gloves and dress warmly. <BR>

My wife and I just returned from two weeks in Switzerland. Our trip was monofocused in that our objective was to see the Alps. We rented a vacation apartment in Lauterbrunnen, 7K south of Interlaken with frequent trains. <BR> <BR>From our base we able to take the train to Grindelwald, the Jungfraujoch, Luzern, Interlaken, etc. <BR> <BR>There are some incredible walks that one can take in the vicinity. The most outstanding ones were (1) gondola to First from Grindelwald and then walk to the Faulhorn, (2) the upper Glacer Gorge (Oberegletscherschlucht) from Grindelwald, (3) cog rail car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp, up the mountain side toward Murren, and then walk from the Grutschalp station to Murren. (Jungfrau and friends in constant view.), and (4) <BR>the Jungfraujoch itself. Although expensive, the Jungfraujoch trip was the <BR>equal in views to the First gondola trip. <BR> <BR>We bought Swiss half fare cards before we went. This pass includes travel from <BR>your arrival point to your destination and return. Almost all other train tickets and gondola rides are half of list price. (Some of the gondolas were 25% off.) <BR> <BR>Having used a vacation apartment, I have no desire to stay in a hotel. An apartment that will sleep 4 easily will run about $80 - 90 or so per night depending on exchange rate and the size of the apartment and the month. <BR> <BR>Lauterbrunnen, Kandersteg, Zermatt and other towns are full of them. The high summer season is during July and August. <BR> <BR>We enjoyed shopping for food, with the bakery and the konditori being the main interst points. The goodies in the Konditori were as important as the mountain trails. Meat was a little expensive relative to US prices, but the vegetables and fruits were ok and good. <BR>As for altitude sickness, I experienced none, even on the Jungfrau. We walked along the snow track about a mile to the Moenchsjochhuette (Monks saddle hut) <BR>The effort to trudge through the snow slightly uphill at 12,000 feet left us breathing a little hard, but there was no headache or anything. But physiologic response depends on your physical condition. <BR>I am 65 and well past my backpacking days, but the trip was tolerable physically. <BR> <BR>Of course, if you are not intested in seeing the Alps, then my experience is of little value to you. But that was what we did and enjoyed it immensely. <BR> <BR>

Your trip is doable, because distances in Switzerland are very short, so you dont't need much time to reach the next station of your trip but you've enough time to spend there. <BR>I guess that you'll travel by train, because this is the best way in Switzerland. My tip is to buy a Half fare card for 90 or 150 SFr. With a "family card" for 20 SFR only your children under 16 travel free of charge and children from 16-25 pay the half fare. <BR>Perhaps the following Sites can help you planning your trip: <BR> <BR>www.switzerlandtourism.ch <BR>www.graubuenden.ch <BR>www.zuerich.ch <BR>www.berneroberland.ch <BR>www.stmoritz.ch <BR>www.rail.ch <BR> <BR>If you need some tips while you're planning your trip, feel free to Email to me and I'll help you with pleasure. (I know Switzerland very well because I'm Swiss). <BR> <BR>

Hi Thomas. Your trip is doable, because distances in Switzerland are very short, so you dont't need much time to reach the next station of your trip but you've enough time to spend there. <BR>I guess that you'll travel by train, because this is the best way in Switzerland. My tip is to buy a Half fare card for 90 or 150 SFr. With a "family card" for 20 SFR only your children under 16 travel free of charge and children from 16-25 pay the half fare. <BR>Perhaps the following Sites can help you planning your trip: <BR> <BR>www.switzerlandtourism.ch <BR>www.graubuenden.ch <BR>www.zuerich.ch <BR>www.berneroberland.ch <BR>www.stmoritz.ch <BR>www.rail.ch <BR> <BR>If you need some tips while you're planning your trip, feel free to Email to me and I'll help you with pleasure. (I know Switzerland very well because I'm Swiss). <BR> <BR>

I would like to add a few more comments about the use of ATM cards in Switzerland and my general frustration in finding out in advance where my cards could be used. <BR> <BR>While I was in Switzerland in September, I withdrew money three times from ATM machines, at 3 different locations: <BR>Lauterbrunnen, Luzern, and Saas Grund. <BR>In Luzern I was successful with a standard NationsBank ATM card. The other two times I used a Visa Debit Card issued through NationsBank. <BR> <BR>Before departure, calls to NationsBank revealed that no one there that I could find knew where my ATM and Debit Cards might be valid. <BR> <BR>I now believe them, fully: they really don't know!! Even Visa itself does not know the location of all ATMs that will honor a Visa debit card! <BR> <BR>I recently logged in to the Visa web site: visaatm.infonew.net and decided to check out this wellspring of information. Out of curiosity I plugged in Switzerland and then Lauterbrunnen just to see what the Visa databank knew. The reponse to the Lauterbrunnen inquiry was accurate; my screen showed the name and location of the ATM where I had been successful. Then I tried Saas Grund. The report was that there was no known location in Saas Grund that would accept my card. Well, I got money out, and if Visa wants to know, I got it at the UBS branch on the main street of town. <BR> <BR>Although I used my card in a place that Visa did not know about, the Swiss computers were quite thorough and very prompt in letting Visa know to debit my checking account! The debit is on my current statement. <BR> <BR>Darn. <BR>

I may have 1 day to spend in Geneva this coming Jan. Any suggestions (sight seeing, food, etc.)? <BR>