Hello there:

DH, DD (nearly 2) and I are going to Switzerland at the end of September for a week. Thank you to the Fodorites who responded to my initial post about where to go/which itineraries to pick:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...elp-please.cfm

This is the itinerary I have come up with. What do you think? Any thoughts on whether this is doable with a toddler? Should I add more time in Lucerne and less time in Zurich? Is the Lauterbrunnen/Jungfrau loop too much to do with a 2 year old Thanks!

Day 1: Fly into Zurich in the evening
Day 2: Zurich
Day 3: Zurich Zoo or trip out to Rapperswil to check out the castle, Circus Museum, Kinder Zoo
Day 4: Train to Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen (should we stay in Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen?)
Day 5: Either the Lauterbrunnen loop (Murren/Schithorn/Gimmelwald/Lauterbrunnen) or the Jungfrau loop - have not decided. What do you think?
Day 6: Golden Pass to Lucerne
Day 7: Lucerne
Day 8: Fly out of Zurich in the morning

Thanks!
Manisha

You'll have a hectic last morning. Better to take the train to Zürich on the evening before your flight home, and take the lightrail S7 from the Zürich central station (called Hauptbahnhof) to the small town adjacent to the airport, called Kloten. The hotels there know all about getting people to the airport smoothly, and they usually cost less than the ones in the center of Zürich.

Use Google and input the words > Hotel Kloten Switzerland < then take your pick.

That leaves you even less time in Lucerne. You should know that the main attraction of Lucerne is not really the town itself, but the surrounding excursion targets (look them up): Rigi, Pilatus, Einsiedeln... They take some time to do, so evaluate your timing of the trip from interlaken to Lucerne (you should pick the scenic route via Brienz and Brünig - ask for that when buying the tickets). Train timetables are at www.sbb.ch

You can do leisurely boat rides on the lake (they sell snacks and refreshments, and the views are great) - timetables at www.lakelucerne.ch

Laauterbrunnen, Wengen or Grindelwald over Interlaken. Less time in Zurich and more int he Berner Oberland.

Hi Manisha,

I agree with HappyTrvlr that Wengen is better than Interlaken; I also prefer the other car-free village, Mürren. But I dislike Grindelwald because it allows cars, and that can mean tour busses and lots of traffic (and less clean air, of course!).

I'm not wild about Lauterbrunnen. I have tried to get off the train to explore the village a few times, but every time, the cliffs that tower over the village dissuade me. Many people think the cliffs add some charm, and other people don't even see them. But if it were me, and I were staying in Lauterbrunnen and I didn't know about the cliffs -- I would not be happy. They seem depressing to me. So you may want to hunt for some photos of the village to see what your reaction is.

I do disagree with DalaiLlama above about staying in Luzern for your last night. There are direct (0 changes) trains that run from Luzern right to the airport, and they take an hour. I don't think that would be any kind of a problem! I'm one who doesn't like to surrender the charm of any one of my few nights of vacation; I would stay in beautiful Luzern and not at an airport hotel.

You can verify the train schedules at the Swiss rail site

www.rail.ch

Have fun!

s

IF it's a typical flight leaving ZRH eight-ish to ten-ish, that extra hour on the train, with child and luggage, can make a big difference. Ten-minute shuttle from hotel to the airport, versus ten-minute shuttle to the train in Lucerne - could mean the difference between getting up at 4 or at 5AM...
I'd say take that evening train when the sun has gone down so you don't miss out on the evening stroll in Lucerne.

Thank you for your advice and responses. It turns out that I did the math wrong and we do have an extra day, so will be spending some of Day 6, all of Day 7 and most of Day 8 in Lucerne.

Our flight leaves at 10 am on day 9. And yes, with a child it might be tough to travel from Lucerne to Zurich the day of. So will be leaving Lucerne evening of Day 8. Would be lovely to spend the extra night in Lucerne, but with a child, I have learnt to make trade-offs

Any advice on which one to do - Lauterbrunnen loop (Murren/Schithorn/Gimmelwald/Lauterbrunnen) or the Jungfrau loop?

ttt

Should have been more specific before ttt'ing...
Any advice on which one to do - Lauterbrunnen loop (Murren/Schithorn/Gimmelwald/Lauterbrunnen) or the Jungfrau loop?

50/50 in my book. Go with the weather, and with the convenience of which is closer to where you end up staying.

Hi Manisha:

I hope your trip last year to Switzerland was a success! We are also planning to go this year in August for about a week with our DD who will be 20 months old at that time. I was initially apprehensive about trans-atlantic flight with her (we live in CT) but reading your posts has given me a lot of confidence!
Could you briefly update on how the trip went from your DD's standpoint? I am most concerned about her meals: she is not a baby food eater so jarred food will not work for us. Do you think apartments/vacation homes would work better than hotels for that reason? Any other experiences that you can share from that trip that might benefit our LO will be very much appreciated.
Thanks!
Manisha (same first name!)

Hi manisha, sorry I have not responded. Have been quite inactive here in a while (work and school and kid) hope your Tripp went fabulous!!! Good for you for taking on travel with a 20 month old. Hope all went well, let me know if you still have questions. Will be better this time.... Cheers!