How to spend 4-5 days in Switzerland
 

Hello all,

I am planning a trip to Europe in late September with my husband. We are in our 20s and are looking for beautiful scenery, activities (hiking, biking), and perhaps some wineries. We are not as worried about relaxing during our trip but we are hoping to do it on a relatively tight budget. We will arrive in Geneva and plan to spend about 4-5 days in Switzerland before heading to Munich. I was considering spending the first night in Geneva and then renting a car and driving to Montreux and spending one night, driving to Interlaken and spending one night, then driving to Luzerne and spending two nights. From Luzerne, we would likely take the train to Munich. Do you have any recommendations about other potential itineraries? Would this involve too much traveling? Would you suggest taking a train instead of renting a car?

Thanks for your help!

Switzerland is one country trains may make more sense than driving - especially if going to the Jungfrau Region where cars are banned above Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen and you can take tjhe iconic Golden Pass special tourist scenic train between Montreux and Interlaken - anyway for a fix on Swiss trains and passes - a 4-consecutive-day pass could be great for you - check out these IMO fantastic sites - www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.swisstravelsystem.com.

Hi abkernan,

Yes, I agree with PalenQ that using the trains is the way to go in Switzerland. The roads around Lake Geneva are very crowded and parking is competitive. Your hosts will give you a Riviera Card that makes all the busses free, and believe me, it is much easier to just hop on and off the bus rather than wrestling with traffic and fighting to get a parking space. The busses run every 10 minutes, and there are stops at just about every other corner.

And as Pal notes above, trains are just about useless in the Oberland region, where all of the mountaintops and the prettiest villages don't even allow cars. Having a car won't be any fun in Luzern either, as it's one of those cities that grew up before motorized vehicles, and its streets aren't designed for modern traffic. You'll be fighting with other traffic, trams, busses, and pedestrians to find and get to expensive parking spots.

Other than that, I think you are moving around too much. Remember that you lose about half a day of "outside" time with every move due to the chores of packing up and checking out, then checking in again and unpacking. You can put your bags in a luggage locker and see Geneva in few hours. Then, I would say you should choose between the Oberland or Luzern to spend the rest of your time.

Information at

www.myjungfrau.ch
www.luzern.com

Have fun as you plan!

s

One night in the Berner Oberland region - which actually equals 1/2 day once you get there's WAAAY too little time. Rethink all the moving around.

Would suggest that you do the Lake Genvea thing for 2 days and then go to Luzern, which is beautiful. You can go to mountains around there. Not quite as spectacular as Berner Oberland, but wonderful. We actually went to Mt. Titlis while we stayed in Luzern last time and it was FABULOUS. Enjoyed it was much a the BO.

And take the train as the others have said. No need for a car. Can sit and look at the scenery and relax. They're clean and comfortable.

That should be: "Enjoyed it as much as the BO."

the problem I've found with driving in Switzerland is that if you take the autobahns - for which you need to buy a special permit that costs $40 you see very little except a busy highway and if you take side roads in this sinuously terrained country then the going is oh so slow. Plus the driver has to keep eyes peeled on the road and sees very little.

Mt Titlis and Engelberg and Lucerne being awesome places still IME do not nearly match the majesty of the Berner Oberlaned which offers so so much more varied things to do and has many more awe-inspiring glacier-girdled peaks - two separate valleys to explore and lake boats on lakes bookending Interlaken make sweet floats, etc.

I'd put most of your time in say Wengen (if 40 and over) or Grindelwald if under 30.

Definitely use the train from Geneva to Montreux. Better yet stay in the town one closer to Geneva, Vevey. It has more reasonably priced lodging and eating options than Montreux.

Once in Montreux or Vevey be sure to take the frequent lake steamers to places like Castle Chillon, of Lord Byron fame, or Lausanne or even over the Evian-les-Bains - that swank spa/resort in France (Swiss Passes cover these boats in full even over to France).

one night in Interlaken then driving to Lucerne - if that is all you can spend in Interlaken - driving much of the day to get there and leaving the next morning - why?

Interlaken is a neat nice city but a few hours there will not allow you to even get up into the hills like to Grindelwald or other hill towns where the fantastic out of this world panoramas unfold. At least spend a whole day in Interlaken and at least take the train to Grindelwald and do a little hiking - like the easy hike to a glacier or a cable car or mountain train further up.... but Interlaken as nice as it is offers none of this - the reason folks make the Jungfrau Region the very top tourist destination I'd wager in all of Switzerland.

Thank you everyone for your comments. I will certainly plan on taking trains through Switzerland rather than a car, and I think we will try to plan one specific place to visit rather than multiple. I am leaning towards Berner Oberland to be able to take advantage of the many hikes and mountain peaks. Would you suggest staying in Interlaken while there, or is there another town/city that you would instead recommend. We would like to stay at a rather cheap hotel or even a hostel.

Thanks!
Amanda

For cheap hotels or hostels it's Interlaken as it has an abundance of them - check the Interlaken Tourist Office's official web site for details on all and booking. Grindelwald also has some no-frills hostels and one I like is the Nature Friends' House, right in town with self-catering facilities. Many folks rave about Wengen but ain't much cheap there at least like hostels or low-budget hotels. I often get a room in Interlaken for around 45 francs at a proper hotel - some nice hotels have scruffier rooms for lower prices - if breakfast is included in Switzerland that's worth a lot due to the extremely high cost of food there.

anyone wishing to economize on food and any necessity should hit the huge Coop mega store right by Interlaken-Ost station before heading for the hills if staying up there, where everything tends to cost more - often IME much more.

Living in Switzerland, I would skip the Geneva/Lausanne/Montreux region completely as it is just busy and boring. If you have a limited time, head for the Berner Oberland as suggested and make the best out of it. It is scenic, lots of things to do and you can have a different views every day.
Don't try to put too many things into a short time. I would not expect to do California in six days...

Our Swiss "home town" of Kandersteg is unbeatable in my slightly biased opinion for hiking and mountain peaks. It's a very sleepy area that is serious about hiking, but not your cheapest place for hotels.