Hi, I'll be traveling with 4 people total (all adults/young adults) for a trip this upcoming January! Been trying out different scenarios before booking places to live (though may leave a few nights unplanned for more flexibility.. we will see). Any advice is appreciated! Leaving in about 1.5 weeks.

I'm skipping a few days in the beginning/end because they are set for Copenhagen (where we will fly in/out)

Day 1: Arrive Salzburg around noon, stay overnight

Day 2: take train to Munich in evening

Day 3-4: Munich city, thinking of staying there 3 nights (night of Day 2, 3, 4), rent a car

Day 5-6: Use rental car to visit Neuwachstein + other small towns (leave Munich early)
Flexible - and would welcome advice about what villages/towns to visit as well as
where to stay for a night!

Day 6: Drop off rental car in Konstanz, take train to Lucerne (late afternoon/evening?) for overnight

Day 7: If weather cooperates, go up Mt. Titlis in morning and explore Lucerne in afternoon, overnight in Lucerne

Day 8: Take morning Golden Pass to Montreux (this is still a bit up in the air, we are open to other cities), Chillon in afternoon (or next morning), overnight in Montreux

Day 9: Explore Montreux a bit more, train to Geneva to catch an evening train to Paris (this train is booked and cannot be changed), overnight in Paris

Day 10-14: Paris, Return to Copenhagen

Notes:

We have no booked any places to live yet, though have some in mind. Have not rented car either. We only have the train to Paris set. Our itinerary and whether we will be able to go up to Mt. Titlis will determine whether we buy point to point tickets or a Swiss Pass. There are Supersaver prices available which will save a lot, but it will reduce our flexibility with the trains which I don't want.

Thank you in advance for reading this long topic and replying!

May be there will be snow and ice on the roads around Neuschwanstein. Today it snows all over Switzerland too.
If you are used to drive under these conditions, you will have no problem, however. The actual road conditions in Bavaria are way better than those in Northern Italy.

There are Supersaver prices available which will save a lot, but it will reduce our flexibility with the trains which I don't want.>

In Switzerland not so many and yes lock you in - are you all under 26 - if so look at the Swiss Youthpass for those under 26 - I always use a pass more than I think - it is also good on city buses and trams and free entry at 400+ Swiss museums like those in Lucerne and the Chateau Chillon near Monreux (believe it is valid there) and on boats on Lake Lucerne and Lake Geneva - great things to do if only for a few hours in the late afternoon to relax, etc. Covers Golden Pass in full.

a 4-consecutive-day pass could be the best deal but compare to fares at www.sbb.ch - some great sites for info on Swiss trains, passes, etc - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com.

check out the vaunted and IME stupendous VIP seats on the Golden Pass' Zweissimen to Montreux - the prettiest part of the GP except for the Lucerne to Brienz and Interlaken section that goes up and over the Brunig Pass and skirts lovely Lake Brienz before reaching Interlaken.

Personally if you are in your 20s or so the Interlaken area - especiall Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen have much more to offer all ages - the glacier-girdled alpine peaks perhaps etched in your minds' eyes when thinking of Switzerland but which will not be fulfilled in Lucerne, which is also much more expensive on lodgings than the Interlaken-Grindelwald-Lauterbrunnen area where there is also an active nightlife for younger folk - many younger hikers and alpinists flock thru the area.

And of course givens 50% off trains or gondolas to mountain tops (25% Wengen/Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch however).

Drop off rental car in Konstanz>

Lindau if you have the option may make a better routing if going by train and Lindau to me is more whatever than Konstanz - Lindau is a gem - on a peninsula jutting out into the lake and it has direct trains to Zurich then change there probably for Lucerne. Konstanz is a few minutes quicker all told to Zurich and Lucerne but basically the same as Lindau.

<Day 7: If weather cooperates, go up Mt. Titlis in morning and explore Lucerne in afternoon, overnight in Lucerne>

Do you mean Mt Titlis (and hour away by train/45min by car without snow at Engelberg) or Mt Pilatus (the mountain overlooking Luzern)?

Either way, the Swiss Pass will be worth purchasing for the journeys you have listed so far.

And just a note on January public holidays - Epiphany (Heilige Drei Koenige) is on 6th January. Not sure where you'll be on that day, but check that things are open (trains still run, no problem there) if you're in Munich or Salzburg.

If weather cooperates, we are considering to go up Mt. Titlis. We have two under 26 and two over. I have a giant excel that calculates all the fare with and without all the pass combinations and it seems like we can save a little bit with a 2 day flexi pass (use 50% off the other days), but this is ONLY if we go up Mt. Titlis... so if the weather is bad, then we will not really get our money's worth with the pass. This is also comparing the regular price cost, not the supersaver cost. So unfortunately it will be hard to decide so far in advance.

Do you think it will be accurate to look at the weather reports a few days before Switzerland?

It does seem like Lauterbrunnen is more "beautiful" - however I am not sure if we will have enough time to go there along with the golden pass? Is it a good idea to travel from Konstanz (or Lindau, I will look) to Lauterbrunen in one afternoon/evening? Then we can save a night midway.

Thanks so much!

like we can save a little bit with a 2 day flexi pass (use 50% off the other days)>

3-day flexipass is the lowest number of days on a flexipass.

You should be looking more IMO at a 4-consecutive-day pass that would cover all travels - even trams and buses, etc for your whole period as far as I can see it - or no pass of course.

Mt Titlis being a primo winter resort would promise to be an exciting destination even if Titlis itself were in the clouds - which is always possible but the weather is so so fickle it can pop out anytime to - hard to tell!

But engleberg, the base city has all the trappings of a primo Alpine resort, right up there with Zermatt and the Interlaken area (Grindelwald-Lauterbrunnen).

like we can save a little bit with a 2 day flexi pass (use 50% off the other days)>>

There may be some kind of 2-day flexipass I have not heard about? Or do you mean a 3-day - in between the 100% covered days you then get 50% off everything that move sin Switzerland practically but once the final unlimited travel day is used the pass dies - no more benefits even for the one-month max period.

LAUTERBRUNNEN in early January means almost no sun. In the morning, the sun is covered by the mountains in the east, around noon by those in the south and in the afternoon by those in the west.
Wengen is much better: I was there exactly 2 years ago (for a hike to Kleine Scheidegg) and the sun appeared around 11.30 already.

CONSTANCE - ZURICH:
2 trains every hr, journey time 1 hr 20 min, Standard fare 31 CHF, Swiss Pass, Swiss Family Card etc. valid.
Buses at 10.35, 13.20, 15.20, 19.20, 20.35, 22.20, journey time 1 hr 20 min, Standard fare 10 CHF, Swiss Pass etc. NOT, valid, NO reduction for kids.

LINDAU - ZURICH:
4 direct trains daily, journey time 1 hr 50 min, Standard fare 45 CHF, with Swiss Pass 10 CHF, Kids up to the Swiss border: free if younger than 14 years, 10 CHF if older. Swiss Family Card valid for the Swiss leg.

Connections with up to 4 changes about every 30 min, average journey time 2 hrs 50 min, fares similar.

WINTER TRAVEL IN LATE AFTERNOON:
Actually, you can't see anything through the train windows after 16.30. Around 5pm, it's completely dark.
If you want to enjoy the views to Swiss lakes and mountains, you shouldn't end your journeys much later. The Lucerne - Bruenig - Interlaken leg is particularly scenic.

SWISS WEATHER FORECAST:
Meteorologist can only foresee if there is sun, rain or snowfall and how warm/cold or windy it will be.
If they announce bad weather, it's not worth to go to any mountain. If they announce "cloudy weather" or "fine weather with some clouds" nobody knows whether these clouds will just hang around Titlis during hours.
Nevertheless, it's a good idea to have a look at http://www.meteoschweiz.admin.ch/web/en.html

There is a deal currently going on for a 2 day flexi pass. I think after looking at point to point tickets and comparing them with different passes for my family, it is going to be cheaper for us to buy tickets when we get there. We are also now considering Rochers-de-Naye as a possibly mountain excusion if the weather is not good for Mt. Titlis.

neckervd, I wasn't aware that there is a bus route from Constance to Zurich. Could you direct me to the link for that? Since the travel time is about the same as a train and it's a lot cheaper we may consider that.

comestar - I am curious as to where I can find info on the 2-day flexipass - I am not doubting you just would like to see where you saw this as it could be a great deal for others too - thanks in advance.

COMETSTAR
http://meinfernbus.de/staedte/bus-ab-konstanz
http://meinfernbus.de/booking/search...art=31.12.2013
The bus comes from Munich. Book in advance.

PALEN:
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/...ass-2days.html

Thanks neckervd!

PalenQ - The 2- day flexi-pass is one of the special offers going on right now, so I think it may be only for a short time period.

cometstar - thanks - don't know how I missed that - a 2-day flexipass not doubt is better for most than a 3-day or longer as it gives 50% off just about everything that moves between your first and last day. Thanks for the if=nfo - neckervd too!

so I think it may be only for a short time period.>

not realy lik neckverd supplies says for sale thru May 1, 2014 and can be used until May 31, 2014 - yes this is an off-season promo for Swiss Passes and a great deal. Thanks again for the info.

I do not see that 2-day flexi special on Raileurope so it may only be on www.sbb.ch or www.swisstravelsystem.com.