Need advice on Swiss trip for 7/8 days
 

Will be arriving in Switzerland from Italy (Florence). Would like to get some advice on planning my trip and good places to visit. We are a Family of 4. Need suggestions on hotels/apartments as well with budget pricing for family. Have purchased Global Eurail pass as we are also traveling in Europe after this.

As we will be carrying suitcases would like to avoid shifting hotel bases.

My Hotel bookings :- so far
Geneva - 2 days ( incl day of arrival)

Thank you

Shan - We will need an idea of your likes/dislikes and your budget.

Not enough information on which to base relevant responses. What do you want to see/do? What are your interests? And yes, what is your budget, 'budget pricing' is meaningless.

I do wonder why you are going all the way to Geneva from Florence. I think most people would expect you to stop before Geneva. In the Jungfrau region for example.

I also wonder when you say 2 days. I never see any sense in stopping anywhere for less than 4 nights/3 full days. Otherwise you spend too much time moving and not enough time IN places, seeing/doing things.

One of the primary disadvantages to rail passes is that they tend to have people thinking in terms of 'how to get the most for my money' in using it. So they think of longer train rides and moving more often. Not best use of time.

I'd head to the fabulous Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - to too cute to be true mountain towns like Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, etc. -This is the glacier-girdled Alpine peaks wonderland you have been dreaming of and which you will find only in a few places - like the Jungfrau Region. You Eurailpass will take you to Interlaken 100% but from there only 25% off - Swiss Pass may actually be more beneficial for your stay in Switzerland as it covers many more mountain trains and lifts than the Eurail does.

Your Eurail is valid on many boats, however such as the ones on the two lakes bookending Interlaken - wonderful rides for a family!

anyway for lots of great stuff on Swiss trains and boats, etc I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

The dreamy Jungfrau Region - spend at least half your time here IMO. Lake Geneva is a nice contrast - French instead of German, warmer, etc.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...=1600&bih=1075

Most folks find Geneva not that much to their liking - well they like it but find it modern and not nearly as dreamy as say Montreux or Vevey just a short train ride away on the same lake. You could base there for 3 days or so and do some really neat day trips - like boat rides on Lake Geneva - visiting the Castle of Chillon (Lord Byron made it famous) right on the lake, etc.

Thanks for the feedback.

Let me put more details. My last stop in Italy is Milan.

Would love to cover some of the below in Switzerland:-
- Montreux Area (chocolate/cheese factory)
- Interlaken/Jungfrau
- Scenic routes :- Golden Pass Line and Glacier express (Zermatt/Chur)

Totally flexible with itinerary in Switzerland (have 8 days) with places.

As we are 4 people, was thinking of staying in apartments if possible. Looking around 200$ a night if available.

Will be heading to Germany after my Switzerland visit. All suggestions are welcome.

Hi Shan2014,

The chocolate and cheese factory are not in the Montreux area; they are in Gruyeres, which is about 2h away. Instead of spending time going all the way to Gruyeres and back to Montreux/Geneva, I recommend that you stop to see those area while enroute.

Yes, it would be a good idea to spend some time in the Jungfrau area, which many consider the most dramatic mountain area in Switzerland; it also has one of the best-developed tourist infrastructures in the country (hotels and restaurants at all levels, excellent train connections in & around, and lots of folks who speak English). So, it is really easy for first-time visitors to see & enjoy the area.

You could take the Golden Pass route from Montreux to the Jungfrau area and stop off in Gruyeres, which is a short detour enroute. You can send your luggage using the SBB's Fast Baggage service (about 20 chf per bag), so you will be free for the day to enjoy touring.

You don't really have the time to take the Glacier Express and see Zermatt and Chur -- that takes at least three days because the GE is an 8-hour trip, and both Zermatt and Chur deserve a day of exploration. I would say that you should choose between GE/Zermatt/Chur and Golden Pass/Jungfrau.

Have fun as you plan!

s

If taking the GE go onto St Moritz and take the most scenic rail ride in Europe IMO - the Bernina Pass Railway over which the Bernina Express rolls - awesome top of the world scenery on the only north-south crossing of the high Alps by train not using tunnels 0 but going up to the summit and back down.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Have decided to stay in Montreux/lausanne area for 3 nights, then move to Lucerne for 2 or 3 nights.

Any suggestions on the itinerary when I stay in these places. After Lucerne I might still have 2 or 3 nights, where should I stay and which area is better? like Zermatt or Zurich?

Hi again,

Well going to Zermatt after Luzern would be zig-zagging around the country: from south to north to south again. I prefer to travel in a more linear route to keep the travel times more reasonable.

If you think you'd like to visit Zermatt, you should see it before Montreux, as it's between Milan and Montreux.

s

Any suggestions on the itinerary when I stay in these places>

Lucerne - several neat day trips on and around Lake Lucerne - take the famous iconic boats to places like Mt Rigi, Mt Pilatus or just take the classic boat ride to the end of the fjord-like arm of the lake to Fluelen and take the train back from there.

2 days is WAY more than enough for Geneva. I would instead spend the time in nearby Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux, smaller more scenic towns along the train route and Lac Leman approx. 1 hour outside Geneva.

Itinerary for Vevey/Montreux.

If you happen to be there on a Tues or Sat morning go to the Vevey open air farmers market. It's on Friday morning in Montreux. These are wonderful to participate in and give you a nice slice of local life.

Chateau de Chillon is a huge old castle that is very fun to tour. Sits right on the lake outside Montreux.

Old Town Montreux to walk around.

Rocher de Naye is a tram up the mountain side in Montreux, that is fantastic if the weather is clear.

The 'quai' (lakeside promenade) in both towns is lovely.

I find it hilarious when someone attempts to mind read what is enough or too much or too little time in a place for someone else.

I Have spent a week in Geneva several times as well as several shorter visits or 3 or 4 days and found more than enough of interest to see and do. But then, I like to get 'into' a place more than someone else might.

Some people actually believe that if they spend a day somewhere they have 'been there, done that'. The word is shallow.

Tripadvisor lists 53 things to see and do in Geneva and that is before any day trips someone might want to make. Nor does the Tripadvisor even mention some things I would list. But then they aren't claiming it is all encompassing or that they know how much is WAY more than enough time.

The choice of where to go is yours to make Shan2014, no one here knows what your interests are and that is why you need to do your own research, not listen to what anyone else says THEY woul do or not do.

I will tell you this. In travel as in many things, less is more. Move less, see and do more. You cannot visit everywhere of interest in Switzerland in 8 days. So to me it only makes sense to get the most out of your 8 days that you can. That means spending your time IN places, not BETWEEN places.

I would suggest not splitting your time at all or if you must, in not more than 2 places. But it is your dime and your time.

That means spending your time IN places, not BETWEEN places.>

Well in some countries that may be true but to me at least in Switzerland it is often what lies between bases that is the most awesome - like taking the special scenic trains like the Golden Pass between Montreux and Interlaken; the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express - to me the Switzerland outside of at times too modern and spiffy for me cities is the real beauty of the country.

Not to say that you could not spend several days in Geneva - as I too have - but for a first-time traveler there are things that will more fulfill the romantic notion of Switzerland etched in most peoples' minds than Geneva, as fascinating and interesting as it may be - save Geneva for the 2nd or 3rd trip IMO.

No problem there PalenQ. I am not and did not suggest Geneva for the OP. I simply object to anyone suggesting that 2 days is 'WAY more than enough' for anywhere.

I think if someone is interested in a place then there is a minimum amount of time they should plan to spend in that place to make best use of available time. That minimum is 3 full days/4 nights. If it isn't worth that much time then don't go there. Go somewhere that is worth that much time to you and make best use of your time.

A scenic train ride is fine, IF you have time for it between places, then go ahead. But if you want to see and do things other than ride a train then spend your time IN places, not between them. They are not conflicting things at all.

I don't care where the OP decides to go. But if they want to go to Geneva, then go to Geneva and stay there long enough for it to make sense.

On another post PalenQ, someone wrote that they did a 2 hour walking tour of Rome and it gave them a 'wonderful overview of the city'.

When people think they can get an 'overview' of Rome in 2 hours, it isn't hard I suppose to have someone else say, '2 days in Geneva is WAY to much time'.

That kind of thinking just blows my mind.

Well Geneva is not Rome though and most folks will be bored after two days there right in the city. Now using it as a base for the Lac Leman area yes but even then most would love Vevey or Montreux a whole lot better.

But I agree with you in general any place in Europe can be a nice base for 3-4 days - I hate to pack up and move so I love base cities.

Shan already posted their decision a ways back up this thread <<Have decided to stay in Montreux/lausanne area for 3 nights, then move to Lucerne for 2 or 3 nights.>>

Dulcie wrote: << think if someone is interested in a place then there is a minimum amount of time they should plan to spend in that place to make best use of available time. That minimum is 3 full days/4 nights. If it isn't worth that much time then don't go there. >>

I'd have to disagre with the proscriptive four nights / three day thing. We have spent three night visits in Verona, Bolona, Assisi, Como, Firenze and a few other laces. Next week, we'll have a two night stay in Riomaggiore - hoping thhe weather is good for us.

Some places just don't have enough individual things to interest us for more than a couple of days. We are not interested in everything. In Verona, we've spent ages at the Castelvecchio museum, but Juliet's balcony is a bore. In Bologna, we liked the pundulum in the church, the meridien line on the floor, and the gallery with Morandi's paintings and etchings. A couple of ancient churches, and that was sufficient.

To say that four nights is a minimum is as unsound as my saying that unless you spend 150 nights in Venice, then it is not worth going there.

Horses for courses, and all that stuff ...

Geneva is a great city, heck I could live there. It's very cosmopolitan. But that doesn't mean it's a great recommendation for a family with only 7/8 days for all of Switzerland.

I'd have to disagree with the prescriptive four nights / three day thing>

me too! Yeh for cities like Rome, Paris, London at least but Salzburg and smaller gems no - unless you use them as a base.

Not all cities are equal.

Here we go, people taking something out of context and assigning an absolute to it.

The 3 days/4 nights that I talk about is a PLANNING TOOL for those who feel the need to pre-plan their travel. It is intended to stop people from making the commonest mistake made by tourists which is trying to see/do too much in too little time. But it is a tool and like any tool you have to use it correctly.

I actually find it ridiculous that anyone thinks they can decide beforehand how much time they will need in a place they have never visited before. I have gone to places and left without even staying a night. I have gone to places thinking 'umm probably stay 3 or 4 days' and stayed for weeks or in one case, literally for years.

When you use a general rule for something, it is a general rule, not an absolute rule. The 3/4 rule simply gives you a way to limit travel days to no more than 25% of your total time. Does anyone really think that spending more of your days moving from place to place is best use of time? I think not. So if you insist on pre-planning it simply makes sense to start from somewhere.

I don't use the 3/4 rule myself. Travel can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. Those who pre-plan their travel in fact choose to make it complicated.

If it were my first trip to Switzerland and I only had 7/8 days how I would go about it is no different than I would for anywhere else. I would fly to A and if it were a late evening arrival I would pre-book that ONE night at a hotel. But that is all I would pre-book.

I would stay in A until I was ready to leave and then decide where I was going next. I MIGHT end up spending my entire 7/8 days in A or I MIGHT leave the very next morning. I have no way of knowing how long I want to stay in A. Nor does anyone else.

The problem lies in pre-booking. It forces you to pick a number for each place without knowing in fact what the right number for YOU really is. Stop pre-booking and the issue goes away.

For most people that represents a paradign shift they cannot even see.

Such sophistry ...

"Stop prebooking" and you have an entirely different set of challenges. I don't like to spend vacation time looking for a place to sleep that night.

What is the difference between pre-booking and booking? Sounds dumb to me.

I don't pre-book, I just book ...

Suze, everyone who pre-books drags out the same old excuses for why they pre-book and try to say they are reasons for doing so.

That sounds fine at first glance but does not take into account anything else. Let's suppose you visit France and the following is a day on your trip.

You are driving through the countryside, exploring back roads on your way from A to B and you come to a nice little village with a river running through it and a nice little restaurant with a terrace overlooking the river. Looks great, you decide to stop for lunch. So far so good suze?

You enjoy a lunch, watch the ducks and swans on the river, the sun is shining, you decide to have a second glass of wine after your meal and just enjoy the view. After a while you say to yourself, this is a nice little village and I'd like to stay here for the night. Stroll around the village, visit that little church I can see the steeple of from this terrace, etc. B will still be there tomorrow.

Now comes the 'pre-booked' problem. If you have a reservation at a hotel in B, what do you do suze?

Here's what I DID. I asked the restaurant owner if he could recommend a hotel in town. He told me there were two but he would only suggest one. He gave me the hotel name and directions. We drove over for a look.

The hotel looked fine from outside. Small(around 15 rooms) but surprise, surprise, the door was locked and no one to be found. Funny way to run a hotel I thought. So I drove back to the restaurant, spoke to the restaurant owner again and he laughed. 'Oh, I didn't think' he said, 'It's Sunday, Pierre will be at home, I'll call him for you'.

So we sat with another glass of wine and after about 10-15 minutes Pierre showed up. We introduced ourselves, I ordered a glass of wine for Pierre and we had a chat.

Regarding the hotel being closed, Pierre said, 'It's Sunday, I like to spend Sunday at home with my family just like anyone else. I realize someone might show up looking for a room but the money is not more important than my family.'

He told us the price of a room, gave us the entry code for the front door of the hotel, told us to pick any room with the key in the room door (which meant it was vacant and available) and he would see us in the morning at breakfast which was included. We chatted a bit more, he finished his wine and went back to his family.

We spent a lovely afternoon and evening in the village, had a great dinner back at the restaurant where the owner was by then speaking to us by name and had a good nights sleep in the hotel. The following morning, after breakfast we went to reception annd paid Pierre for the room.

Pierre had not had any ID from us, credit card info, etc. before giving us the entry code to his hotel. He had no way of knowing if we would steal, leave at 5am without paying our bill, etc. He simply met us, judged us worth trusting and that was that.

Sometimes, renting a room can be an actual memorable experience. People often say they want to experience the culture of a place, meet the people, get off the beaten path, etc. but do nothing that will make that happen. Nor is this example a one of. I can give you many more examples of where renting a room was part of the whole experience of travel.

But if your thinking is that 'you don't want to spend time looking for a place to sleep' as if it were a chore, what can I say? I can't think of more than a handful of times in thousands of nights of travel that finding a room was a chore. Most times it is a simple thing, a neutral if you will. But I can think of many times where it was actually a very worthwhile experience.

There is no way that pre-booking can match that.

Sounds like something the late, great Improviser posted a year ago ...

Well I wouldn't be doing any of those things so you really don't need to worry about me, or keep repeating my name over and over.

Now comes the 'pre-booked' problem. If you have a reservation at a hotel in B, what do you do suze?>

Lots of chain hotels like accorhotels.com will keep your room until 6 pm that day and if you cancel early like the night before cancel it at no charge.

I used to not pre-book and would spend a few hours in each town trying to find something.

OK for a veteran traveler but not for a novice so I vehemently disagree with you on this.

You can pre-book and guarantee a hotel room in your price range without obligating yourself often if you want to change plans - especially if from one Accor Hotel to another in town.

And I save tons of money by booking a hotel in my price range - often on the spot those may be booked up.

Maybe Shan got tired at all the back and forth between the writers above.

There is very good information on this thread before the "back and forth" got started and taken completely off-topic.

I've spent a lot of time specifically in Vevey and Montreux so know those my posts are accurate, applicable to the question, and hopefully helpful.

I've spent over a year all told in Switzerland from one end to another. So if we are going by having 'spent a lot of time' somewhere then I guess my posts are accurate, applicable to the question and undoubtedly helpful for someone who wants to be helped.

PalenQ, you can pre-book and defend it all you want. It assumes of course that you know where you will be going. I rarely do know. I know where I am starting from and that's it.

Pre-booking means you are 'touring' as 'tourists' do. Whether you go on a package tour or plan your own tour it is still a tour. Winging it is a whole other world.

I don't know how else to explain it. You write, "spend a few hours in each town trying to find something."

I vehemently disagree with your use of the word 'spend', as if the time was wasted. Where was any time wasted in my example above? The time INVESTED in finding a room was a very interesting experience. Part of what we got out of that day, not a chore to be performed like work. It happened over lunch and a glass of wine. You might as well say you don't want to 'spend' time eating lunch.

As I wrote, I can think of a handful of times when it was like work but that has been rare. Far more often it has been like the example, an experience worth having.

I almost never go from hotel to hotel looking for a room. That would be a chore. I usually do something like the example, ask in a restaurant or bar. You can't really do that in major cities but then I rarely visit major cities, I prefer small towns and villages. It works almost every time in those places, anywhere in the world.

duc- for years I winged it and now with the Internets I am happy to pre-book - I always pre-book hotels that I can cancel without penalty even on the same day.

What's good for you is good for you but for the average tourist - try to wrap your head around that concept - they would much rather pre-book and just get off the train or out of the car and head to the hotel.

Wat's great for you may not be for the typical tourist.

I have no problem with anything other people do PalenQ. Everyone is obviously free to do as they please.

The issue is that posts like this one which are all about 'how many days in X' and are so numerous on every travel forum, all try to address a problem without realizing what the actual problem is.

The problem lies in pre-booking. It forces you to pick a number for each place without knowing in fact what the right number for YOU really is. Stop pre-booking and the issue goes away.

It is not about what's great for me. It's about people perceiving a problem and not realizing that they themselves have created the problem.

Here is the question people think they are asking. 'How many days should I allow for city X?' Now, how can anyone answer that question for them or how can they actually figure out the answer themselves?

In fact, no one can answer it and no one can figure it out beforehand. As you yourself say, some places are only worth one day TO YOU and for some YOU need a week. It all depends on YOUR interests.

Therefore, the only thing that actually makes any sense to me is to leave it open. Arrive, stay till you are ready to leave and then leave. If you do that, the problem of 'how many days to allow for X' simply doesn't exist.

You may perceive that that then gives rise to other problems like the endlessly repeated, 'what if I can't find a room' etc. I'll even concede for the sake of argument that such a problem may arise.

But the problem you came and asked for a solution to originally does NOT exist. Finding a room may be a NEW problem but the problem of how many days in X is gone.

Can't you go argue somewhere else? Shan didn't ask anything about pre-booking or how long you think they should stay somewhere.

People are starting to post Europe questions in The Lounge forum, stating they are too afraid to come here and be condescended to and lectured by knowitalls.

ditto to suze's take. If you want to pontificate at least keep it on topic for the OP's queries.

As far as I am concerned, the comments I have made here are relevant to the OPs original question. I am not about to change what I think people should be aware of just to make you guys happy.

You don't own the forum. Disagree if you want, try to make a logical re-buttal if you want. But don't bother moaning.

I suggest several days in Luzern. That's within day-trip distance to Basel (train 1h), Pilatus, Zurich, Brienz (train 1:30), rail pass good for trip on lake, and you leave your luggage. If you are an outdoor family, you could take all the rest at Lauterbrunnen, as a base for a number of day trips. (Other posters here seem to prefer towns near Lauterbrunnen, but it's the only one I have stayed in.)

The Swiss Franc is insane at the moment. I hope you are prepared.

As far as I am concerned, the comments I have made here are relevant to the OPs original question>

so you are telling them to wing it - just make a reservation for one night because they may not like the area - well in tourist season that may mean you cannot find anything at all cheap or easonable in this area - you can in Interlaken probably but not in the lauded for good reason hill towns - that advice could cost you plenty of time scurrying around looking for any place to stay and a lot more money in this expensive area than you want to spend.

Think of how many days you want to stay in each area and book in stone or else you'll spend a half a day and tons more money just to be able to find another place to stay if that is even possible at times.

That is if going to one of the Alpine wonderlands - in other Swiss cities probably not as much a problem relocating or extending your stay - so it depends on what type of place you are going and when.