Planning for Switzerland & Scandinavian travels - Please HELP
 

Dear Fodorites,

It has been a while since our last trip to Europe…
I am now looking into tickets for travelling to Switzerland & Scandinavian for the end of Aug. It will be 3 of us: me, DH and our almost 2 yrs old.
Before I actually buy the tickets, I’d like to ask the experts here if the itineraries are okay/doable…?

Aug 27: fly @ nite
Aug 28: arrive in Zurich
Aug 29: Zurich (day trip to St. Gallen).
Aug 30: to Lucerne
Aug 31: Lucerne (day trip to Bern)
Sept 1 (Sunday): back to Zurich / day trip visit to Basel
Sept 2: Zurich (Visit Rhine falls / Schaffhausen)
Sept 3: fly to Copenhagen
Sept 4 -6: 3 full days in CPH
Sept 7: Fly to Oslo or Bergen?
Sept 8: Oslo / Bergen
Sept 9: Oslo / Bergen
Sept 10 : evening flight to Stockholm (from Oslo/Bergen?)
Sept 11-14: 4 full days in Stockholm
Sept 15: fly home

My questions:
1). Are the itineraries doable? :-)
2). Do we need to rent a car in Zurich? If not, how do we get from Zurich to Lucerne and to all the other cities?
3). From Copenhagen, are we better off flying to Oslo or Bergen?
4). I read about the Norwegian Fjords tour and it can be done in 1 day. How do we do the tour? Can we do it ourselves? Do we take the train, or rent a car for this?
5). Are things (like main attractions, restaurants, shops/supermarkets) open on Sundays in Switzerland as well as in the Scandinavian?
6). In general, is the weather okay at the beginning of Sept in those countries? :-)

Please kindly advise.
Thanks so much!

Also: Is Lucerne OK as the 2nd base? Any rec's for hotel in Lucerne? Thanks!

Well quick for the Switzerland part consider strongly the Swiss Pass, valid on all your trains and lake boats and city buses and trams and postal buses and also free entry to 400+ Swiss museums - hop on any time. For lots of great info on Swiss trains I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.ricksteves.com.

Everything of touristic interest will be open in Switzerland as well as in Scandinavia - but in Norway if you want to buy booze I believe only at state-owned dispensaries during banking type hours - not on weekends - used to be that way anyway. Bring anything you can into Switzerland or Norway that you need from home - these are the two most outrageously expensive countries in Europe!

We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour of fjords by car driving out of Oslo. It was easy to do. We stayed overnight in Voss. This shows how to do it:

http://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway-by-car/

I think you're rushing things since you're traveling with a 2 year old. You have also picked all of the most expensive countries in europe - expect things to cost - on average - twice what they would in the US - more if you're from a small town.

Can't be specific about Oslo versus Bergen - since I have only seen the former. But it has way less to see/do than either Stockholm or Copenhagen - so you might want to consider Bergen and fjords instead.

Re Lucerne, why not take the trip to Pilatus instead of visiting Bern. Boat trip across the lake, funicular rail to the top, great views and back by gondola and bus to town again. Great day out and much more interesting for your two-year-old than another city.
I'd prefer Bergen to Oslo - we found a lot to do and see around the inner city and easier to get around. For example, the Brygen Hanseatic Wharf, the market, the waterfront, are all within easy reach. There is also a cable car to the top of the peak for great views over the city.

Swiss trains:
Zurich - Zurich airport - St. Gallen: every 30 min from 5.39 until 23.09
Zurich - Lucerne: at least every 30 min from 5.35 until midnight (0.05)
Lucerne - Bern: every hour from 5.56 until 23.54
Zurich - Rhine Falls: at least 3 times per hour from 4.57 until midnight (0.17).

If you visit only the places you mentioned, the best solution would be point to point supersaver tickets
http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and...r-tickets.html
If you make any excursions from these placs, however (Appenzell, Lake Lucerne, Pilatus, Titlis, Murten, Rhine river boats,etc.) check the Swss Half Fare Card and the Swiss Passes
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/...-overview.html

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

All, thank you so much for your replies..I truly appreciate them!
I will look into the options, and will finalize them once I get the tickets.
I shall be back! :-)

ttt