dmsm

We will be traveling to Switzerland in late June/early July and would appreciate some help on picking an itinerary and a base. We will be flying into Zurich on Tuesday early morning and need to be in Geneva by Friday night for a weekend wedding. I was thinking of focusing on the Berner Oberland, especially since we will have a chance to see Geneva over the weekend. We are interested in food and scenic towns/villages, and while we would want to do some hiking, this is not the main focus of the trip. I was thinking of making a stop in Zug for the cherry market after arriving to Zurich. I was also interested in the Emmental cheese route, but this not a must-do if people have other suggestions.

Given these rough parameters, would it make more sense to pick one place or two as overnight bases for the four days? Maybe Lucerne, and/or some place closet to BO, like Lauterbrunnen? Any advice would be appreciated!

HappyTrvlr

Don’t stay in Lauterbrunnen, down in a valley, or Interlacken, a transit hub, rather go higher into the mts to a place like Grindelwald or Wengen to see the magnificent vistas. I would spend all four days up in the Berner Oberland mtn towns.

swandav2000

Hi dmsm,

Just a note of caution about tour busses in the BO in the summer.... They go to the towns that allow traffic, most notably Grindelwald & Interlaken. They are simply overwhelmed with the busses and the off-loaded tourists who are only there for a few hours, and the towns are just too small to graciously absorb those numbers. For that reason, I'd head to one of the car-free villages, either Wengen (my choice) or Mürren. I was staying in Grindelwald one summer with my mom, and it was a zoo; on the day we visited Wengen, it was peaceful and calm.

I also don't like Lauterbrunnen as a base because I dislike the big mountains that overhang the village.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Melnq8

Are you using public transport?

I suggest you head to Wengen right from the airport (about three hours by train) and spend your three nights there. If flying in from outside of Europe you will probably be pretty wrecked, and I find that going directly to my first destination is the way to go.

That would give you Tues afternoon, all day Wed, all day Thurs and part of Friday to explore the area, which will give you a good taste of the BO without having to rush.

Then Friday afternoon head to Geneva (about 3:35 by train).

You really don't have enough time to do more than that. From a Wengen base you can do quite a lot, including the Jungfrau, the Schilthorn, a side trip to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. It will leave you wanting more, I guarantee.

Regardless of what you choose, I highly recommend you spend all three nights in one place. Doesn't make sense to break it up IMO as you lose time checking in and out and doing so disrupts the little time you have.