Please advise on my Itinerary for a trip to Switzerland
 

We are a group of 4 adults with one toddler visiting Switzerland April 19th for 6 days.

Day 0 Zurich Airport to Interlaken
Day 1 Lake Thun and Breinz and Bern from Interlaken
Day 2 Day trip to Jungfraujoch from Interlaken
Day 3 Lauterbrunnen Valley from Interlaken
Day 4 Day trip to Mt Titlis from Lucerne
Day 5 Ferry on Lake Geneva, Golden Pass, Château-de-Chillon Castle from Lucerne
Day 6 Day trip to Mt. Rigi from Luncerne (Closest city to get to Mt. Rigi is from Lucerne).

Night 0 -2 spent in Interlaken and 3-6 in Luzern.

HI - I think perhaps your day 1 is a lot. Bern is a city. I would do 1/2 a day there. Then choose either Lake Thun or Brienz to complete the day. I don't see you doing both lakes.

If you are in Interlaken the "0" day chances are you will get there early in the day. (when do you arrive?) You could do a trip on Lake Thun or Brienz that day and keep the other lake, whichever it is, for the next day. IF you take a boat trip on Lake Thun, know you can get off at various points and then catch the next boat. We did this for Spiez. And Thun itself, is interesting.

I don't see why you would necessarily go to Lucerne on day 3. Lake Geneva, etc., are easily done from Bern or Interlaken. Takes less time than from Lucerne.

Frankly my very favorite mountain trip from Lucerne is to Engleberg. (Mt. Titlis) About 1 hour away by train. We went last spring and it was fantastic. Still snow on the mountains and people skiing and snowboarding. We just walked up there and then sat in some chairs taking in the sun in the middle of the snow. Fantastic. Make sure it's open at your times of visit. We've also gone to Mt. Rigi. Very nice, but not as spectacular as Mt. Titlis.

So maybe 1 extra day in Interlaken and one less in Lucerne?

This is an awful lot of trekking around for a toddler.

Also - not sure about what type of stroller you have - but I assume you will also have some sort of pack that you can carry the toddler in (trekking around mountaintops with a stroller will not be easy in a lot of places).

Sorry, I should have posted elaborate plan:

Day 1 (April 21st) Lake cruise to Thun, Brienz and Bern (Old town, Cathedral, Clock tower and Federal building).

• From Interlaken Ost dp 9:07 AM to reach Brienz Brs 10:20.
• Take train back to Interlakan Ost.
Take rest or go to hotel to refresh.

• Lake cruise to Thun from Interlakan
• Interlaken West ThS Neuhaus (Unterseen) dp 12:10/14:10 pm to Thun ThS M ar 14:20/16:20
• Take train to Bern from Thun.
• Vist Bern - Would like to do only the Old town, Cathedral, Clock tower and Federal building.
• Take train back to Interlakan.

Day 2: Day trip to Jungfraujoch
• While going -> Route of -> Interlaken Ost - > Grindlewald -> Kleine Scheidegg -> Jangfrau
• Interlaken Ost -> Lauterbrunnen -> Wengen -> Kleine Scheidegg -> Jungfraujoch

Day 3: Day trip to Lauterbrunnen).
• Take the train to Lauterbrunnen from Interlakan and catch the lift up to Grutchalp.
• Then train along the cliff's edge to Murren
• Aerial gondola down to Gimmelwald OR Walk from Murren to Gimmelwald (30 Minutes)
• Aerial cable car that awesomely plunges back down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley at Stechelberg
• Walk from Stechelberg to Trummelbach Falls OR fom Stechelberg either take postal buses take you the few miles back to Lauterbrunnen.

Day4:

• Take boat to Vitznau that runs every 1 hour from the pier next to Lucerne. Boat ride is 1 hours. Depart Luzern 9:12 arrive Vitznau 10:09.
• Take Cog Rail in Vitznau to Rigi Kulm. Ride is 25-30 mins.
• take cog train from Rigi Kulm back to Vitznau (boat to Lucerne)

Day 5: Ferry on Lake Geneva, Golden Pass, and Château-de-Chillon Castle.

• Train Luzern dp 9:00 --> Lausanne ar 11:10
• Lausanne Ferry over Lake Geneva dp 11:40 --> 13:25 Château-de-Chillon Castle (CGN boat
• ***** Visit Castle and return to Montreux in 2 hour and 15 minutes. *****
• Take Golden Pass train with VIP seats from Montreux dp 15:44 to arrive Zweisimmen 17:32
• Zweisimmen dp 18:00 --> Bern ar 19:20 Notes: Train ride between Zweisimmen to Lucerne is 3 hours.

Day 6: A day trip to Mt. Titlis.
• From Luzern dep 08:06 - > Engelberg 08:53
• Engelberg - Walk 15 mintues to Engelberg BET
• Engelberg BET dep 09:08 --> Trübsee arr 09:28 (Gandola Lift)
• Trübsee dep 09:30 -- Kleintitlis arr 09:45 Cable Way.

Back to Lucerne:
• Decend back down to Engelberg
• Engelberg BET - Walk 15 mintues to Engelberg.
• Take train from Engelberg back to Lucerne.

Your toddler, and you, might like to see the bears in Berne. They now have a huge area to wander in and it's on the River Aare. Lovely setting. Place to eat there outside as well. Bern has so much to offer. It's central part is medieval and a wonderful place, IMO. Worth more than just take the time to get there and then just look at three sites.

Kenav, I plan to do only Old town, Cathedral, Clock tower and Federal building in Bern and will comfortably have 2-4 hours to cover this on Day 1. As we plan to do Lake Thun and/or on Brienz April 21st, there are not many boats cruising on this day (+/- 1 or 2 days) as per schedule given on their site. Lake Brienz can only be done on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for weekend of April 21st. We are reaching Interlaken late evening on April 20th from the flight landing into Zurich.
http://www.bls.ch/d/schifffahrt/fahr...uehling-13.pdf

Thanks Kenav. My wife is very scared of animals but thanks for the tip.

Any other piece of advise based on the elaborated trip.

nytraveler - I know it could a lot of trekking with a toddler that is why I only plan to visit one attraction per day or keep our day trips for only 8 - 10 hours. But IMO one cannot completely avoid trekking especially visits to mountains and other places in switzerland.

We are taking 'Deuter Kid Comfort III Child Carrier' which is very comfortable for tracking with a toddler along with very light stroller. On a particular day trip, either we will carry Child Carrier or stroller dependent upon if we are going to mountains or not.

http://www.amazon.com/Deuter-Comfort...id+Comfort+III

Pleas let me of any other advise on my elaborated plan above.

Thank you!

I've been to almost all of the places you mentioned and others in Switzerland and I think your plans are a little too aggressive, especially with a toddler.

Here are some things to think about:

1. You plan to take boat cruises on three lakes. I've taken the trip from Luzern to Rigi-Kulm (via boat, cog rail, then returning via cable car back to the boat) which was wonderful, and have seen the other two lakes from the shoreline. I wonder whether one or two boat rides would suffice, with more time available for a variety of other activities.

2. Interlaken was ok - it has an old-money resort/casino and a charming old town - but I stayed three nights in Lauterbrunnen instead, traveling to Interlaken one late afternoon/evening to explore and have dinner (a lot more dining options than Lauterbrunnen). Some people prefer the towns in the mountains (e.g., Wengen), although I had a car which made Lauterbrunnen much more convenient. The Lauterbrunnen valley is much prettier than Interlaken and the balcony of my modestly priced hotel (Hotel Silberhorn) had a great view of the Staubbach Falls, one of the highest in Europe. Also, since you are planning to go on the Jungfraubahn, keep in mind that you can get a big discount on the very expensive fare (around $200 per person without a rail pass, and I don't know whether this train is even covered by the rail pass) if you leave on the first departure in the a.m. (at least that was true 4 years ago). If you stay overnight in Lauterbrunnen, it is easy to walk to the train station although you still have to wake up very early. If you leave from Interlaken, you have to leave really really early (if you want the discounted fare you should check that you can get on the first Jungfraubahn train early enough if you leave from Interlaken).

3. While Switzerland is small and has an absolutely amazing system of public transportation (in which all modes - train, bus, boat, cablecar, etc., are well coordinated), it seems like Lake Geneva is a bit out of the way. The Chateau de Chillon was very nice, but there are other castles, perhaps not as impressive, that are not as far away (e.g., there is a castle in Thun).

4. Though Rick Steves is a big fan of Gimmelwald, there is really very little to the "town". While more commercial and larger, I found Murren prettier and it had better mountain views in my opinion.

Enjoy your trip!

raveling enough on trains between various places to make a Swiss Pass probably a no-brainer IMO - good on not only treians but lake boats, postal buses and city trams and buses and gets 50% off gondolas or cable ways to most mountain tops - also gives free entry to 400+ Swiss museums like those in Lucerne.

For lots of great info on Swiss trains and passes I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. a Saverpas is for 2-5 names on one pass - cheaper than solo pass - your group of 4 should get two Saverpasses so couples can have freedom to do their own thing at times.

Have a look at a map. Your itinerary can be highly improved.

Be aware that mountaintops are VERY cold that time of year. Might not be so bad for you - but you need to be sure you have winter clothing for the toddler. (Also - you don't mention the age of the toddler - a lot easier to control 12 or 13 months old than a kid almost 2.)

(Some people came up the Jungfrau with us in June in summeer clothing and went right back down when they found the temp at the top was 35. And when you do the dogled ride or go outside - it will be snowy and winter cold.)

To take a boat ride on both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz on the same day is ridiculous.

Don't you plan on getting off the boat somewhere, like Geissbach Falls, for example?

Don't you want to stop and walk around Then with its pretty covered bridge? Stop for lunch?

Most tourists make A DAY out of a boat cruise on either lake.

The Stechelberg cable car is not as thrilling as taking the choo-choo up to the Schynige Platte, which you are skipping.

I can't see you pushing a stroller from Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen.

Thin

Thun not Then.

How I hate the auto - correct on my droid.

Thin

Pepper - Are you sure that Schynyge Platte is open at that time? Maybe just the "Alpine Garden" part is closed up there at that time?. But I think that's the best part of it. And yes, the ride up there (cogwheel train) is stupendous!!

@ nytraveler: Our son will be 20 months old. About monuntiaintops being very cold, It is what it is. It's nature and what we can do on our end is taking every precaution like taking child carrier, as mentioned above, warm clothes, etc.

Any other piece of advise on my planned itinerary in regards to if I am doing any zig-zagging that I can avoid based on the plan above (sm2707 on Mar 31, 13 at 7:06am)

Thanks!

@ Pepper_von_snoot: To save some time and possibly do both lakes (Thun an Brienz), we plan to do both lakes one way and get back from Train to make both lakes and Bern (Old town, Cathedral, Clock tower and Federal building) in one day. Please refer to Day 1 of my post (sm2707 on Mar 31, 13 at 7:06am).

As mentioned above, we plan to do Lake Thun and/or on Brienz April 21st. There are not many boats sailing on this day (+/- 1 or 2 days) as per schedule given on their site. Lake Brienz can only be done on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for weekend of April 21st. We are reaching Interlaken late evening on April 20th from the flight landing into Zurich.

That is a reason we will try to see both lakes one way only we all can make it easily otherwise only one lake.

http://www.bls.ch/d/schifffahrt/fahr...uehling-13.pdf


"I can't see you pushing a stroller from Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen" - Is it steep that will be hard to push stroller? If it is we will get baby carrier mentioned in the post above.

@ just_wandering: As advised by someone on the forum, we plan to take 6:35 am train from Interlaken to Jangfrau (I know it will be very tough with a toddler to be out by 6:15 AM) to get to the mountain early in the morning to beat all crowds, but I don't think any big discounts (around 200 USD) are offered if one opts to depart on early morning trains. It may had been offered long time back as you have mentioned. Can you please confirm? I wiil have Swiss Flex pass on non free day to Jangfrau.

neckervd: Could you please advise? Trust me I have done my homework to make itinerary as best as possible and to avoid any zig-zaggs and you may have seen my efforts on the fourms. Again, I truly appreciate look forward for your valuable feedback.

I am guessing something could be improved on Day 5, but now I have booked VIP seats on 15.44 trains from Montreux dp 15:44 to arrive Zweisimmen 17:32

sm2707 - Sounds like you've done A LOT of research.

Question- If there is no discount to the Jungfrau for the very early train (I don't have that information) and you've dedicated one whole day for this trip - why go that early? Crowds shouldn't be as bad as in the summer.

Perhaps if you go to the Jungfrau website it will tell you if you get a discount for the first trip of the day.

I would guess that if your plans turn out to be too much for you while you're in Switzerland, you will revise as you go.