Quick Swiss Trip Next Week- How Does This Plan Sound?
 

Hi- Looking for opinions/advice on the 2 locations my husband and I are staying at during our quick Swiss trip next week!

Arriving at Geneva airport on Tues, staying in the city Tues+Wed nights. Lausanne and Montreux are intriguing, but I'm not sure if it's worth rushing out to see stuff after we arrive Tues afternoon... Especially since I think we'd want to get the 4 day train pass for Wed through Saturday, so is it worthwhile to separately buy train tickets for just Tues afternoon. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate for us to see Mont Blanc as our main Wed excursion- thinking of the most basic 'tour' to get there w/o a real tour guide https://www.viator.com/tours/Geneva/.../d578-2510KT01 (anyone used this company before?)

Thurs we depart Geneva for our other Swiss stopover in Lauterbrunnen. It seems like the train travels through Montreux but on Thurs we'll have our luggage with us again (still debating suitcase versus huge backpacking pack for this trip!) so whether we try to pay $ for luggage being sent ahead without us (a lil scary to us Americans who have never seen such a thing!) or just stay on the train is a main question for us still.

Within Lauterbrunnen, for Thurs afternoon+Fri full day, I think we're waiting to see if the skies clear for us. Would love to see Eiger or Jungfrau as up close as possible :D but I think the number of mtns we see will depend on the extra $$$ adding up for all the special traveling. Minor q- any location further up a mtn from Lauterbrunnen that I could run to from the hotel and my hubby could take other transportation to, where we could then start a nice hike? The via ferrata sounds mildly entertaining to us (a bit on the tame side...?), as well as a chill bike ride just to enjoy the area... Just trying to have other ideas besides going to the big mtns in case things are clouded in, so suggestions are most welcome!

Finally on Satuday (when forecasts look perfect, doh), we depart to meet others in Innsbruck. Anything worth getting off a train for in Switzerland during the longer travel in to Austria? And anyone know which train stop we have to stop at to get a train ticket in to Austria? Or is that something we should get before we even leave home?
Thanks so much for any advice you experienced Swiss travelers can offer!!

You can buy a train ticket that covers the trip from the Swiss border to Innsbruck at ANY Swiss rail station as a rule. Get it at the airport station in Geneva.

Luggage forwarding works perfectly well, as long as you pay attention to the critical times.

How long a run are you thinking?

For options to getting to Innsbruck, you might check rome2rio.com -- it isn't perfect, but can be a good starting point for exploring options.

Hi wendyincol,

Just chiming in to agree with kja above -- the luggage forwarding service works like, well, like a Swiss watch. I do it frequently; did it from the USA two times and do it often from my home in Germany. Folks I know use it as a travelling suitcase -- send ahead a larger suitcase while you live out of a smaller case for two days. Then repeat.

The same-day service will get your luggage to your destination when they say they will, but you need to make sure that the luggage office at your destination will be open at that time. For instance, I often send my case to Montreux, but they guarantee that the case will arrive by 18.00, and the luggage office closes at 18.00. I always have to bring along one day of clothes and pick up my case the next day.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Great to hear we don't have to buy any of these train tickets ahead of time! The luggage forwarding does sound really great but hah never thought of the luggage office closing before we could get to our stuff!! If I can't find info to confirm the office in Lauterbrunnen is open after6pm, it's not a risk I want to take! Maybe we'll just hope we can find a locker in Montreux to hold our larger bags and just make our way to the castle etc w/our daypacks...

kja- I'm looking to do maybe 8-10miles, the higher I can get the better. My big race in 2wks goes up to 14k ft.

Thanks so much guys!

Sorry, I can't help with a run like that. :-( I hope someone else can!

Be aware that viator is simply a tour re-seller. It buys tours from local companies and re-sells them to visitors for a profit. You don't need a tour to see the mountains, you can manage that on your own.

You may find a 4-consecutive-day Swiss Pass to be a good deal or the Half-Fare Card maybe if you know exactly what you will be good transport-wise -with a pass you may do more than you think - like on a whim take a boat ride on Lake Geneva - can go over to Evian-les-Bains in France to the casino or just to see a wee bit of France-passes are valid of boats, city transports and give free entry to many museums like those in Geneva and would cover you to the Swiss border.

For lots on Swiss Passes, which you can buy on arrival in Geneva airport's train station, check www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.swisstravelsystem.com.

Do take the Golden Pass scenic train Montreux to Interlaken-Ost - a little longer perhaps than the main rail route via Lausanne and Bern but oh so much more scenic and special panoramic cars - easy to take luggage on trains - lots of storage space - you do have to change train twice Montreux to Lauterbrunnen but that is one from platform to another. Swiss Pass fully valid to Lauterbrunnen and gives 50% off aerial gondolas once there - the ones to Murren are fully covered however.

Maybe we'll just hope we can find a locker in Montreux to hold our larger bags and just make our way to the castle etc w/our daypacks...>

Yes and there will be left-luggage office too if by some chance they do not have big enough lockers though most Swiss stations I've been too have several sizes of lockers.

Or you could send the bags to Interlaken-Ost and pick them up there when you have to transfer trains to Lauterbrunnen. I think you may have to send them a day ahead to be guaranteed they be at your pick up station the next day though - not sure but do check if doing it - ask the baggage guy.

Hi again,

To find the opening hours of your destination train station, go to the Swiss rail site at

www.sbb.ch

Change it to English, then under the "Stations and Services" column, on the left-hand side of the page, click on "Find your Station." On the next page, in the empty box under "Search for your Station," type "Lauterbrunnen" and click "Search." On the next page, select "Lauterbrunnen," not the cable car station "Lauterbrunnen BLM."

You will see that the baggage office is open until 19.00, or 7 p.m.

You can do this with any station in Switzerland, and it's very handy information to have!

s

Oh, and you don't need to ask the baggage guy about luggage connections -- all the information is online. Here's the link for the express luggage service:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-service...s-luggage.html

In general, they say that if you deliver your bag/s before 09.00, they will deliver it/them the same day by 18.00 (6 p.m.), with a few exceptions.

Under "Timings," you can check the exact schedule for your desired trip. I just did a dummy check from Geneva to Lauterbrunnen on a random Wednesday, and got this information:

"Hand in your luggage at Geneva before 09.30 and pick it up on the same day after 18.00."

It's a really reliable service, and it can make travel so easy. If you decide to do it, you can relax & have confidence!

Have fun!

s

It does cost about 15 francs or $15 a bag however so send everything in one big heavy bag that you can't easily carry perhaps say if you have several bags.

Yes info is on line but I suggest always reconfirming whatever with the actual baggage check in.