Switzerland - 10 Days
 

We are two couples traveling to Switzerland in May. We will be there 10 days beginning in Geneva and ending in Zurich. I would appreciate if anyone had recommendations on a itinerary for our trip.
We are considering staying in different AIRBNB's but would be open to any other suggestions.

Rich

You need to narrow it down to something less than the entire country. I suggest you read some guides (paper, online, videos) and get a sense of what YOU would like to see and do in the time you have. One person's idea of a perfect 10 days may not be your idea.

It would also be helpful to know what sort of travelers you are -- fast paced, slow paced, whether you like to explores places in depth or just keep moving.

Once destinations are decided, for lodging recommendations to be useful, you'd need to provide some idea of your budget.

Since you're landing in Geneva I suggest the first few days of your trip on Lac Leman, easy to reach on the train from the airport... Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux. I would stay in local hotels in those towns myself. When you're only going to be in a place a few days/night I don't think the AirBnB thing is worth the trouble.

What Jean said.

There are tons of possibilities according to your interests that we don't know.

I suggest the four of you get together with a pile of maps and guidebooks. Each person can pick a couple places that interest them most. Then map out your path. Depending on how long you are going to stay in different places AirBnB may or may not be the best way to go (works better for week long stays than only 1-2 nights stays).

We are flying from New York to Zurich in May.

We then need to get to Geneva where we are meeting our friends and beginning our 10 night journey of Switzerland ending and flying home from Zurich.

Do you think the 4 of us and get around Switzerland with only public transportation?

Is there a special pass that covers unlimited train and bus for 10 days and if so how much would that cost?

Would we need to rent a car at all?

We would welcome suggestions on lodging and sightseeing in terms of number of days in each location for 10 nights beginning in Geneva and ending in Zurich.

Yes, 4 of you can get around easily with only public transportation.
Please see the Swiss rail site for information about passes so you can decide whether any meet your specific needs:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
No, you will not rent a car at all unless you go to some fairly out-of-the-way places. Many of us have traveled extensively in Switzerland without a car.

Where to go depends very much on what YOU want to see and do. If you don't already have it, I would strongly urge you to get a good guidebook, perhaps the Michelin Green. Note that May is not the best time of year for the Bernese Oberland, but you have many, many, many alternatives, and with only 10 days, you can easily see some wonderful places without going there. With commitments to Zurich and Geneva, you might start by research options for Zurich, in and around Lake Geneva (e.g., Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux), and perhaps Lucerne.

You can get some very good ideas by reading planning threads and trip reports on this forum. Here's mine:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/

Switzerland has a wonderful public transport system - absolutely no reason to rent a car.

Swiss transport passes can be very confusing - you really need to have a good idea of what you hope to see and do before you look at passes. Having said that, there are passes that cover just about everything that moves in the country - they're good for 3, 4, 8 and 15 days. Take a look here:

https://www.swiss-pass.ch/

We prefer the Half Fare Card, which is good for up to 30 days (currently 120 CHF I believe) and covers almost everything at half fare, but you need to do some research to see if it's the best option for what you hope to see and do.

https://www.swiss-pass.ch/swiss-half-fare-card/

Here is the correct itinerary:

Spend your first 2 nights along Lake Geneva in Lausanne or Montreux. They are easy to reach from Geneva airport so don't panic. Lausanne has a great city vibe and probably the best collection of art in any one Swiss city. There can be no debate about this as I am correct in all things.

The next 4 nights are high in alps in Murren or Wengen which are in the Bernese Oberland. The scenery and outdoor opportunities in this area will make you insane. This is known. Want to know what it looks like? Imagine if a Monet painting threw up on a rock quarry. Want to annoy a Facebook friend who hates natural grandeur, hiking, biking, or long walks along a glacial valley floor? This is the place to be. Honestly, you have no business going to Switzerland if you're not going here.

Spend the next 2 nights in Lugano. Romantic lakes jammed against purple mountains. Majesty may be invoked. Oh the Lugano of it all. No questions, just do it.

Your final 2 nights are in Luzern. Exceptionally cute Swiss town. Even has a Picasso museum to make your art friends totally jelly. It has a direct rail link to the Zurich airport that takes 70 minutes and departs every half-hour, so don't panic about making your flight back to your ridiculous life.

Get a Swiss Half-Fare Card when you land in Geneva. This is usually the best value among rail passes for most itineraries. Costs about $120 and gets you 50% off trains, buses, ferries, city trams, sherpas, mountain lifts, etc. Each adult needs one. Some hotel/B&B owners give their guests a rail pass good for FREE transportation in the local area. Ask about that especially if you are a cheapskate.

By all means, bring your towel and use the pubic transportation. No need to rent a car unless you enjoy being responsible for obeying strict traffic laws, finding a parking space, worrying about your deductible, whining about the high gas prices, wondering about car thieves breaking into someone else's car which for some absurd reason you have decided to take responsibility for despite having access to the best public transportation system in the world, and that includes Kazakhstan. Dear God, just take the train already.

Geneva-Lausanne or Vevey (you can visit the other as a day trip)-Montreux-Lucerne-Zurich

I wouldn't necessarily stay any time in Geneva, given you only have 10 days. Unless it's some place you've really been wanting to see. You can get the train from the Geneva airport to Lausanne and it takes less than an hour. I'd probably stay in Lausanne and visit Vevey (you can visit it from Montreux also). That's really a lot for 10 days, actually, unless Zurich is just an end point. Then you can do 2-3 days in each of those places.

You can take that scenic train from Montreux to Lucerne, I believe, I know I did in the opposite direction.

Edward offers an interesting (read "frankly awful") option. May is -- as noted above -- a very bad time for the Bernese Oberland. And many of us would argue that the art collections in Basel or even Winterthur surpass those of Lausanne (although I do agree that there are some wonderful art collections in Lausanne). I can not imagine why he said to bring a towel.

I have been to the B.O. in mid- to late-May many times. To call it a "very bad time" to go only shows you've never been there at that time. It is the best best time to go, hands down. Each time I have been the weather has been good to great, crowds were down, and spring flowers were fresh. Yes, high elevation trails are likely closed in late May but no one wants to do those anyway. Plenty of restaurants and hotels are open.


Read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and you can be one of the cool kids.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d6091c6937.jpg
Gimmelwald, Berner Oberland, 26 May 2005. Oh, the horror of it all.

We still need to know what your interests are. Ten days isn't a lot of time, and you'll have to be selective.

I have to agree with Edward on this one - we've been to Switzerland and the BO several times in May (and April) and much prefer both to later in the summer. I won't go so far as to say it's the best time to go, but it's certainly not a bad time. In fact, the only time I personally would consider "bad" is the height of the summer, when the BO is heaving with tourists.

> Yes, high elevation trails are likely closed in late May but no one wants to do those anyway.

Hello??? While I agree you can do plenty of hikes in May, too, the most interesting (and famous ones) are those high (not highest) elevation trails that are still closed. At least if they had a 'normal' winter, not even one with more than average snow. Think of Schynige Platte - Bussalp - Faulhorn - First (Schynige Platte cog train starts 30 May), First - Grosse Scheidegg or those in the rear Lauterbrunnen valley (Obersteinberg hut opens 30 May for example.)

There is of course more than enough to see and do beside those, so visiting in late May is fine - but it depends on your interests. If possible, I would go in early/mid June (best for wildflowers in higher elevations.)

Agreed. If your heart is set on the challenging trails, then May is too early.

I'm sure that nobody in this forum is interested to hear where SWISS people go im May.
Neverheless:
walks/hikes through endless blooming narcissus fields in the mountains between Monteux and Gruyeres,
visits of botanical gardens in Ticino, like Brissago Islands, Lugano, Borromean Island, combined with boat trips on Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore.
visits of waterfalls and walks through gorges which have much more water than in other months, because of the snowmelt in the alps:
Rhine Falls, Aar Gorge, Via Mala, Gorges de l'Areuse, Taubenloch, Gorges de l'Orbe,
cog wheel railway, funicular or gondola rides to viewpoints without snow, like
Monte Generoso, Monte Lema, Cardada, Mottarone, Crans-Montana, Rochers de Naye, Les Pleiades, Saleve, Chaumont, Preles, Maggllingen, Weissenstein, Niederhorn, Niesen, Harder, Rigi Kaltbad, Rigi Scheidegg, Zugerberg, Holzegg, Atzmaennig, Pfaender....,
walks or bike rides through the blooming cherry trees of Seeland (Lake Biel area),
visits of new temporary exhibitions in the some 100 most popular museums (in house and open air) of Switzerland,
walks along popular sunny mountain trails like Loetschberg ramp, Strada Alta, Sun Trail Jeizinen - Albinen, Jura Crest Trail, Traversata Monte Tamaro - Monte Lema, Lake Biel vineyard trail.....