Switzerland first time, need advice

Old Feb 15th, 2019, 08:04 PM
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Switzerland first time, need advice

We are flying into Zurich from Sydney, Australia 27th August and have 28 nights in Switzerland. We are 69 years young and reasonably fit, so any activities suggested must bear this in mind. Not up to hiking up hills for hours on end.
I have read many posts on this forum but would like some advice please. We normally travel to one country in Europe for 5 weeks at a time, hiring a car to travel around, and have had many wonderful holidays thanks to Fodor's forums.
Itinery I am looking at is as follows, but other suggestions are most welcome.

Fly into Zurich 0720 arrival and catch train to St. Gallen - 1 night. (Reason for going to St Gallen is I believe the Voralpen Express back to Luzern is very scenic - any comments on this?)

St. Gallen to Luzern - Voralpen Express
Luzern to Interlaken - Luzern Interlaken Express via Meiringen.
Interlaken to Wengen - 6 nights

Wengen - Interlaken - Montreux
Where to stay - Vevey or Veytaux? - 3 nights

Hire a car and drive from above area to Geneva or surrounding town? - 2 nights Would like advice on little places of interest we could stop along the way.

Geneva to Zermatt by train - 2 nights

Zermatt - St Moritz Glacier Express Stay in Sils Maria - 5 nights

Sils Maria to Locarno or Ascona - Bernina Express and Bernina Express Bus - 3 nights

Lugano - Luzern - 4 nights

Luzern - Zurich - 2 nights in old city before flight back to Sydney

Is there anywhere we could cut out in order to stay longer elsewhere?

Once itinerary is in order I will then start looking at and booking accommodation and then planning day trips.

Thanks to everyone that contributes to these forums, they are invaluable to first timers.



glen16 is offline  
Old Feb 15th, 2019, 09:52 PM
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We are Australians too, a bit younger than you but not much. We enjoyed a day trip to Thun (pron. Toon) from Lauterbrunnen. The train went via Interlaken and it was an easy trip. We were going to catch the ferry across the lake for the return journey but it took too long as we'd run out of time.

On a different trip, we stayed in Montreux, right on the lake. We got a hotel through the visitor centre and I was a bit shocked we got such a nice place to stay that was affordable as we always travel on a budget. If you are into Freddie Mercury, look for the statue near the waterfront, I assume it's still there. Loved staying there, we walked along the lake one day to visit Chateau de Chillon.

We also stayed in Lucerne, what a pretty place. I think we took about 1000 photos in the first few hours

Train costs were high, we went up to Schilthorn which was wonderful but not cheap. Try and get some sort of Swiss rail pass. There might be info on the excellent website https://www.seat61.com/ and of course the Swiss railways site.

Kay
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Old Feb 15th, 2019, 09:58 PM
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Should be a great trip! Just a few comments:

I’m not sure why you are thinking of drving from the area around Vevey / Veytaux to Geneva – IME, public transportation in the area is frequent and comfortable. IMO, the Lavaux vineyards are worth seeing, and if you have any interest in cities, Lausanne and Geneva both hold some interesting elements. Or you could go a bit further afield -- read on to my mention of post # 28.

I skipped Zermatt, but am sure you realize that giving it only 1 day means the risk of not seeing much of anything if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

I am glad I chose Ascona rather than Locarno. YMMV.

While in Sils Maria, do consider trips into the Lower Engadine and (separately) the Val Bregaglia!

If you haven’t already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/
Given your questions about what to do after leaving the area around Montreux, you might want to take particular look at post # 28.

I hope that helps!
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Old Feb 15th, 2019, 10:29 PM
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Hi glen16,

Why are you thinking of staying in Veytaux or Vevey?

I personally adore Veytaux, and I usually choose to stay there, but it's for purely personal reasons. There isn't much there -- it's a suburb of Montreux without many hotels or shops or restaurants nearby. It is closer to Chillon, if that is a consideration.

On the other hand, Vevey is a real town, a cosy residential place chock full of interesting shops and galleries and cafes and winding streets. I would think that most first time visitors would enjoy a stay in Vevey more.

I'm also confused why you want to rent a car for a few days to run around in the area of Geneva...? The train takes about an hour to run from Montreux to Geneva.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Feb 16th, 2019, 03:06 AM
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Hi Swandav and Kja,
I was thinking of hiring a car from Montreux to Geneva as I had heard there were a lot of little wineries along the route, so how would you get to go to these without a car. In Australia, wineries are nowhere near railway stations, so I guess I was thinking along those lines. As we will be purchasing Swiss Travel Passes and Half Fare Cards, I am happy to travel by train throughout Switzerland.
Swandav, I must have been reading one of your reports on the Montreux area and jotted down on my note pad that you liked Veytaux....my error as I didn't really research it. Vevey it is!
Looks like I could possibly pass on staying in Zermatt and add those 2 nights onto one of the other towns on my itinerary. Where would you suggest?
Thanks again.
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Old Feb 16th, 2019, 03:54 AM
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Hi again,

Ahhh, vineyards.

The vineyards in the area are called the Corniche Lavaux, and they run between Vevey and Lausanne.

https://www.montreuxriviera.com/en/P...eyard-terraces

Yes, there are a number of train stops throughout the vineyards -- Lutry, Grandvaux, Chexbres, Cully, Epesses, and Rivaz, to name a few. The best way to see them is to arrive at one by train, then walk or cycle through the vineyards to another one. A friend of mine's favorite caves for red wines is Lutry, and I find Lutry to be one of the prettiest of the vineyard towns, with a lakeside area and a sweet old town. You can spend 2h or 6h walking through the vineyards -- you can get an estimation of time using Google maps. Rivaz has a Vinorama where you can taste and buy a number of wines.

There are also tourist trains that run through the vineyards, the Lavaux Express as well as the Lavaux Panoramic Express.

You will just be missing the Fête des Vignerons, which takes place only once a generation -- the last one was 1999. It ends on 11 Aug.

Have fun!

s
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Old Feb 16th, 2019, 07:04 AM
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As we will be purchasing Swiss Travel Passes and Half Fare Cards, I am happy to travel by train throughout Switzerland.>

Why Half-Fare Cards? Seems a month-long pass would cover everything and gives 50% off everything not covered in full with notable exception Jungfraujoch trains above Grindelwald and Wengen are just 25% off. Anyway for lots on Swiss trains and conveyances check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com. The Voralpen 'Express' is yes nice scenic railway but not a scenic as many other trains you will be taking.
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Old Feb 16th, 2019, 08:40 AM
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" Why Half-Fare Cards? Seems a month-long pass would cover everything and gives 50% off everything not covered in full"

It's not so easy.
Swiss Travel Pass Flex plus Half Fare Card may be the best solution, indeed.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/billets-pour-les-visiteurs-etrangers.htm
Other combinations (with Regional Passes) may be more advantageous. All depends on the exact itinerary and the mountain railway/cableway rides from Wengen, Montreux, Lucerne, Lugano, Sils Maria, etc.

As to the itinerary:
It makes sense to go to the St. Gallen/Lake Constance/Appenzell area because there is a lot to see, from celtic lake dwelllings up to stunning baroque monasteries and panoramic mountain peaks. https://www.bodensee.eu/en/what-to-e...lake-constance
But I would never go to St. Gallen for the Voralpen Express only.
Spend more time at Zermatt. It's at least as interesting as Wengen or Sils Maria.
You may do a day trip from Sils Maria to Bernina - Alp Grum - Poschiavo. In this case, it wouldn't make sense to reach Lugano by Bernina Express. The direct Palm Express bus from Sils Maria to Lugano would then be the better choice.
I would stay 3 full days at either Lugano or Locarno (lake cruises, 8 mountain railways resp. lifts to viewpoints, tons of scenic villages, 3 medieval castles, old churches and monasteries with do paintings, etc.) The train ride from there to Lucerne lasts 2 hrs only.
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Old Feb 16th, 2019, 10:50 AM
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Swiss Travel Pass Flex plus Half Fare Card may be the best solution, indeed.>

OK to use on non pass days on flexipasses. Still would look at month-long pass as you may take more trips and they are traveling about every day - no going to ticket window just hop on. Yes cobbling together regional passes, discounted day passes from www.sbb.ch and half-fare card could be best but the Travel Pass makes it all so simple.
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Old Feb 17th, 2019, 03:15 AM
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Thank you everyone for your replies, I have taken them all on board and changed our itinerary, dropping St. Gallen and staying longer in Vevey instead of staying in Geneva, which gives us an extra 3 nights to play with. We will do a day trip to Geneva as I see it is only 1 hour by train from Vevey.

New itinerary:
Zurich - Wengen 6 nights
Wengen - Vevey 5 nights
Vevey - Zermatt 3 nights
Zermatt - Sils Maria 5 nights
Sils Maria - Ascona 3 nights
Ascona - Luzern 4 nights
Luzern - Zurich 2 nights

We will most likely purchase 2 Swiss Travel Passes, one 15 day 2nd Class flexi and one 8 day First Class flexi, which should take care of all the major train routes we are doing - expensive but we may not get back to Switzerland again, so like to do it right the first time. Now time to book accommodation and start planning day trips. As always, comments appreciated.
Cheers, Glen
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Old Feb 17th, 2019, 07:39 AM
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" We will most likely purchase 2 Swiss Travel Passes, one 15 day 2nd Class flexi and one 8 day First Class flexi"

Most probably not the best solution.
You may pay full fare from Zurich airport to Lucerne and continue immediately from there to Wengen and later to Montreux with the Regional Pass Bernese Oberland (free ride from Lucerne to Wengen/Kleine Scheidegg and up to Saanen, half fare from Saanen to Montreux; more reductions in the Interlaken/Wengen area than the Swiss Travel Pass).
https://www.regionalpass-berneroberl...os/the-ticket/
During your 3days stay at Ascona, you will most probably get a Ticino Ticket fro free.
https://www.ticino.ch/en/ticket.html
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