Switzerland in October with Kids
 

Hi,

Need to expert advise/inputs. I plan to visit Switzerland with my family (wife, 2 kids - 8&5yr) between 16-23 October. This is what I have been thinking:
- 16 Oct (AM) Arrive Zurich - spend the day/overnight in town
- 17 Oct - leave for Berne, stay there till 19 Oct
- 20/21 October, visit Interlaken/Jungfrau etc
- 22/23 October, Lucerne/Mt. Titlis/Pilatus
- 24 October, Fly back from Zurich

Not sure what is the best way to travel - Swiss Pass, Swiss Card Swiss FlexiPass???

Another interesting option seems to be "Tops of Switzerland" package that offers 5 days of rail travel through scenic trails + excursions to Jungfraujoch & Mt. Pilatus + 4 nights hotel accommodation in 3-star hotels. This package is available from Rail Europe Group. Any sugestions/insights on what I should opt for? Thank you for your inputs in advance.

Regards,
-S

1. I can never figure out all those pass options, so good luck to you. There is also a Golden Pass just for the Bernese Oberland that might be good for you, I am not sure what all it includes. FYI, the price of the Swiss Rail portions of your trip would be about CHF141 (this is for one adult, second class, kids get a discount I think of 50% but don't quote me on that)

Zurich to Berne: CHF 45

Berne to Lauterbrunnen (for Wegen and Murren): CHF 30

Lauterbrunnen to Lucerene: CHF 32 (Weggis is another hour, but I can't get a price quote)

Lucerne to Zurich airport: CHF24

The train from Lauterbrunnen to Wegen and or Murren costs about CHF 10 or so one way. Take a look at swissrail.com for timetables and prices for the Swiss Rail portions.

2. People will tell you not to bother with Berne, I think it is a nice little city and you should go if you want.

3. I personally would concentrate on the Interlaken area, and I would base myself in Wengen or Murren as they have the most spectacular views. Interlaken is flat and in a valley that looks onto the mountains, but is not IN the mountains. October is generally still a good walking season, so I would stay up in the mountains. You could also stay in Grindelwald, which is in the bottom on the valley between Wengen and Murren and has almost as beautiful views.

4. I would stay in Weggis rather than Lucerne as I think it is much smaller and more charming and you can take ferries more quickly to other points, esp. the gorgeous lake scenery near around Brunnen and the Urnersee lake. IMO Weggis is also more convenient for going up to Pilatus and Rigi. You can take a ferry into Lucerne for part of the day if you want to see the old town.

5. If you do the trip up the Jungfraujoch and/or to Piz Gloria, you might not feel the need to spend the time and money to do Titlus or Rigi or vice versa. These are all pretty expensive trips, the rail trip up the Jungfraujoch is something like CHF129 second class for adults. I guess you could leave it to weather as well, if you are in Wengen/Murren and it is a clear day, go up to the Jungfraujoch or over to Piz Gloria. The weather could be cloudy or raining the next day in Lucerne and you won't want to go up Titlus/Pilatus then. Also, the area around the lake shore near Weggis and Lucerne is flat and is good for biking, so you might want to do that instead of going up to Titlus/Pilatus.

6. I would want to know what hotels are in that Tops of Switzerland package; some 3 star hotels in Switzerland can be very old and not worth the price where for a few more dollars you could get a 4 star. Also ask about room size, and if the price is for two rooms. You would be hard pressed to get 4 people in most hotel rooms in Europe (rooms don't have two double beds); although some hotels have family rooms with Murphy beds, etc You would need to make sure you make all the arrangements you need before agreeing to this package.

7. Depending on your flight time, it may be possible to stay in Weggis/Lucerne until the morning of your flight rather than having to overnight again in Zurich (can't tell from your itinerary what you plan is). The train from Lucerne to the airport takes about an hour.

Hi shenwai,

I went ahead and priced out the pieces of Raileurope's "Tops" tour, and the price they offer is pretty good (of course, it really depends on the quality/price of hotels they give you, as Cicerone notes). But here is the pricing per person:

Rail trips
Zurich airport - Interlaken Ost 31.50 (Half Fare), 63 (Full Fare)
Interlaken Ost - Jungfraujoch 84.40 (HF), 168.80 (FF)
Interlaken Ost - Brienz 3.30 (HF), 6.60 (FF)
Brienz - Luzern 11 (HF), 22 (FF)
Pilatus Golden Round trip 40.30 (HF), 79 (FF)

So the total rail costs are 182.50 with the Half Fare; adding 99 chf to buy the Half Fare Card takes the total up to 281 chf. Full fare rail costs are 362 chf.

Hotel costs
In Interlaken, I found a 3-star (Beau Site) for 100 chf per person per night, so 200 per person for two nights.
In Luzern, the Des Alpes (a favorite among posters here) is 235 for two people in a riverfront room, so 352 per person for three nights.

So it looks like the individual pieces for the trip would be 833 chf or $656 per person. But, again, I strongly recommend you find out which hotels are offered. You can always find cheaper 3-stars, but you may not want to stay there.

The hotels I found offer triple and quad rooms as well.

Hope this helps.

s

HI Cicerone and Swandav,

Thank you so much for taking time and effort to provide detailed feedback. This is valuable info indeed and I appreciate your help. Looks like the bottomline is to find out what kind of hotels are included in the package deal. I will try to find that out before making my decisions.

I also did some research on Wengen, Murren Weggis etc and find these as fairly interesting options for stay. However, since these places are a bit further away from Interlaken and Lucerne, I wonder if I should also explore car rental options. As family, we have enjoyed long distance car drives in other countries and liked the flexibility of moving around at own pace/timing - especially when we are going around with two kids. I did not persued self-drive option for Switzerland trip so far due to 2 key reasons:
1. I saw so many strong recommendations (on this and other Forums) about Swiss Rail system. It appears to me that it is invariably better for tourists to take a train in Switzerland - it is efficient, cost-effective and gives you time to sit back and enjoy the scenery around!
2. I also read that car parking is difficult in main cities and at times not possible in certain tourist locations (car free towns!).

However, before I write-off the self-drive option, appreciate if I could get some additional insights on car rental options and pros/cons. Thank you once again for your kind inputs.

regards,
-S

Hi Again shenwai,

Yes, I'm one of those who prefers to use the train for just the reasons you list. Imagine your family enjoying a picnic of fruit, cheese, bread, and chocolate while watching the mountain scenery go by outside your window . . . or imagine buying a sandwich and coffee and cake on a ferry while cruising on the calm water with the mountains so close you'd think you can touch them.

OR . . . you can drive.

sorry -- hit "post" too soon --

Remember, too, that there is a train station right in the Zurich airport, so you and your family can relax and stretch your legs on the train instead of immediately fighting with traffic & parking right after your flight.

Now, as to whether to stay in Interlaken (vice Wengen or Muerren) and Luzern (vice Weggis), I'd have to agree with Cicerone. I really like the small-town aspects of Switzerland rather than the cities. Even though travelling in October will make the small-town options less desirable (the ferries will be less frequent between Luzern and Weggis, and the mountain weather in Wengen and Muerren will be dreary), I'd still stay away from the cities. At most, it'll add about 30 minutes to your daily commute.

Hope this helps.

s

Hi,

Thanks, I get the picture about travel options.

Two questions about hotel booking:
1. Hotel tarrifs should be lower during this period since late October is OFF-peak season in terms of tourist volumes. Is my assumption correct?
2. Must I pre-book the hotels OR can I expect good walk-in rates/availability around mid-Oct?

If walk-in is not a probem, I can advance book in Zurich and Berne and keep rest of the travel plan felxible (travel around based the weather conditions on the ground).

Thanks and best regards,
-S

Mid-October is out of the main tourist seasons in the Bernese Oberland, so prices will be lower. Some hotels may be closed, check the websites of hotels you are considering. You should be able to get a walk-in price. I prefer to have bookings everywhere as I don't like to take chances on hotels being full or only having small dark rooms left, plus I really don?t like to hotel shop with luggage at the end of a day, but it is up to you. I agree with your plan to have bookings in Zurich and Berne, as they are not seasonal cities.

With regard to car versus train. I would do as follows (i) no car in Zurich as don't need it (2) no car in Berne as again don't need it. Take the train from Zurich to Berne. If you wanted to rent a car for the Bernese Oberland, I would rent it in Berne and then return it in Lucerne or Weggis. There is a bit of an advantage to having a car in that area, as if the weather is not great in the mountains, you can go to the Interlaken area or other valleys and see if the weather is different or better. (You can of course also get to the same areas by train and bus, but the car does give you more flexibility and will take less time.) It is a very easy drive from Berne to Lauterbrunnen (the car park for Wengen and Murren) and on a clear day you will see the mountains for most of the trip from Berne and they are quite spectacular. Also, you can drive up to the top of the Grimsel Pass and back which has some great views and is a very pretty ride, a good bit of it above the tree line. The drive up and over the Brunig Pass to Lucerne is pretty and fun (and never closed as the Grimsel or other higher passes are if there is a lot of snow.) Once you get to Lucerne or Weggis you can rely on ferries and public transport to get around, and take the train to Zurich airport from there.

One downside to driving is that if you go to Wengen/Murren and have gorgeous weather you will be paying for the car to sit in the parking lot in Lauterbrunnen for the two days. I guess you should be happy if you end up having this problem. . . . Parking is not cheap in Lauterbrunnen or elsewhere and gas costs US$4.50 a gallon so consider all this if you plan to rent.

Dear Cicerone,

Thank you so much for your advise. Very useful indeed.

Regards,
-S