I will be in Switzerland May 25 - June 7. We will arrive in Zurich, pick up our car and travel to Luzern for two nights at Hotel Schlussel. 3 nights at Hotel Lotschberg in Interlaken. 2 nights at Hotel Elite - Lausanne. 2 nights at Hotel Darioli - Zermatt. 2 nights at Hotel Dischma in Lugano and then back to the Fly Away Hotel in Kloten the night before our return to the states. I would appreciate any advice or information you can offer. I am considering adding 1 day to Lausanne and 1 day to Lugano and just "pass through" Zermatt as opposed to staying there 2 nights. Also I am thinking about changing my reservation in Lugano to the Hotel Nizza, but am concerned it is not close to the old town and waterfront. Looking forward to a critique of my itinerary.

You could probably do the "pass through" in Zermatt if you really wanted to and are only going there to perhaps view the mountain scenery. If that is the case, I would advise you to start EARLY in the day.

Be aware that you will not be able to drive all the way to Zermatt but will have to park your car in the village of Tasch which is just below Zermatt and take the shuttel train into the village itself since Zermatt is "car-free."

The village itself is fairly small; I'd advise either going up to the Gornergrat on the cog railway or take the tramway up to Kleine Matterhorn for views over the Monte Rosa massif and a better view of the peak itself.

The Gornergratt station has a live camera view which shows conditions at the top so you can see the "view" before you get there; sometimes it is totally obscured by cloud cover.

I assume you are renting a car because you want more flexibility; otherwise this entire trip could easily be done by rail.

Enjoy your trip.

I would recommend just scratching Zermatt altogether. Get your big mountain fix in the Oberland instead where you already have 3 nights scheduled for Interlaken. And speaking of Interlaken, if your goal there is the mountains, then drive a littel further south to Lauterbrunnen. Interlaken is not in the Alps, but Lauterbrunnen is. Well, it's wedged in a valley between the Schilthorn and Jungfrau. Lauterbrunnen is a much better base than Interlaken if your purpose is mountains.

Also, be flexible with this itinerary. The Oberland is worth it only if the weather is good. Be prepared to drastically reshuffle your itinerary depending on the weather.

I'm also doing Switzerland around the same time as you. Here is what I'm planning. I fly into Zurich. If the weather forecast is good in the Oberland, then I will head straight to Gimmelwald high in the Alps. Otherwise, I will spend my first 2 nights in Luzern. I don't care if it's cloudy everywhere else I go, as long as its sunny in the mountains.

Hi JMPichler,

I wasn't bowled over by Zermatt; the village is a tad overbuilt with hotels to be quanit (in my opinion!). So I'd agree that shortening your time there and adding days elsewhere is a good idea.

Personally, I love the Lake Geneva region. If you want some ideas of activities to do there, do a search here for "Vevey" or "Montreux." I've never stayed in Lausanne, sorry, so I don't have any suggestions for that city -- but all of my suggestions are easy to get to from Lausanne as well.

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Hotel Elite was one I was planning to use last trip (dates changed and I went directly to Montreux instead). Can you please post about it after your return? Looked like just my kind of place, but always hard to tell from only a website. Thanks!