Switzerland Itinerary 5 Nights/6 Days
 

Planning second trip to Switzerland with my wife and 19 yr old son.
In my first visit, had covered Geneva, Chamonix, Gstaad, Jungfraouch.
This time coming for 5 nights/6 days in the first week of June.

Please help plan my itinerary. Following is my draft:

Day 1. Land in Geneva from Nice around 11 am. Rent a Car and see Montreux, Vevey and Lausanne area and stay in BO

Day2. Give the rental car back. Have access to 4 days Swiss Regular Pass. Visit Zermatt/ Gornergrat/ Matterhorn Paradise. Return to BO for overnight stay

Day 3. Visit Mt. Titlis. Overnight stay in BO.

Day 4. Do sky diving. Visit Schiltron/Murren/ Trummelbach falls and take train to Lucerne and stay overnight there.

Day 5. Visit Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus. Rent a car for next day. Stay Overnight Lucerne.

Day 6. Visit Stanserhorn by car and depart for Geneva by car to take 6 pm light back to Paris.

Have following queries:
1.Please let me know if above itinerary OK and where to stay in BO.

2. Whether stay in Zermatt or return to BO on day 4?

3.What to do Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus?

4.Best place to do skydiving?

5. From which company to rent a car from and to Geneva Airport?

6. Whether Car driving safe andeasy on selected routes?

Hope to get some suggestions to plan trip in a perfect way.

Thanks.

Stay up in the hills in the B O - Grindelwald is my favorite and is the most active of the towns along with Lauterbrunnen - for smaller towns and more quiet Murren and Wengen, which though are more remote if using as base - not that much but another 20-30 minutes each way over say Grindelwald.

Mt Pilatus IME is oft shrouded in fog so leave that flexible - Interlaken has lots of activities like Sky Diving - don't have to stay there but places like - http://alpinraft.ch/ - has bungy jumping but not sky diving perhaps - paragliding yes but I'm not sure there is sky diving in this mountainous area.

Car driving on autoroutes is like anyplace - be sure you rental car has the required vingette - about 35 Swiss francs to go on the motorways - regular roads IME can be very tedious - sinuous terrain - lots of trucks and camper vans, etc. Not sur why you are renting a car at all - trains go everywhere.

anyway for lots of great info on Swiss trains and passes check these IMO superb sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com )I have bought many passes from Byron there - if you want to talk to an expert he's it and IME will answer questions even if not buying; www.ricksteves.com also have knowledgeable staff; www.swisstravelsystem.com. Keep eyes peeled for specials on Swiss Passes as the spring progresses - often in the past say in May - an extra day or some nice freebie - no reason to buy really early.

since a car is a no go in the Jungfrau Region why not just take the train - like the scenic Golden Pass one from Montreux to Interlaken-ost, jumping off point for Grindelwald and the hills?

And you do not need a car to go to Montreux, Vevey, etc - roads along Lake Geneva tend to be tedious IME - lots of slow-moving traffic - take a train the whole time of your trip IMO - can see no reason for a car anuywhere - may get an 8-day pass?

Day 5. Visit Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus. Rent a car for next day. Stay Overnight Lucerne.

Day 6. Visit Stanserhorn by car and depart for Geneva by car to take 6 pm light back to Paris.>

why rent a car just to drive back to Geneva - trains go faster and cheaper - given car rental costs and gs prices and why not just hop the TGV train from Bern or Zurich and for as low as 49-59 euros or so be in Paris almost as quick as it would take you to drive to Geneva. www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com for discounted advance tickets. Save two days of needless car rental.

Thanks for your replies which will be of great help.

Can you suggest some good decent accommodation in Grindelwald?

I am dropping the car option . Will go for 8 days swiss pass instead. Due to baggage constraints , I was planning to rent a car so that you can stop on the way wherever you want.

Also how far train station from Geneva airport? How much to walk with baggages in tow?

Hope to receive your reply on above.

Thanks once again.

Hi fxrajesh,

The SBB (Swiss train services) offer Fast Baggage service from many of their stations -- if you check your case/s by 09.00, you can pick them up at your destination station after 18.00. You just need to verify that your destination station baggage office will be open after 18.00.

http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-service...t-baggage.html

Also, yes, you can stop enroute as often as you want. Your ticket will be good the whole day. If you have your bags with you, just stuff them into a locker at the train station, then continue on your way when you're ready.

Most cities or mid-size towns have about 3 or 4 train departures every hour, so it's really very convenient.

There is a train station right AT the Geneva airport, so again, it's very convenient. Just roll your bags along with you.

Have fun as you plan!

s

It doesn't make sense to go from Montreux to the Bernese Oberland if you want to visit Zermatt the day after.
Go directly from Montreux to Zermatt an sleep there.

It makes sense to have a car if you want to go from Interlaken to Titlis and back. Drive from Interlaken to Engstlenalp (1 hr drive), go then by chairlift to Jochpass - Truebsee and by gondola to Titlis.
It would be easier to visit Titlis from Lucerne, however.

With a car, you could also drive over some alpine passes, close to glaciers. But I don't think that you would be interested in.

Interlaken to titlis and backis best by train - why car - take the scenic Brunig Pass rail line from Interlaken-Ost (part of the Golden Pass train route) to a station before Lucerne and change to the Engleberg train to Engleberg - one of themost sweet train rides in Switzerland - see no reason why one would want to go by car on this route.

Mt Titlis is a much shorter and easier day trip from Lucerne than from any Jungfrau base - do it from Lucerne.

2. Whether stay in Zermatt or return to BO on day 4?

If just going to Zermat as many tourists are want to do - to glimpse the majestic Matterhorn, most familiar of all mountains in world visage-wsie then be aware the the Matterhorn is often shrouded in fog or clouds much or part of the days or even days at a time. Staying there gives you more chances to see it out in all its glory.

And it is a long trip by car or train from any Jungfrau Region base to Zermatt - a long long haul.

PalenQ. by train from Interlaken Zermatti s a train journey f under 2 hours each way and I might add well worth a day trip, even on the off chance of a glimpse of the Matterhorn

I would suggest the OP stay in Zermatt in between Montreux and the Interlaken area - not spend 5 hours commuting back and forth (from Interlaken it may be 2 hours but who stays in Interlaken except myself?

OP is seeing basically nothing in the Jungfrau Region but day tripping out each day - seems a poor idea to me with so so much to see and do right in that area.

Zermatt isn't between Montreux and Interlaken; Zermatt is south of Montreux. It's more like Montreux is between Interlaken and Zermatt.

If the OP is looking for a central point to see Montreux, Zermatt, and the Jungfrau area, it might be Brig.

Brig - Interlaken 1h08
Brig - Montreux 1h25
Brig - Zermatt 1h20

Brig is a lovely little town, not yet overrun by tourists and dozens of tourist hotels and souvenir shops. It has a lovely flower-bedecked central square, with many streets radiating off from the square, lined with shops and cafes.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Oh, wait, I see that I've misunderstood your comment, Pal. You aren't saying that Zermatt is located between Montreux and Interlaken -- rather, you are saying that the OP ought to stay in Zermatt in between the stays in Montreux and Interlaken.

My apologies!

s

they ought to stay in Zermatt between the stays in Montreux and Interlaken - rather than day tripping there from the B O.

Not sure why you are renting a car on day 1 - trains go quickly to all those places and once in them a car is useless - they are all very walkable - to just drive between them IMO is a waste of money - take the train to say Montreux or Vevey - two favored bases for Fodorites and hop to the other two by train - just a few minutes apart or even better by lake boat!

Palen:

"they ought to stay in Zermatt between the stays in Montreux and Interlaken - rather than day tripping there from the B O"

Thanks for the help Palen: that's exactly what I suggested in my post above.

"Interlaken to titlis and backis best by train - why car - take the scenic Brunig Pass rail line from Interlaken-Ost (part of the Golden Pass train route) to a station before Lucerne and change to the Engleberg train to Engleberg"

Let's see a bit:
Public transport via Meiringen - "station before Lucerne" - Engelberg:
Interlaken dp 8.04 - Giswil 9.19/9.37 - Hergisiwil 10.03/10.11 - Stans 10.19/10.24 - Engelberg 10.53/11.06 - Truebsee 11.26/11.28 - Titlis ar 11.43
Public transport via Lucerne:
Interlaken dp 8.04 - Lucerne 9.55/10.10 - Engelberg 10.53/11.06 - Truebsee 11.26/11.28 - Titlis ar 11.43
Public transport via Engstlenalp:
Interlaken dp 8.04 - Meiringen 8.36/8.42 - Engstlenalp 9.37/10.05 - Truebsee 10.27/10.42 - Titlis ar 10.57
Car via Engstlenalp:
Interlaken dp 8.04 - Engstlenalp ar 9.04, dp by chairlift 9.40 - Truebsee 10.02/10.17 - Titlis ar 10.32

IMO the whole itinerary needs re-thinking - they are flitting about to hit highlights but not really staying in a place long enough to hit the many not so highlights that may be more enjoyable than the usually tourist thronged hot spots. This is like a butterfly trip - flitting here and there but never really staying anywhere. Lots and lots of travel - too much even for me an inveterate traveler who likes to move around a lot.

After all your inputs, my final itinerary will look like this:

Day 1. Land in Geneva from Nice around 11 am. Take a train to Zermatt. Stay Overnight there.

Day2. Zermatt/ Gornergrat/ Matterhorn Paradise. Return to Lucerne for overnight stay.

Day 3. Visit Mt. Titlis. Overnight stay in Lucerne.

Day 4. Visit Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus. Leave for Grindelwald and stay overnight there.

Day 5. Do sky diving. Visit Schiltron/Murren/ Trummelbach falls and stay overnight in Grindelwald.

Day 6. Depart for Geneva by Golden Pass train to view Laussane Vevey Montreux on the way to take 6 pm flight back to Paris.

Require your help for arranging :

1. Swiss Regular Pass for 4+2 OR 8 days whichever cheaper .

2. Skydiving for one person

3. 1 Nights accommodation in Zermatt.

4. 2 Nights accommodation in Lucerne

5. 2 Nights Accomodation in Grindelwald.

6. Other assistance where possible in above itinerary. Suggestions welcome.

Thanks

Hi again,

I think you've opted for a slow route to get from Grindelwald to Paris by flying out of Geneva.

If you took the train from Grindelwald to Paris, it would take about 6h15 (with changes in Interlaken and Basel).

Flying will take you longer. As you note,

Grindelwald to GVA 3h30
Wait at airport 2h
Flight 1h
Get luggage 20 min
Get from Paris airport to Paris 45 minutes
Total: 7h30

I don't think your itinerary makes good sense, as you are going from south (Zermatt) to north (Luzern) to central (Grindelwald) to south (Geneva) to north (Paris) again. Rather, it would make more sense to go:

Geneva - Zermatt - Grindelwald - Luzern - Paris

The trip from Luzern to Paris only takes 4h30 with a change in Basel, so that's much faster than flying and faster than the train from Grindelwald.

If you did the route I suggest, you could easily see the Golden Pass as you travel from Zermatt -- just to go Montreux and take the GP from there.

I do think it's counter-productive to stay in Zermatt only one night. The chances of seeing the Matterhorn or any mountains isn't great with only two half days there; you increase your changes of clear skies with every day you stay. I would enjoy the mountains in/around Grindelwald and maybe see Zermatt on your next trip.


Have fun!

s