neckervd

Lauterbrunnen - Engiadina can be made in 5 hrs (without any stop) if you are used to drive on mountain roads (steep gradients, almost hairpin bends, etc.).
The itinerary which allows this journey time (via Lucerne) is not boring at all, but by far not the most scenic one.

A more attractive one would go via Ballenberg Ecomuseum - Aar Gorge - Gelmerbahn station (departure point of the cablecar with the steepest gradient of the world, to Lake Gelmersee) - Grimsel Hospiz (big mountain lake with a glacier at it's Western end) - Grimsel Pass (stunning panorama to the 2 Aar glaciers and the Alps along the Swiss-italian border) - Furka Pass (ice cave in the Rhone glacier) - Andermatt - Gotthard Pass (National Museum) - Giornico (3 small but beautiful romanic churches) - Bellinzona (small medieval town with 3 castles) - Lugano (churches with stunning frescoes, cablecars to viewpoints) - along Lake Lugano and Lake Como with all their scenic villages, palms and botanical gardens - Chiavenna - Maloja Pass - Engiadina ....
But you would need 3 days in order to enjoy all that!

basingstoke2

Just outside of Lauterbrunnen you owe it to yourself to see Trummelbach Falls. These falls are mostly INSIDE the mountain on 10 levels and is the only one of its kind in Europe. It is the kind of site that should be on everyone's bucket list. There is a lift that can take one halfway up through the mountain and I recommend that on a visit to use it and then walk the rest of the way up on the stairs carved inside the mountain and then reverse and walk all of the way down. You will get wet from the spray. The power and roar of the falls on each level - and each level is different - is enhanced by its closeness. You are never more than a few yards away. It is truly a grand and thrilling sight - the best 15CHF I have ever spent.

caralin

Hmmm - as always, I am being indecisive. My husband and I both still really like the idea of the Engadine, but especially if we don't end up renting a car (not decided yet), the travel does sound quite arduous and time consuming.

So, that leaves us looking west again, at perhaps one of the small towns neckervd mentioned (in Val d'Herens, Val d'Anniviers, or Loetschental), or the Chateau d'Oex/Rougemont/Gstaad area. Does anyone know much about the north shore of Lake Geneva ("Swiss Riviera", I've heard it called)? We loved the wine regions of Tuscany, so perhaps visiting the vineyards around Chateux d'Oex or near-ish to Lausanne? (still prefer to stay in a small town/village to avoid crowds if possible...)

caralin

Lavaux - that's the name of the wine region I was thinking of near Lausanne.

aliced

My thoughts are to skip Zurich and Zermatt; Zermatt was a bit of disappointment to us; opt for Lucerne from Zurich, then perhaps Engiadine; then week in Lauterbrunnen where you'll visit Murren, Wengen, Gimmelwald, Grindenwald, and the glorious mountains. I had no altitude sickness anywhere there at all. I would then head SW to Montreux or Vevey, and see Lausanne and perhaps Gruyere from there for your 1/2 week. Loved, loved, loved Vevey. But Montreux was beautiful and so convenient for getting here and there.

swandav2000

Hi again,

I vacation often in Montreux, so maybe I can help you.

Yes, the vineyards of the Lavaux lie between Vevey and Lausanne. One nice, quick walk is to take the train to Chexbres, then walk downhill through the vineyards to Rivaz at the lake's edge and have lunch at the Augerge du Rivaz; then take the ferry back to Montreux (or Vevey). A wonderful longer walk is to take the train to Lutry, explore the village and have lunch, then walk through the vineyards to Epesses or Cully or Rivaz (about 2 or 3 hours).

Here's more information on the walks through the vineyards:

http://www.montreuxriviera.com/en/Cu...rekking_Lavaux

There's tons to do in Montreux. But to avoid the crowds, you can stay in nearby Vevey and use the town busses to get around and back and forth to Montreux. Your hosts will give you a card making the busses free, and it's far more convenient to just hop on a bus than to fight for parking at this peak travel time. It will be a madhouse. The busses run every 10 minutes, and there are stops at just about every other corner.

s

neckervd

There are no vineyards around Chateau d'Oex, but glaciers like Glacier3000, one of the best viewpoints in the Swiss Alps (tremendous views to Mont Blanc and all the more than 13000ft high peaks of Valais (among them the Matterhorn.)
..and you can even hike down to Sanetsch Pass bus and calbeway stop.
Gruyeres castle isn't far away from Chateau d'Oex too.

PalenQ

Stayed once in Chateau d'Oex - a nice smallish farm town - really quiet and neat - about the first French-speaking town coming on the train from German Speaking Switzerland.

caralin

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much again for your help. After a several-month hiatus from trip planning (life got busy!), we've finally narrowed down and booked our trip. I promised to let you know what we decided, so here it is!

Thurs - Arrive in Zurich in the morning. Train to Lucerne.
Fri - Day in Lucerne.
Sat - Depart Lucerne for Lauterbrunnen. Spend the week hiking the area.
Next Sat - Depart Lauterbrunnen around lunchtime. Head for the Engadine. Stay in Sils Maria.
Sun - Sils Maria
Mon - Sils Maria
Tues - Sils Maria
Wed - Sils Maria
Thurs - Leave Sils Maria, train to Zurich.
Fri - Late morning flight home.

So, there it is! We stretched the Engadine to five nights instead of four, and decided to stay put at one location and do some of the possible day trips from there that were mentioned earlier in the thread. It looks like we'll only get the Upper Engadine this time, so we'll have to do the Lower Engadine next time.

Our flights, apartment in Lauterbrunnen and hotel in Sils Maria are booked. I went with the Hotel Privata in Sils Maria - it came very well reviewed, but does anyone here have personal experience with it? (The booking has free cancellation, if I need it.)

All we have left to book now are the two nights in Lucerne at the beginning and the one night in Zurich at the end. Can't wait!!

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

PalenQ

Sounds like a wrap!

Be sure to do a boat ride on lovely Lake Lucerne - the classic one going to Fluelen at the fjord-like arm of the lake - take the train back from there to Lucermne - stop off to do Mt Rigi en route.

neckervd

Lauterbrunnen - Sils im Engadin/Segl Maria:
I suppose you will travel through the Alps, either via
Meiringen - Grimsel Pass - Andermatt - Oberalp Pass
or via
Meiringen - Susten Pass - Andermatt - Oberalp Pass
or via
Kandersteg - Hohtenn - - Andermatt - Oberalp Pass.

It would indeed be a pity to take the boring itinerary via Zurich if there exist so many scenic alternatives!

The easiest and most scenic solution would probably have been:
ZRH - train - Bern - Lauterbrunnen - Lucerne - Lugano - bus - Sils im Engadin/Segl Maria - bus - Silvaplana - Chur - train - ZRH

china_cat

Hey Pal...is it definitely worthwhile to do the longer boat ride all the way to Fluelen? I'm going to do the Mt Rigi trip in late May, and i was just going to cruise to Vitznau. Is it better to stay on the boat longer, then train back to Mt Rigi?

neckervd

There is no better and no worse solution. Do just what you like best.

dulciusexasperis

Can't comment on the Hotel Privata. We stayed at the Hotel Waldhaus. It's a grand hotel in the old tradition as they say.

Whenever I think of Sils Maria I think of a couple who sat down near my wife and I in the lounge/bar area after dinner. I think they overheard me order coffee and cognac in N. American English and assumed that speaking in Swiss German would not be understood by us. They were wrong.

Anyway, it turned out they were locals, he was a doctor and she was married to another doctor. They were having an affair, her husband had found out and she had called her lover to meet her at the hotel to discuss the situation. On the way there she had stood on the bridge nearby and contemplated jumping. Her lover was trying to calm her down, assure her that life wasn't at an end etc. He was also not saying what she obviously wanted to hear, that he would be prepared to commit to more than the relationship currently was.

It was of course a serious thing but at the same time it was one of the most entertaining 20 minutes or so of our trip. Like watching a play or a movie.

One thing I learned, never assume others won't understand the language you are speaking in. LOL

dulciusexasperis

China_cat,anyone planning to visit Mt. Rigi, should consider being there to see the sunrise.
https://www.google.ca/#q=mt+rigi+sunrise

china_cat

nice idea dulcius, but there don't appear to be trains to get there early enough, and our hotels are booked, so can't stay overnight. I'll have to settle for daylight, or perhaps sunset...that might be arranged.

caralin

Just working out the details now, especially regarding transport.

Ingo and neckervd, I'd love more specific information regarding your driving trips you mentioned from the Oberland to the Engadine. We'd like to do it in a day, but could spend pretty much the entire day (leave Lauterbrunnen in the morning, get to Sils Maria in the evening).

Where would you recommend we stop along the way? I do like the suggestion you both made about going through the Alps instead of via Zurich and the highways.

(Thanks to everyone else for your continued suggestions too - we'll definitely do the boat trip on Lake Lucerne!)

Ingo

I suggest you don't overdo it with the passes on your driving from Lauterbrunnen to Sils-Maria. From my experience it was a long and exhausting drive (for the driver at least!), and I wouldn't do more than a longer lunch break plus two other, shorter stops at places with a gorgeous view or an outstanding sight (whatever is of interest for you.)

I personally found the drive via Susten pass - Wassen to Andermatt more beautiful than via Grimsel and Furka passes. That's probably because I liked the glacier view at Steingletscher (on the road to Susten pass) the best. Others will say the Grimsel/Furka route is more spectacular, and I guess they are right. If you are interested in the Furka narrow-gauge steam train you should definitely choose this route. A good place for an early lunch break would be here: www.gletscher.ch

Oberalp pass is less spectacular IMO. In Disentis you should have a look into the Benedictine monastery (church, museum). However, I suggest you leave enough time for the Ruinaulta gorge (of the Rhine river) between Ilanz and Reichenau. Don't drive the major road #19 via Laax/Flims, take the smaller road via Valendas and Versam instead. There are some viewing points/plateaus along the road that offer fantastic views of the gorge. Here is a link to a map as pdf-file that has the info: http://www.ruinaulta.ch/files/?id=12387
Viewing points are Alix, Islabord, Spitg, Zault - some require a short detour.

And keep in mind it's still a long drive from Reichenau to Sils-Maria. You drive via Thusis (most scenic on the eastern side of the valley - passing some castles), Tiefencastel and Julier pass. I dislike Julier pass (many trucks) and use to drive Albula pass (via Filisur - Bergün - La Punt, no trucks, less traffic, more scenic IMO), but this would be a detour.

Ingo

Sorry, no need to drive as far as Reichnau if you take the small road via Versam. You can drive from Bonaduz right via Rhäzüns to Thusis.

neckervd

The view from the Sustenpass road to Steingletscher is fine.
If you take the Furkapass road, you can go from Hotel Belevedere to the Rhone glacier ice cave.
If you take the Nufenen Pass road, you will see the Gries Glacier.

It's really up to you!