Switzerland itinerary help
 

My husband and I will be travelling (by car) with my parents (both in their early 70s) for 2 weeks in Germany and then 8 days in Switzerland. From the southern end of the Romantic Road in Germany, I was thinking about crossing into Switzerland and spending:

1 night in Appenzell
3 nights in Bonigen or Interlaken or Brienz??
(or other suggestions??)
4 nights in Murten or Bern or ???
(fly out of Geneva early the next day)

The only place my mom and I have been to in Switzerland is Lucerne, which we both really liked - we both felt for a bigger city it has small-town appeal. We don't really want to be in any big metropolitan cities - we prefer the smaller towns.

What do you think of my itinerary? Any suggestions for different homebases? This will likely be my dad's only trip abroad, so I'm hoping to show him the Swiss hilights without too many hotel changes. ** Also, if anyone happens to have specific hotel recommendations (we love those 2-3 star hotels with charm!!), we would greatly appreciate it.

If I were in your place (which I was some 4 years ago) I would base myself in ONE place, save a lot of headache and time of moving from one city/hotel to another!!!

Lucern is the right place for taking day-trips with the train. From there you get EASILLY to anywhere.

reading your post again, I realise you're planning to travel by car, not a train...

My experience is with trains. Although on the last day we rented a car to cross the Alps into Italy.

I would let others with car-experience to contribute their own ideas, BUT I would still suggest:

A. For 4 people traveling with luggage most of the time you need a LARGE car, with a LARGE luggage compartment (not every large car has a large enough compartment).

B. Unlike the US, most European hotels don't have their own parking lots, which means you have to find parking on the streets, which can be a real callenge.

C. I would still suggest, that even with a car, you rely mostly on the Swiss train network which is maybe the best in the world. You buy a 3-4-7 day pass and can use it anywhere. It's FASTER than driving, more convenient, much more relaxing.

My husband and I traveled with our daughter's family on this trip a few years ago. We liked the smaller villages. We chose Grindenwald(sp) rather than Interlaken. I would chose Murten rather than Bern. We rented a large Mercedes or BMW (can't remember which) to accomodate everyone's luggage. Parking wasn't a problem as the hotels have a small reserved parking area. It may be a block or two away however. I made all the hotel reservations via fax before leaving home and asked about parking.

I'd suggest staying in Interlaken or Grindelwald, and not Brienz in your early part. If you're driving, I'd do Bern as a day trip driving from Interlaken to the West. You may also think about staying in Lausanne rather than Bern.

Hi, Laura, your trip sounds great. I suggest that you do choose a lake town on Brienzersee or Thunersee for your three nights in the Oberland. Visit Thun, Oberhofen, Ballenberg.

For the next stop, I'd suggest Vevey on Lac Leman. I think from there you can day-trip to Murten or Avenches or Berne, Lausanne, and to Gruyeres and Chateau d'Oex as well, and don't forget the Castle of Chillon! Murten is a very interesting little walled town, but I think there are more daytrip possibilities from Vevey. On the other hand, if Vevey seems too cosmopolitan, try S' suggestions in the neighborhood (S, are you there? What's that little town you've discovered?). There are two nice hotels in the little town of Cully. Vevey's site at vevey.ch may have a list. J.

Hi jmw!!

laurastricklin,

The town I think jmw is referring to is Corseaux, a suburb of Vevey (www.corseaux.ch). I haven't been there in person -- yet -- but it looks so picturesque on the website. There's a hotel that looks wonderful too - the Chatonneyre (www.chatonneyre.ch). However, I don't know how convenient it will be for a quick overnight before departure -- it's probably about an hour from the airport, more with traffic.

Let me know if you'd like more info!

s

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I greatly appreciate your input!
I'm very busy re-thinking my plans. May need your help again later as I fine-tune things.....