Hi. My very first post! Will arrive by cruise in Kiel on May 2 and travel to Cologne for three nights on May 3. Leaving from Zurich on May 13. Could you give me suggestion on best route? Need to stay at least two nights in each are, preferably three. Also must be in Zurich on May 11 as we want to make sure we’ll be there before our travel date. Appreciatyour comments

It would help to know how many in your party, ages, mode of travel, likes/dislikes, what you hope to experience!

Thanks for replying. We are a couple in our seventies, in good health. No hiking. Like to enjoy sitting outdoors in nice restaurants. Would like to travel from Cologne by train or by renting a car to our first destination in Switzerland. We can then travel by train in Switzerland. We like classical music, ballet, scenic views, boats. Which are the best train routes to travel to reach our destinations. Want to be in Lucerne 3 nights. After reading some negative information on Interlaken we are considering staying another night in Lucerne or in another town. Need to be at least two nights in every location, preferably three. We can visit Mt. Tiltis or Jungfrau, one of them. The rest, just experiencing beautiful views and towns. Then to Zurich on the May 11th. for our return to US on the 13th.

Please let me know best transportation from Kiel to Hamburg and Hamburg to Cologne. Also, we planing to stay three days in Cologne. Do you have any suggestions wether that is too much time or not. We planned to visit Dusseldorf or Bonn. Also a river cruise.

I can't answer any of your questions about Germany, but would suggest that you might want to consider NOT renting a car while in Switzerland -- public transportation in that country is extraordinarily comfortable, convenient, and efficient, and taking trains (and even buses) will let both of you enjoy every moment of the stunning scenery. If you are thinking about wanting to stop at various places en route, note that most Swiss train stations have luggage storage, often both lockers and a manned desk. Consult the sbb website.

In general, for information on trains beyond Switzerland, consult seat61, and for information about various options to get from place to place, you can get a good sense of your options on rome2rio.com. The sbb (Swiss rail, including ALL public transportation in that country) site is excellent and, particularly once you get the hang of it, extremely easy to use.

Lucerne is, IMO, a delight! It can get a bit overrun with tourists these days, but early May shouldn't be bad. I think Zurich is seriously underrated. Interlaken is, IMO, not the best city for access to the Bernese Oberland -- but then, May isn't necessarily the best time of year to visit that particular set of mountains. If you want to stay in a city in that region, you might consider Berne.

I would strongly encourage you to get the excellent Michelin Green Guide for Switzerland. And you might find some useful information in the various trip reports that Fodorites have posted about their travels in this region. Mine's a bit old, but here it is:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/

Welcome to Fodor's!

Thank you so much! Loved your trip itinerary. Wish we had more days.

It was a rushed trip -- it seems to me that no matter how much time one has, one never has enough! Still, I saw some absolutely wonderful things and I'm sure you will, too.

Let's have a look:
Stays:
May 2nd: Kiel
May 3rd - 5th: Cologne
May 8th - 10th: Lucerne
May 11th - 12th: Zurich
Travels:
May 3rd: Kiel dp by train 8.27 - Cologne ar 13.46, change at Hamburg
May 6th: Cologne dp by train 8.53 - scenic route along the Rhine river - Basel ar 13.30, change, dp 14.02 - Lucerne ar 15.05.
So you would have just 1 day too much that you could invest in Switzerland or in one of the dozens of gems that you plan to bypass between Kiel and Lucerne.

As an alternative, you could go by train Cologne dp 7.18 to Koblenz ar 8.16, board there a Rhine river boat leaving at 9.00 and arriving at Ruedesheim at 15.15, put your luggage into the railway station lockers, visit the village and go on either by 17.15 boat or by any train to Mainz. Sleep at Mainz and visit this intersting medieval city. Leave Mainz by train the following afternoon, may be at 12.42 (with arrival at Lucerne at 17.05).

thanks for your suggestion will definitely look into it :
Stays:
May 2nd: Kiel
May 3rd - 5th: Cologne
May 8th - 10th: Lucerne
May 11th - 12th: Zurich
Travels:
May 3rd: Kiel dp by train 8.27 - Cologne ar 13.46, change at Hamburg
May 6th: Cologne dp by train 8.53 - scenic route along the Rhine river - Basel ar 13.30, change, dp 14.02 - Lucerne ar 15.05.
So you would have just 1 day too much that you could invest in Switzerland or in one of the dozens of gems that you plan to bypass between Kiel and Lucerne.

As an alternative, you could go by train Cologne dp 7.18 to Koblenz ar 8.16, board there a Rhine river boat leaving at 9.00 and arriving at Ruedesheim at 15.15, put your luggage into the railway station lockers, visit the village and go on either by 17.15 boat or by any train to Mainz. Sleep at Mainz and visit this intersting medieval city. Leave Mainz by train the following afternoon, may be at 12.42 (with arrival at Lucerne at 17.05).[/QUOTE]

Your requirements- No one night stays. Prefer 3 night stays over 2 night stays.

Then I suggest the following itinerary:

May 2 Koln or Kiel (If required). Train- Kiel dep 12:37 ar Koln 17:46 (no changes required)
May 3 Koln
May 4 Koln Day Trip #1
May 5 Bern
May 6 Bern Day Trip #2
May 7 Bern Day Trip #3
May 8 Luzern
May 9 Luzern
May 10 Luzern
May 11 Zurich
May 12 Zurich
May 13 Fly Home

Day Trip #1- KD Rhine Steamer (Nostalgia Route- Loreley,castles, etc.dep Koblenz 9:00 to Rudesheim ar 15:15)
Take train from/to Koln. For shorter day embark at Boppard at 11:00. disembark Bingen at 15:00.

Day Trip #2 Lake Geneva/"French speaking" Switzerland(Lausanne-Montreux-Chateau de Chillon). Train from/to Bern.

Day Trip #3 Bernese Oberland (Grindelwald-Kleine Scheidegg-Wengen-Lauterbrunnen). Train from/to Bern

Thank you so much! This is a perfect trip for us except that we must stay in Hamburg one night for a concert and depart on May 3 for Koln. Since we arrive by ship into Kiel, do you know if we have to prepay transport into Hamburg? Also, Can we buy in Hamburg train tickets to Koln, Bern, Luzern etc. with the Swiss 8 day pass? Im confused whether in Germany we have to buy Germany rail tickets and once we reach Bern we can buy Swiss pass tickets. Appreciate your input.

For excellent information about train travel anywhere in Europe, consult the man in seat 61:
https://www.seat61.com/

Building on kja's post #12

Train Travel in Germany https://www.seat61.com/Germany-trains.htm

Hamburg to other German towns & cities... https://www.seat61.com/international...amburg-Germany

Cologne or Düsseldorf to Basel, Zurich, Geneva & Switzerland from €39.90... https://www.seat61.com/international...om-Cologne.htm

Germany How to check train times & prices and buy tickets online... https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml


Train travel in Switzerland https://www.seat61.com/Swiss-trains.htm

Switzerland How to check train times & prices and buy tickets online... https://www.seat61.com/Swiss-trains...._train_tickets

Swiss Travel Pass is only good in the Swiss segments of your train travel. Overview_Map.pdf
You can buy your ticket Kiel to Hamburg at the Kiel train station
You can buy your ticket Hamburg to Cologne at the Hamburg train station or for a discounted price buy on-line 2-3 months ahead. https://www.bahn.com/en
For your ticket Koln to Bern you could buy your ticket at the Koln train station or on-line. Or buy a ticket Koln to Basel and use a Swiss Travel Pass for the leg Basel to Bern.
Note a Swiss Travel Pass (2nd class) for 8 days is CHF 418. There are a variety of Swiss Travel discounts that could be used and the value needs to be determined by comparing full fare tickets vs the cost of various passes. Another value of the Swiss pass is that you do not have to get a ticket, just get on the train and have a seat.. Yes, it can be confusing.

Thanks for your input. Your info is appreciated and clears my doubts.