Ok, I'll just go with staying in Lucerne. I'll tell DH today that we'll save Germany for another trip!

Have you stayed at Hotel Alpha?

I know diddilly about hotels there and those i have stayed in i would not recommend.

But the Germany thing - that is a valid reason for doing the Bodensee instead of Lucerne - i was only judging on merits that most tourists would find Lucerne much more whatever than the Bodensee area - not that that is not nice. And going to Germany is a valid reason in my mind.

Great decision on staying in the Oberland/Lauterbrunnen valley. Don't miss the hikes in this area -they'll be some of the most memorable ones you'll ever do!!
You'll have to switch trains in Interlaken... but I recommend you take your kids to the Ballenberg outdoor Swiss cultural Museum... a 20 minute train ride from Interlaken. Even if your kids aren't into museums, this one is unlike the usual museums & showcases each area of Switzerland & its culture, food, industry & traditions. Barnyards with cattle depicting the dairy chocolate industry etc.
http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome

Since you're vegetarian, try to go to Hiltl, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Zurich. You'll love it after being subjected to the token vegetarian preparation in most other restaurants.

As for Germany, Konstanz is beautiful, more so than many other towns since it was one of the few towns that was spared the bombing raids because it was right on the Swiss border. Hence, the architecture here is better preserved & simply marvelous. But Switz. has so much to offer, that I would leave Germany for another time, unless you find yourself on the border.

Thanks. I read that about Constance/Bodensee in one of the guidebooks. My goodness what to do. I told DH yesteday and he said OK but I know at the last minute, he'll be like so why didn't we go...argh. I plan to book 2 nights now at Goldener Stern in Lucerne. Unless anyone thinks I really should see Constance/Mainau on this trip.

I keep thinking this is our last Europe trip and we keep going back. But I don't think we'll ever get back to the Southern part of Germany even if we do ever go.

Decisions. I'll hold my reservations for now and decide as I keep reading. To do this trip I would have to break these 2 hotel nights in 2-1 night in Lucerne and 1 in Zurich which seems like a lot.

I agree Konstanz is a great city - and if you have a day with no plans then take the short train ride to the Rhine Falls - a train station right at the falls - an awesome cascade where the Rhine River plunges down - you can walk over the falls, etc.

Or from Konstanz itself i believe you can take boat rides on the Rhine towards the falls. A Swiss pass covers the boats in full i believe.

Ok. Based on the latest replies, I feel I should try and fit Konstanz in. How does this itinerary work:

Day 1-arrive Geneva, train to Montreux (1 night)
2-Montreux (castle in AM; mid-afternoon train to Lauterbrunnen (3 nights)stop in Spiez/Niesen if time
3-Jungfrau
4-Schilthorn/Trumm falls
5-Lauterbrunnen to Titlis to Lucerne OR Lake Thun or Br. cruise and then to Lucerne; see bridge (2 nights)
6-Pilatus day trip
7-Lucerne to Konstanz (1 night) -stay in Konstanz or train back to Zurich for next day flight
8-flight at 9:25 am

Thanks for all your help!!!

Sounds swell to me - many times i have been in Lucerne Pilatus has been shrouded in fog or clouds so keep that flexible

For any mountain top if the day is clear hop on it - clouds can set in for days sometimes - a problem with planning those excursions with no alternatives

no fun trekking by cables or train to remote mountain tops if you can't see anything once you get there or en route.

It’s been a while but there’s been some changes to my itinerary first due to plane changes out of my control (it worked for the better) and my in-laws and sis-in-law are coming along as well. They are great so we’re glad to have them . I am now looking into passes and I think the 4 day Swiss pass works but see if this itinerary looks ok or if I need to drastically change any plans. This trip takes place in August.

Sun, leave home

Mon early morning arrive Rome-sightsee-Colosseum; Forum, PM-Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps

Tues- open day. In-laws may take a day trip to Florence via a tour. We’ve already been so we were thinking of signing up for gladiator school training with the kids along with Villa Borghese and maybe ending the day at a spa/bath if we’re able to.

Wed- ADDED extra day due to flights. Vatican/Papal Audience on Wed.; Piazza Navona/Campo de Fiori

Thu-Fly to Geneva; arrive Geneva 10:55. Train to Vevey/Montreux-sightsee; Château de Chillon; relax on waterfront (Vevey Hotel Negociants); RAIL day 1

Fri- AM; Either stop in Gruyeres on way OR train to Lauterbrunnen with stop in Spiez/Niesen (Overnight – Hotel Oberland) RAIL day 2

Sat- Schilthorn day trip- Use pass to go to Murren ONLY since we’ll be doing Jungfrau as weather permits. Mürren/ Gimmelwald; PM-Lake Brienz boat trip (Hotel Oberland) RAIL day 3; I combined Murren with boat trip to make use of rail day.

Sun- Jungfrau day trip- Jungfraujoch day get an early start/Wengen; PM/Trummelbach Falls (Hotel Oberland)

Mon- Lauterbrunnen to Pilatus; luge; early dinner in Lucerne; train to Konstanz RAIL day 4

Tues - Mainau/Meersburg ; thermal bath/spa if time permits; DH and kids really want to see a bit of Germany so we took a vote and we decided to make this happen.

Wed-train to Zurich early morning; flight= 10:30 am-due to changes in flight patterns, I was able to get the direct flight back (no need to stop in Amsterdam now!!!) (buy tix to airport)

Hi P67742,

I haven't read the whole thread, I'll admit right now.

But just food for thought -- the train trip from Geneva to Vevey will cost around 26 chf. Using a rail pass day for this trip seems like overpaying a lot.

Have you checked all your rail trips to make sure a Pass would be best? Have you checked that the Half Fare Card might save you money?

One thing I might suggest to get your money's worth out of the pass is to take the ferry across the lake from Vevey to Chillon on your arrival day (ferries are covered). Ferries are more expensive than trains, so that will be a good deal. Maybe even take the ferry back, too!

Ferry schedules are at

www.cgn.ch

I love ferry trips on Lake Geneva, one of my favorite things to do.

Have fun!

s

Thanks. Yes since I was planning to use as a rail day, I was hoping to get use out of it by using the ferry and I believe Chillon is covered as well. Is this true? And a ferry trip sounds so relaxing!

The 4-day Swiss pass covers four consecutive days so that won't work---you're trying to skip a day.

What you describe is a FlexPass, where you pick the days. I don't know that you need a 4-day ($223); It depends on whether Chillon is covered as a "free museum". I'll try to look around and see if there is information on that, or maybe someone here knows.

If not, you could use the 3-day Flexpass for $184 (Saver price)

OK---I found it. It's on the Swiss Museum Pass site:

http://hosting.triboni.com/triboni/e...page/main.html

click on "participating museums" and it's there, under Veytaux.

Thanks. I'll have to work out the numbers but it probably cheaper as a whole with the pass. The difference btw 3 and 4 days is 39, so if it's 26 plus I'll have to pay for the kids to train to Vevey, then adding in cost of Chillon and ferries. I'll go with the 4 day pass.

Thoughts on just going up to Murren and towns vs going all the way up since we have Niesen, Jungfrau, and Pilatus?

The other option is to see Chillon the day we go to Spiez/Niesen/Lauterbrunnen. Then I could do a 4 day consecutive pass but will still have to purchase tix from airport to Vevey for kids.

Careful with your numbers---you are mixing $$$ with CHF. The difference between 3 and 4-day Flex pass is $39; the ticket from Geneva to Vevey is 26 CHF.

The option of a boat ride on a nice day is a good one, so keep that in mind when you pick the number of days on your pass.

I think trying to see Chillon on the same day you travel to Lauterbrunnen makes for a very full day, espeically if you want to go up Niesen too. We loved Chillon and spend half a day there; we could easily have stayed longer.

On your Mürren day I'd skip the Schilthorn; you have several other mountaintops in your plan and one doesn't need to do them all!

What you might do instead is ride the funicular up the Allmendhubel:

http://www.funimag.com/suisse/allmendhubel01.htm

And then take the Children's Adventure Path down. The walk takes about an hour. Here is a description:

"Young and older children enjoy the adventure path with bridges, hidden paths, slides, ropes and tree trunks in the hiking area between Allmendhubel and Muerren."

Website:

http://www.mymuerren.ch/en.cfm/somme...en-321450.html

Then you can walk down to Gimmelwald and catch the cablecar from there down to Stechelberg on your way to Trummelbach Falls.

perfect. Thanks

bookmarking....