Neil

Based on responses to my previous post about my family's (husband, wife, 15 and 12 year-old daughters) plans for an August trip to either Spain, Italy or Greece, we are now considering a trip to Switzerland instead. Still thinking about 14-17 days, and we don't want to change accommodations too often, maybe two or three locales of several days each which would be good bases for touring. Would like to be able to hike and see some of the best scenery. Any suggestions for an itinerary?

jmw44

Hi, Neil. If you can split four ways, I'd suggest stays on Lac Leman, up in the mountains of the Berner Oberland, in the Engadine valley, and on Lago Maggiore. That will give you four distinctly different landscapes, cuisines, languages, and ambience. Why not do some searches here to see what good folks have recommended with regard to specifics. I envy you. J.

bob_brown

I think 7 to 8 days in the Berner Oberland, based in Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald would be fine. Then, depending on budget, you could spend a full day or two in any of several cities including (but by no means limited to) Bern, Basel, Zürich, Luzern, Lausanne, and Geneve.

If you want more mountains, Zermatt, despite being touristy in the village, is gorgeous up on the slopes. Zinal-Grimentz is beautiful, particularly the de Moiry Glacier. If you have the stamina, a hike UP to the Cabane de Moiry is fascinating and beautiful.

Saas Fee is also awesome. The Dom soars some 10,000 feet directly above the village, which like several others in Switzerland is car free.
(You park in a big parking garage or find a place on the road side.)

Then there is the Rhine Falls at Schafhausen. Awesome in the early summer when the Rhine is full of melt water.

And lake cruises are aways nice to do.
Luzern and Interlaken and Lausanne have great settings for lake cruises.

And the Chocolate Express route (if I recall the name right) is a good train trip.

Around Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Mürren have more scenic locations up on the side of the valley, but if you are there several days, you can visit them for a long lunch and hike the trails in the area and get a great view of the mountains. Lauterbrunnen is a transportaion center and you can go in and out with ease by road, tram, or train to other destinations.

I stay overnight in Lsuterbrunnen, but during the day I am almost invariably elsewhere. There is a lot to see compacted into a small area.

swandav2000

Hi Neil,

Here are some good, standard itineraries:

1. Mountain Highlights + Italian + French sections; five destinations. Fly into Zurich and take the train to Luzern; Luzern - Wengen (2h49 with two changes if you're going by train); Wengen - Zermatt (4h24 with four changes by train); Zermatt - Locarno (4h17 with two changes); Locarno - Montreux (3h41 with one change); fly out of Geneva.

2. Mountains of the Berner Oberland + Italian + French sections; four destinations. Fly into Zurich and take the train immediately to Luzern; Luzern - Wengen (4h24 with four changes); Wengen - Locarno (5h29 with five changes or 6h26 with three changes); Locarno - Montreux (3h41 with one change); fly out of Geneva.

3. Mountain Highlights + French section, four destinations. Fly into Zurich and take the train directly to Luzern; Luzern - Wengen (2h49 with two changes); Wengen - Zermatt (4h24 with four changes); Zermatt - Montreux (2h48 with one change).

Of course, there are numerous variations, but these hit the most popular destinations and give some diversity of the country. You can always find other towns or villages or cities close by the areas I've suggesed.

Each of these areas offers a whole lot of walking & hiking -- mountain trails, lake trails, vineyard trails, et al. Do a text search here of the town name to get specific ideas.

You can get rail schedules at www.rail.ch.

Good luck!

s

jmw44

Did I mention that you'll receive more suggestions than you can shake a stick at, Neil? Brace yourself for some difficult decisions. (Hi, S! My last day of spring break.) J.

suze

Use 'search' here on Fodors with the words... Vevey ... Montreux, there's several good threads recently with tons of information about these two towns in the Lac Leman area outside Geneva (and why we love them so much!).

bobthenavigator

Good idea Neil, You have some good suggstions here and I will add mine. I would fly into Zurich but start in Luzern. I agree, spend at least 5 days in the Berner Oberland--I would choose Grindelwald for a family scenario. I would try to include the lakes--going into Locarno and staying in Ascona. You can expereince all of Lago Maggiore from there--the Borremean Isles and Centovalli train. Good luck !

Neil

Thanks. You have given me a lot to think about. One question--considering there are four of us (and our luggage), would we be better off renting a car or relying on the Swiss train system?

swandav2000

Hi Again Neil,

There has been lots posted about this choice; if you want to research it just search for "car or train" under Switzerland.

Some folks simply prefer having a car, and some just prefer the trains. I prefer the trains! I feel more like I'm on vacation when I don't have to fret about routes, parking, gas, etc. I also like having a picnic on the train and turning a basic transportation day into a "European experience" as I gaze at the scenery and people-watch the locals. I will admit that traveling by train (and aging!) has taught me to begin to pack light.

So, exactly how much luggage will you have? If you're each carrying cases larger than 26", then, yes, a car would be best. But if each of you can easily carry his/her case up and down stairs and then 50 meters or so, you should be fine with the trains. There's usually a discount for two or more people travelling together. Hunt around at the Swiss rail website to see --

Good luck!

s

mr_go

You are so completely going to love this trip. I second Bob the Nav's suggestions, BTW. We did a variation on that itinerary with our young daughter, and it was probably the best trip we've ever taken.