sakhter

Hello friends,

My husband and I are traveling to Switzerland with our kids ages 7 & 4. Below is our itinerary. I would appreciate if anyone has any valuable advise/suggestion to give. We would also like to know what Swiss Rail pass would be best for us and whether we should get a 1st class or 2nd class (given that we will have two suitcases thrice during our journeys).

Thursday, August 31 Arrive Zurich
Thursday, August 31 See Zurich Hotel
Thursday, August 31 Depart Zurich
Thursday, August 31 Arrive Lucerne
Thursday, August 31 3:00 PM Check-In Cascada Hotel
Friday, September 1 Walk around colorful pedestrian bridges (Chapel Bridge)
Friday, September 1 Swiss Transport Museum
Friday, September 1 Glacier Garden + Lion Monument
Saturday, September 2 Lake Lucern Cruise
Saturday, September 2 Mount Stanserhorn (Cabrio cable car)
Sunday, September 3 11:00 AM Depart Lucernce
Sunday, September 3 Arrive Engleberg
Sunday, September 3 Mount Titlus gondola
Sunday, September 3 Depart Engleberg
Sunday, September 3 Arrive Interlaken
Monday, September 4 Schilthorn gondola - Visit Murren - Visit Gimmewald
Tuesday, September 5 Lake Thun boating
Wednesday, September 6 Day Trip - Broc - Maison Cailler Chocolate Factory
Thursday, September 7 Travel back to Zurich

Thank you!!

PalenQ

8-consecutive-day Swiss Pass would be good as you will be traveling on transports every day after leaving Zurich. Kids get a free Family Pass and never pay for anything parents use the pass for.

2nd class if fine because you are not taking long train trips and mountain devices don't have first class. For lots on Swiss trains check www.sbb.ch; www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

There should be ample room for two suitcases in 2nd class.

Mimar

Are you flying out of Zurich on the 8th? If so and if you reordered your itinerary, going to Lucerne last before returning to Zurich, you could skip Zurich and take a direct train from Lucerne to Zurich's airport. One less hotel change.

Consider boating on Lake Brienz instead of Thun. Get off in Brienz town and bus to the Swiss Open Air Museum. This is a park full of old Swiss houses and people demonstrating traditional Swiss crafts: cheese making etc. Good place for kids to run around.

As it is you have a tightly planned itinerary that will be hard to maintain with kids

greg

What time are you arriving in Zurich? Unless you are arriving Zurich late in the evening, it is only 2 hr 10 min by train to Interlaken.

If you arrive early in Zurich, when you get to Luzern, you would probably not be able to check-in. Why not keep traveling to the furthest point on your itinerary instead?

This also lets you aggregate all your stays near Luzern at the end rather than having to zip back to ZRH at the end of the trip.

Why bother with "Thursday, August 31 See Zurich Hotel"?

"two suitcases thrice" = six suitcases for one week trip for a family of 4?

PalenQ

I think OP means they will be traveling on trains three times during their trip - other days luggage will be in hotel.

PalenQ

And Swiss Rail offers a nice send your bags ahead for about CHF 15 per bag - retrieve your bag at destination station.

PalenQ

Lake boats have two classes IME -and that is one time you may want to upgrade to 1stcl with a Swiss Pass - the open-air front deck is 1st class- IME just pay the conductor the difference on board or do it before at a ticket window -normally I believe - it always was -you just hop on the boat without going to ticket window.

mokka4

Be aware that your carefully planned trips up the various mountains may be thrown off by bad weather. YOu'll have to be flexible. Check the weather cameras down below to ensure that you aren't paying $$$ for a view of thick fog in the rain.
I second the suggestion to cruise from Interlaken Ost to Brienz, and take the connecting bus up to Ballenberg outdoor museum-kids will
like the farm animals, etc

PalenQ

Do both lakes if possible as each is different -views of Jungfrau Massif much more impressive IMO on Lake Thun - Lake Brienz on south side rises too steeply to get views.

Kids - definitely Lake Brienz -Ballenberg Open-Air Museum (free with Swiss Pass) and riding the steam train up a mountain from Brienz - Brienzer Rothorn Bahn - are great for all ages (I waltzed down on zigzagging trails from summit) and even the anitque funicular to Geissbach Falls is neat as are the falls (boat stops here) - Sherlock Holmes fans can see a Sherlock Holmes museum in a tiny teensy weeny tiny church in Meiringen (home of meringue) and trek or bus over to Reichenbach Falls to see where the evil Dr Moriarity allegedly fell to his presume death from a viewing balcony in the middle of the falls - and the Glacier Gorge at Innertkirchen - train from Meringen has narrow walkways thru the narrow gorge following a roaring river.

Really two days of fun things that can even be appreciated in damp weather when hiking and mountain tops are out.

Lake Thun does have castles of your dreams - especially Spiez' that hovers high above the boat dock and Oberhofen's small one lakeside - Oberhofen makes a great lunch stop - neat lakeside town. Thun itself has a castle and is a really nice old city with some Lucerne-esque covered wooden bridges in the town center.

with either boat return quickly to Interlaken by train after one-way boat ride.

Melnq8

I don't get this either. See Zurich hotel?

Thursday, August 31 Arrive Zurich
Thursday, August 31 See Zurich Hotel
Thursday, August 31 Depart Zurich
Thursday, August 31 Arrive Lucerne

So...three nights Lucerne, four nights Interlaken?

kja

If I’m following, this itinerary could be written:

- 8/31 – arrive in Zurich and leave for Lucerne ASAP, perhaps with a stop to find the hotel where you plan to stay on your last night?
- 9/1 – explore Lucerne – first of, uh, how many nights here?
- 9/2 – take boat along Lucerne’s lakes AND take the cable car to Stanserhorn
- 9/3 – Visit Engleberg en route to Interlaken
- 9/4 – Visit Schilthorn, Mürren, and Gimmelwald.
- 9/5 – take the boat on Lake Thun
- 9/6 – go to Broc
- 9/7 – go back to Zurich.

If that is anything close to the proposal, here are some comments:

- IMO, Mürren and Gimmelwald aren’t “places to see” – they are places some people choose to stay. Walking through Mürren might be worthwhile – depending on where you start/end, the walk can be lovely!

- A ride on Lake Thun could be great if your children are into options to see architecture and styles of interior design. A ride on Lake Brienz could (as Mimar notes) be great if your children are into roaming a wonderful outdoor park with examples of buildings from various parts of Switzerland and with demonstrations of local crafts, including some that are designed to engage children.

- IMO, the trip to Broc and the Caller Chocolate Factory was not worth the time – and I say that as a chocoholic! JMO.

- Like Melnq and others, I’m confused about where you plan to stay.

Good luck!

PalenQ

I don't get this either. See Zurich hotel?>

checking it out - seeing where it is for easier finding it later - anyway yes I would not spend a few hours just to do that.

PalenQ

- 9/3 – Visit Engleberg en route to Interlaken>

That takes all day - better to do as a day trip from Lucerne IMO

I'd forego Stanserhorn - many more better things to do than that -nice but pales in awesomeness to what you will see in Jungfrau Region

Maybe trying to do too much - maybe scrub Engelberg and do more in Jungfrau Region - like Jungfraujoch train to Europe's highest train station and walk to the tip of the Aletsch Glacier.

PalenQ

Wednesday, September 6 Day Trip - Broc - Maison Cailler Chocolate Factory>

You go thru Gruyeres on this trip - stop off there for a while - one of finest old walled cities anywhere.

Take the Golden Pass train from Interlaken - I'd do this on day 7 and end up in Zurich maybe (can send bags ahead by Swiss rail to Zurich).

sakhter

Thank you to each one of you for your valuable input. And sorry for the confusion, I forgot to remove 'hotel' from Zurich. We wont be staying in Zurich.

So we arrive at Zurich and leave for Lucern and check-in at the hotel there. We apparently land at around 1:30pm.

PalenQ,you got it right....we will have two suitcases three times on our journey - Zurich to Lucern, Lucern to interkaken (where we will stay for 4 nights since my husband thinks has more places to eat than other small villages) & then interlaken to Zurich.

PalenQ

(where we will stay for 4 nights since my husband thinks has more places to eat than other small villages)>

never thought of that but no doubt true and more 'local' places since it does not totally revolve around tourism as mountain villages - it's easy to get off the beathen tourist schlocked main drag and into a really nice IMO regional town -especially on northside of river - be sure to check out the old town hall square there and Lucernesque covered wooden bridge - there is a neat trail along north side of river connecting the two lakes bookending Interlaken that goes right along the river and through woods - you'd never know you were in a fairly large busy city.

Footnote - the railway crossed the river -preventing boats from going between the two lakes - researching an article I once wrote about Interlaken the reason was said to be that boats and trains at first were rivals and somehow the trains got the upper hand and severed through boats!

The Matten section of Interlaken with the popular Tell Playhouse is really mellow and has views across bucolic meadows over the Jungfrau Massif in the distance.

Avoid hotels on the busy main drag for a much calmer seen that to me rivals that in looks any city in Switzeland -esecially the section of Interlaken on Lake Brienz handily near Interlaken-Ost train station.

Oh about places to eat there is a McDonalds - a Hooters - and a Migros supermarket on the main drag last I knew! The Migros cafeteria had an outdoor terrace on its top floor with wondrous views of the mountains but alas Migros last I knew refuses to sell booze -but a neat place to relax over a coffee, etc. (Have not been to Interlaken in several years so not sure those places are still there.)

By Interlaken-Ost train station there is or was a Super Co-Op store with supermarket and I presume cafe with booze.

For cheap food and sundries the Denner-Diskount, if still there, just off the main drag is as cheap as you'll find.

Ah Interlaken - one of the cities I love the most in Europe (though if I were a first-time Jungfrau traveler I'd definitely stay up in dem hills in a mountain village and have the awesome Jungfrau Massif eyeball to eyeball practically from my hotel balcony and those towns are not bereft of places to eat either.)

Cheers!

PalenQ

Grindelwald is especially loaded with restaurants of all types:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...n_of_Bern.html

kja

And, of course, there are enough restaurants in Lauterbrunnen to allow you some reasonable options during your time in the area....

sakhter

Thank you PalenQ! Appreciate your responses.

Here's our updated Itinerary:

Day 1
Arrive Lucerne
Walk to Chapel Bridge
Walk to Lion Monument
See Lion Monument and Glacier Garden
Lunch
Go to Stanserhorn Cabrio via S4 Train (35 min journey)
Mount Stanserhorn (Cabrio cable car)
Travel back to hotel

Day 2

See Swiss Transport Museum

Depart to Mount Pilatus via Cogwheel Rail
https://www.pilatus.ch/en/inform/timetable/
Arrive Mount Pilatus around 4pm
Leave Mount Pilatus
Arrive Lucerne

Day 3

Depart Luzern to Engleberg
Arrive Engleberg, walk to Gerschnistrasse 12 (Mount Titlus)
Mount Titlus Gondola, Glacier Cave, Sky Walk Bridge, Tubing
Lunch (Where?)
Back to Luzern
Pick up suitcases, train to Interlaken West
Arrive Interlaken West

Day 4
Depart for Schilthorn (via train, bus, gondola) via Stechelberg
Schilthorn
Take gondola to Murren
Take gondola to Allmundhubel - Kids Park & Flower Trail
Arrive back in Murren by foot. Have lunch
Hike to Gimmelwald (name of trail?)
Leave for Interlaken
Arrive Interlaken Ost

Day 5
Lake Brienz boat ride
Arrive Brienz. Go to Ballenger Open Air Museum via bus
Go to Harder Kulm.
Back to hotel.

Day 6
Leave for Broc
Arrive Broc - Maison Cailler Chocolate Factory
Leave for Interlaken
Arrive Interlaken

Day 7
Depart Interlaken
Arrive Zurich
Depart Zurich

Question:
- Are we missing anything important?
- Should we go to pilatis if we are going to Stanserhorn? Which one is better?

Thank you!

PalenQ

Pick up suitcases, train to Interlaken West>

You could send suitcases ahead -15 CHF per bag however by Swiss Railways or see if Engelburg has lockers - should and then not having to backtrack to Lucerne but join the Brunig Pass line around Alpnachstad.