Hi, I've just started planning a trip in a couple of weeks from May 8-17 going to Venice and Zurick. We wanted the bustle of Venice and the alps of Switzerland. It's a family trip with my parents in their 60's and my sister and I in our 30's. None of us has ever been to Switzerland so any advice would be helpful.

May 8 - traveling
May 9 - 12: Venice
May 13 - 16 - Zurick
May 17 - traveling back

I was thinking of staying in Zurick as our base and from there go take day trips to Luzern and Berner Oberland to see the alps. We'll be in Switzerland for 5 days but 3 of those days will be full days not spent on traveling to and from the airport.

Does this sound feasible? Should I reconsider Zurick as the base since I read that it's fairly pricey to stay and not as charming as the smaller towns? Any recommendations for day trips over Luzern or Berner Oberland? Are there packaged day trips from Zurick that takes you to the alps so I don't have to worry about planning on how to get there and back?

Hi jc17131,

I don't recommend that you plan to see the Berner Oberland from Zürich; it's simply too far to go. It will take you about four-five hours in transport in each direction, so that's about eight-ten hours inside a moving train/bus. That is a total waste of precious time! It's been my experience that, when I travel for more than four hours in a day, my memories are completely wrapped up in the transport.

And it would be such a shame, particularly since there are so many wonderful and great things to do and see that are not far from Zürich itself. Yes, Luzern has many, many options for you to see and experience the Alps. You can ascend (at least) three nearby peaks (Rigi, Pilatus, and Titlis), see a mountain village (Engelberg), explore lakeside villages (Weggis and Vitznau), and of course explore the midieval part of town. And that's just Luzern! Here are some sites with more information:

www.luzern.org
www.rigi.ch
www.titlis.ch
www.pilatus.ch
www.engelberg.ch
www.lakelucerne.ch

If you feel that you must see the Oberland, then I encourage you to give it at least one overnight.

You really don't need a packaged tour, as all you need to do for any of these activities is to hop on a train. Paying a middle man for this is really a waste of money.

Here's a link to the Swiss rail site so you can research the train trips yourself. Oh, remember to use the European format for the date (day.month.year) and the 24-hour clock.

www.rail.ch

Have fun!

s

Zurich is too far to see the Berner Oberland and is primarily a business city.

First, to avoid wasting time fly into Venice and out of Zurich (look at multi-destination on web sites). the cost should be no more than RT.

Second stay either in Lucerne - a charming city right on a lake with immediate access to smaller mountains plus a few days in one of the smaller towns actually in the BO - so you can do some hikes and ascend the Jungfrau. You may need to allow several days for the latter, since if there are clouds you can;t see anything.

I would not spend much time in Zürich. It is a business town, a huge banking center. If you want Switzerland and the Alps, then the Berner Oberland is the place to be. The largest town in the mountains is Grindelwald. It is active and thriving.

Lauterbrunnen is a valley village that is much smaller in size with a few good hotels - Oberland, Silberhorn, and Jungfrau.
Two higher villages, which are car free, can be reached by mountain transportation: Mürren on the west side of the valley and Wengen on the west side.

There is plenty to see there with cable lifts and trains available to take you higher.

I have been there several times and loved all of it.

This year I may not get there and the thought of it is causing me some discomfort!!

Luzern is a beautiful city on the lake with trips to Pilatus a good excursion.

The train system is ultra good.

PS the other posters are very knowledgeable I might add.
Correction. Wengen is on the EAST side. I know that, been there many times.
Just old age and bad typing habits.