suneet

Hello Fodorites, I have been trying to read up but only getting confused planning my second trip to Switzerland. Our first one was amazing and large part of it was due to the brilliant advice and tips I picked from this forum either as a direct response or following other threads.

As a way of introduction, My wife and me are in our mid 40s with kids aged 11 and 15. We love scenery but don't do long hikes (strolls more like it ); we love to keep ourselves busy but don't like packing the day. Our previous trip to Switzerland was in June 2019 when we spent 1 week based out of Montreux, 1 week based out of Wengen and 6 days based out of Zurich and loved every bit of it - perfect blend of lakes and mountains. In hindsight may have reduced a day or two from Zurich as we prefer smaller towns over larger cities.

What is Booked (and set in stone)
*FLIGHTS - arriving into Venice on 30 May and departing from Zurich on 20 June, giving us 21 nights or 20 full days.
*5 Nights Hotel Accommodation in Venice (Marriott Points pay for the lovely St Regis)

Initial Plan was to take a train from Venice to Locarno (via Milan) and spend a week there, then move on to Zermatt and spend another week and then spend the last 2 nights in a town close to Zurich (was thinking of Zug or Basel) rather than stay in Zurich (as have a 1040 flight). However reading through multiple forums and blogs it seems a lot of people would not rate Locarno amongst the top lake experiences of Switzerland and that has got me thinking and hence this request for suggestions. To give you a perspective we covered Lucerne as a day trip from Zurich in our previous trip and while we enjoyed the day we wouldn't have swapped our week from Montreux to Lucerne for it seemed too large and busy as compared to a more laid back Montreux. (We have also loved St Wolfgang and Zell-am-see in Austria) So seeking suggestions on a good lake side town that acts as a good base to explore the area and keep us busy (dare I say entertained). Thun seems interesting but seems most of the excursions are around Wengen/Grindelwald area which we covered the last time. While we absolutely loved that area and will like to visit it again, but maybe this time may prefer something that we haven't visited yet.

I also wanted to understand if 7 nights maybe too much in Zermatt and whether we should reduce a day?

Our last stop before our flight - would Zug complement the rest of the trip or would it be more of the same and are better of keeping it for a future trip. Our big constraint is that it should be less than an hour or hour & a quarter of travel to the Zurich Airport and has good connections in the morning (we only use public transport and don't drive on holidays). What about Basel - too far for an early morning ride to Zurich Airport? all thoughts or suggestions welcome.

Melnq8

I'd suggest Rapperswil for your last nights before your flight - beautiful town and easy access to the airport. We've used it as a final base before a Zurich departure a few times. It's a nice place to unwind.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/...pperswil-jona/

Have you considered the Upper Engadine for your lake stop? St Moritz, Sils, Silvaplana all have lovely lakes. We adore the Engadine and visit as often as possible. There's loads to see and do, you'll have no trouble filling your week.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/...ngadine-lakes/

I've also been to Locarno, and I'd agree that there are nicer lake options in Switzerland.

Seven nights might be a night or two too many for me, personally.

mokka4

Rapperswil, I LOVED. I stayed for 6 days here.
I also loved Bern, stayed a week exploring all it offers in the evening, after the crowds are gone.
Rapperswil provides easy access to boat cruises, Zug (a lovely lakeside town, but not worth more than 3 days IMHO), Einsideln, Schwyz.
Or start exploring Engadine, perhaps from Pontresina?

suneet

Thank you, I have gone back and tried researching more and feel that Locarno/Lugano is a natural stop between Venice and Switzerland. St Moritz looks lovely but then it seems too far to get to from Venice and then again a very long journey to Zermatt after that - requiring us to invest two full days on just travel. So will do 4 nights (giving us 3 full days) to be able to make our onward journey on 8 June (next para will explain why)

Now, it seems the train route between Locarno and Zermatt is fully closed for works around Domodossola from 9 June onwards. What I was unable to find out was whether this is fully open on 8th June or is there a replacement bus at that time. Unfortunately, we carry heavy luggage so don’t think that a replacement bus is a feasible option. In this case can you help me understand the route options - if we did it on 8 June or if we did it on or after 9 June.

We did a day trip from Zurich to Rapperswil on our last visit and quite loved it, while I wouldn’t mind going back but may first prefer to do another town - anything similar? I am not closing myself to Rapperswil yet, just exploring more options

neckervd

Don't worry: te railway line from Milan via Stresa to Domodossola will be closed from June 6th until August 9th.
Neither the railway line Locarno - Domodossola (Centovalli Express) nor the Simplon railway line Domodossola - Brig will be affected.

Timetable (valid until December):
Locarno dp 7.50, 8.50 (Saturday only), 9.50,10.50,12.50, 14.50, 15.50, 17.50. 4 hrs journey. Change at Domodossola and Brig (both rather small stations with short ways).

Locarno is a very nice place (the villages of Ascona and Ronco in the neighbourhood too). Locarno is furthernmore the transport hub for ht whole area (Lake cruises, Bus and gondolas up to glaciers, direct trains to Lugano, Bellinzona with it's 3 castles, Leventina, etc.) and can take you busy for morre than a week. Mosst public tgransport is free with the guest card that most hotels deliver to their guests.
The direct trains Milano Centrale - Locarno run every hr.
Zermatt is a hiking paradise, although the higher trails may still be under snow in the first half of June)
Th rope railway tio Sunnegga, the cog wheel railway to Gornergrat and the gondola to Matterhorn Paradise will run on June 8th; all other gondolas will begin to run 1 week later.