Switzerland

John, could you please define "late spring"? What are your estimated travel dates. Much of the Berner Oberland is still a ski area through March and early April. Then, some hotels close for "shoulder season" for the transition to summer visitors from ski season. Still the BO is extremely scenic. For day trips, you are not too far from Lucern or Bern. It takes a bit more time if you are staying in the Lauterbrunnen Valley to get in and out. Zermatt is reachable on a day trip but you should go early in the morning as it often clouds up in the afternoon. Or, you can base yourself in Bern or Interlaken and have easier acces to more areas. You can even easily day trip into the Lauterbrunnen Valley (Wengen, Gimmelwald, Muerren, the two mounain tops, etc.). It's only a 22-minute train ride from the Interlaken Ost train station to the Lauterbrunnen train station.

You need to be more specific. Day trips from ???

Yeah, I think that is what the OP is asking. Where in Switzerland would be the best place to do day trips from? In absolute terms I would say Bern or Luzern. They are interesting cities only an hour away from each other and from Zurich by train, and you can get to Geneva and the shores of Lac Leman. It will be difficult in any event to see anything in the south of the country as a day trip from the north, and vice versa. Going a bit further, I'd recommend spending time in at least two locations. The mountains are spectacular, but the train tracks are by necessity steep and the trains can't go as fast, making "day trips" into the high mountains a more difficult proposition (although not impossible). Interlaken is an hour from Bern and two from Luzern, and you are still two hours or so from Junfraujoch, if that's what you wanted to do. I spent two weeks in Switzerland with my mom in June 2011 and we spend 5 nights with family outside Lausanne, 5 nights in Wengen and 4 nights in Luzern. Obviously Switzerland was the focus of our trip and the pace was perfect for middle-aged me and my mom. As a college student I traveled around spending one night in each city. As part of a longer trip through Europe, you would want to shoot for something in between.

That's my question. What spot (city) would you recommend to have as a home base for seeing switzerland by "day trips"? We plan to fly from Texas to Switzerland in late spring.

Bern is almost in the center of the country. From there it's a one 1 hour train ride to Zurich, Basel, Lauscanne. 2 hour train ride to Geneva and Luzern. Having said that, with the exception of Luzern I'm not a big fan of Switzerland's cities; nice places to live but limited tourist appeal. For me Switzerland is all about the alps, especially Bernor Oberland region: Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Gimellwald, Murren, Wengen. Base yourself there, and if you encounter bad weather and can't explore the mountains, you can easily reach one of the cities by train for a day trip.

Thanks. We're getting great help on the first day of participating in this forum. John and Bobbi

Thanks Larry. Late Spring will be late May. Interlaken seems like a good possibility. We're just beginning our research but have some good ideas now.

John, One possibility to consider would be the "split" your trip between two areas (depending on the how much time you have and what type of "Swiss experience" you're most interested in). For example, you might consider spending a few days in Lucerne, with day trips to Mt. Pilatus or trips on the lake. Spend the second part of the trip in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, using Lauterbrunnen, Mürren or other town in that area as a home base. That should provide you with a good blend of city life as well as beautiful mountain scenery. You'll probably find that Zurich has good flight options, and it's not far from the suggested locations. The Swiss train system is amazingly efficient and precise, so you'll have no difficulty getting around. I would highly recommend picking up a copy of the Switzerland Guidebook, as it has LOTS of information on not only the places, but also transportation, passes, Hotels, restaurants, etc. It's currently "on sale" for $13.95 at the Travel Store on this website (click the "Books" tab at the top of the page). You may enjoy having a look at a couple of short videos on the areas that I mentioned. Click on This Link, This Link or This Link. One point to mention though - be sure to budget accordingly as Switzerland can be "pricey"! Good luck with your planning!

John, late May is a great time to be in the Berner Oberland. We were there in very late May and the first days of June and the snow had withdrawn to areas above Muerren (5,200'). No guarantees on the weather but for us the weather was great and slightly warm. Two great things at that time of year. 1) the wildflowers in the Alps are in bloom and, 2) the farmers are walking their cows with their musical cow bells through the villages up to higher summer pastures. Muerren is a great place to stay. It's just coming alive after transitioning from ski season. It's everything you would want to see in a Swiss alpine village.

In late May, Zermatt makes a nice base if enough snow has already melted. I'd save 3 days for a stay in the Easternmost part of Switzerland and, weather allowing, get a car for 2 days, or even just one, and do a memorable drive through the mountain passes (if there hasn't been recent snow). Gimellwald is overrated IMO (call them the Varenna effect).