10 Day Itinerary in September Please Help!

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The first week of September is a great time to go.
Review the above Search for some suggestions. Have a great trip!

Thank you. :)

As you’ve realized, your list is too long for 10 days. It’s easier to help knowing amount of nights, so I’ll assume 10 days means 9 nights. If so, do something like this:

Fly into Zurich - Luzern 2-3 nights > Wengen 4-5 Nights > Montreux 2 Nights - fly out of Geneva
Or in reverse

Fly into Zurich and immediately head to Luzern for 2-3 nights (explore the historic center + pick either a day trip to Bern or a boat ride on Lake Luzern + Mt Rigi)
https://swissfamilyfun.com/rigi-round-trip/

Wengen for 4-5 nights (this is a great base for exploring the Jungfrau/Berner Oberland with lots of hikes, mountain viewpoints, biking, lakes, etc)
https://swissfamilyfun.com/destinations/jungfrau-region/

Montreux for 2 nights (Chateau de Chillon, Lavaux Vineyards + optional boat ride to Yvoire, France) - then fly out of Geneva
https://swissfamilyfun.com/lavaux-vineyard-hike/.

Things to skip this time because of your length of stay - Zurich & Geneva (both international cities that aren’t important enough highlights for a short trip), Gruyères (overrated), Zermatt (nice for the Matterhorn but there is more to do in the Jungfrau region).

Thank you so much! That was a huge help.

Either of those itineraries would work. Don’t stay in Zurich. I’m assuming it’s a morning arrival, so head on to Lucerne for 2-3 nights. Don’t stay in Interlaken. Go on up in the mountains. We did the other side of the valley in Murren and the Schilthorn Mtn. Any of the alpine villages would be great. It was a lifetime memory. And finally, don’t stay in Geneva. Lausanne or Montreux would be good choices. If you stay 3 nights, you would have time to take a day trip to Gruyère. It’s about an hour train or car ride to the airport in Geneva. If you plan your flight home accordingly you wouldn’t have to spend an extra night in Geneva. You could spend 3 nights in each location, and if you have an extra night add it to either the mountains or the lake. The Olympics museum in Lausanne is definitely worth a visit. You can even take the paddle boat across the lake to France for lunch! Spending 3 nights in a location gives you time to settle in and enjoy rather than rushing to get everything in. Have fun planning!

Thank you for the advice. I have whittled down the trip and reorganized based upon the advice that I received. I am hesitant to ask for more help as I don’t want to take advantage of anyone’s generosity. However, I am finding myself facing a similar issue as I had before in deciding what to see and do in the Berner Oberland. I keep reading about this area and it seems like it’s important to pick and choose what you see and do. We are hikers so we want t be sure to do some hiking there. (Seems like hiking is in abundance so I’ll have no problem picking some trails.) Rick Steve’s book mentioned that the Schilthorn cable car to the summit and the trip to the Jungfraujoch summit are both “three triangles.” But, he acknowledged that you don’t necessarily need to do these. I think I’m having a hard time visualizing this area and figuring out what is “must see” and what is realistic to see or do. Is it best to stay around one area and enjoy what’s there? Or is possible to see things throughout the region? I’d appreciate your input.

I like wanderweg's suggestions. We spent 9 nights in Switzerland in June, with 6 nights in the. Berner Oberland and 3 nights in Lucerne. We split our 6 nights in the BO, with 3 nights in Wengen and then 3 nights in Mürren. With just 4 or 5 nights, I would choose one of them. We planned to go to the Schilthorn, but the weather never cooperated, although it was fine for hiking from Wengen or Mürren. While I preferred Mürren itself to Wengen, more of the moderate hikes are easier to access from Wengen, and Wengen is a little easier to get to. There are so many good things to do--we went with a list or priorities and then fit things in and made adjustments based on the weather. Everything there is great, you really can't go wrong,

You might find the Switzerland parts of my trip report helpful as you think about what you can fit into a day and how the weather might affect your choices. When we went, some of the trails were not open yet--you should not have this problem: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-alsace-wengen-murren-lucerne

And maybe Carrie will chip in with her helpful trip reports.

Our trip was in September, and the weather was great. We stayed in Wengen; loved it, and found it very easy to get around the area. The Alpine Cow Parade happened to be in Lauterbrunnen one of the days that we were in the BO, and that was a really fun thing to experience. Our trip also included a few nights in Lucerne, where we visited Mount Pilatus. We took the cable car up to the Mount, and the cogwheel back down. The temperatures in Lucerne during our visit were in the high 80s. I was very happy that our hotel had air conditioning. Just something for you to consider when booking accommodations in that city. Our flight landed in Zurich, and we immediately took the train to Lucerne instead of spending any time in Zurich. Enjoy Switzerland!

Sounds like a lovely itinerary. Try watching some videos to get a feel of the BO area? And read Carrie’s trip reports of her times there. We were in the BO in Sept 2022, and we had a few cloudy/misty days and a few beautiful gorgeous days. You just never know what you will get. Having a list of the hikes you want to do and a list of rainy day activities will help you figure out what to do once you are there. My husband ran the Jungfrau Marathon - it was so fun to cheer him on - so check out dates to see if its the same time as your trip there and plan around it as its a lot of people in that region on one day.
I recommend staying in Murren or Wengen and in the same place for the whole time. Wengen is more central to all the hiking including to Grindelwald and up to First. Murren has better mountain views.
On our trip in 2022 we went to the top of Schilthorn. Beautiful!! And the restaurant with breakfast buffet was delicious! I haven’t done Jungfraujoch. I would probably say it seems overrated and expensive and super touristy so we probably won’t do it on our next trip in June. You could watch some videos on youtube from travel influencers to see what some of them thought to get a feel for whether its worth it to you.
Enjoy the planning and the trip!!

Thank you so much for everyone’s comments and advice. You’ve been a huge help! I now know about Carrie and I started reading her trip information. I’ll definitely check out the videos, too. Again, thank you!

This website was helpful when we planned our trip: https://aplinsinthealps.com/ They have videos and free resources. You may also want to check out this group on Facebook: Switzerland Travel Planning Group.

I also like this plan: Fly into Zurich - Luzern 2-3 nights > Wengen 4-5 Nights > Montreux 2 Nights - fly out of Geneva. Or in reverse

I think I’m having a hard time visualizing this area and figuring out
what is “must see” and what is realistic to see or do. Is it best to
stay around one area and enjoy what’s there?

It’s best to stay flexible so you can plan around the weather. I like to have a list of things I’d like to see and do, and then decide once I am there. One of the great things about Switzerland is that you do not need to purchase tickets in advance. So, you can decide once you are there what to do.

I would put Mannlichen as my must see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsp2XG8lPyw

I prefer Schilthorn over Jungfraujoch.

This a great resource by forum member shoe. It might help you visualize the area.

https://lauterbrunnenhiking.wordpress.com/

In 2022 I found the Schilthorn to be more run down than I had experienced everywhere else in Switzerland. The new cable car project should be a huge improvement. Personally, I wouldn't try to justify between Schilthon and Jungfraujoch. While in the same area they are different. In July 2022, there were crowds but not too many to prevent me from viewing the massive glacier, walk through the ice cave and have a lunch (cafeteria) next to the window. No regrets but not something I plan to do again.

I would pick Zermatt over Montreaux if impressive mountains is goal. Make sure to fit in a boat ride during your trip.

To be such a small country, I had a hard time wrapping my head around an itinerary. And to be honest, put it off for several years because of that! But I finally used Rick Steves’ plan: a city, an alpine retreat, and a resort town. That’s how I came up with Montreux, Mürren and Lucerne. I think Montreux (or Lausanne) needs 3 nights since a good part of one day will be taken up with travel. From Montreux you can walk along the lake to the Chateau de Chillon which was so lovely. And yes, make sure you do a boat ride (or several) on those beautiful lakes. Gruyère and Evian le Bains, France are a train or boat ride away. It is a beautiful country! You will love it!

It's comforting to know that I am not the only one who struggled with planning this itinerary! My husband was right when he said that we'll just have to go back again. Thank you again to all!