Please sign in to post.

12 Night Itinerary in July

Posted by on

I’m planning our first trip to Switzerland and after lots of reading and watching an embarrassing amount of YouTube I feel like I’ve finally dialed in our itinerary. However, there are a few things I’m just now sure about and I would really appreciate some insight and suggestions.

  • Day 1 - Arrive in Zurich late in the evening and stay overnight

  • Days 2-3 - Lucerne (2 nights)

  • Days 4-7 - Grindelwald (4 nights)

  • Days 8-9 - Kandersteg (2 nights)

  • Days 10-12 - Zermatt (3 nights)

  • Day 13 - Morning train back to Zurich for an evening flight home

We are very fit and enjoy day hikes of 5-8 miles early in the day followed by exploration of the area in the afternoon and good restaurants for dinner each night. We are not opposed to some touristy things (e.g. Jungfraujoch or similar).

Here are the things I’m uncertain about and could use some help.

First, do we need to spend two nights in Lucerne, or if we take a morning train from Zurich and spend the day and night there, will one night be enough?

Second, we’d also like to take a day trip over to Biel to visit the Omega Museum (yes, huge watch lover). There are numerous direct trains from Interlaken that take about 90 minutes. I’m not sure the best way to fit this in. I thought about staying a night or two in Interlaken and skipping the extra night in Lucerne, but most people seem to be very adverse to staying in Interlaken. Any suggestions here?

Third, is Kandersteg worth spending two nights in? This is where I’m most uncertain. If we did stay two nights in Interlaken could we make Kandersteg an easy day trip for a hike to the lake?

I’m very open to suggestions so that we maximize our time to have a good balance of seeing a number of things while not trying to see too much. Thank you so much for your help!

Posted by
92 posts

It doesn't make sense to move from Grindelwald to Interlaken. Interlaken is a city with views of the mountains from the valley with several food options, but doesn't have the mountain chalet feel. Also, I would question the need to stay in Kandersteg. Did you consider starting in Zermatt and reversing the order of your trip? Lastly, try to fit in a boat ride.

Posted by
698 posts

I wouldn’t stay over in Kandersteg with your other destinations. It’s not enough different and one less move gains you back a day of enjoyment.
I’d add the 2 nights out to do something like this: Luzern 2-3 nights / Grindelwald 5-6 Nights / Zermatt 3 Nights

Biel is a pretty quick day trip from Luzern to see your watches and sounds like a good “getting over jet lag” activity, so just do it from there on one of your first days.

There are so many day trip & hiking options from Grindelwald, that I wouldn’t worry about running out of options in that region. Since you are a fit hiker, I’ll come back here in a bit and list out some I think you’ll enjoy.

Posted by
51 posts

The Alpstein in Eastern Switzerland offers a lot of great hiking and swoon worthy spots as well, if you’re looking for a second home base. This is where you’ll find Seealpsee, the Saxer Lucke, and many other lovely hikes, as well as Guesthouse Aescher. Easily accessible, and if you stay for three nights in the region (Appenzell) there is a regional tourist pass you can purchase that is a good value!

I also second working in a boat ride. Since you like hiking, you will enjoy riding a boat right from the Interlaken station to the historic Giessbach Falls and trail. There is a cool funicular there you can ride, but we opted for walking through the forest which was lovely and easy! From there, you can walk or boat to Brienz and the train station is easily accessible.

Posted by
6 posts

Thank you for the replies and the suggestions!

It sounds like staying in Kandersteg is not the best idea. What about a day trip if I stay extra nights in Grindelwald, or is it too much travel time for something that is too similar to where I'll already be staying and hiking?

One other question, if I get rid of the two nights in Kandersteg, would there be any value in switching valleys and doing three nights in Grindelwald and three in the Lauterbrunnen valley perhaps staying in Mürren or Wengen? Or is it better to stay put and just take a couple of day trips over to that side?

Posted by
698 posts

Kandersteg itself isn't anything that special. Most people go there in order to go up to Oeschinensee. I've stayed up at Oeschinensee for a week in the summer and it is a lovely place, but I personally find a day trip there a bit much for the day with all the logistics (multiple trains, walk/bus, cable car, e-taxi/walk and all again in reverse). If you're set on it, it's possible, just be prepared for a long day, only go if it's nice and sunny and be prepared for lots of crowds. In the summer lately I've seen hundreds of people in line for the cable car, as it's suffering from social media syndrome.

In regards to splitting your time between the valleys, I don't find it worthwhile to move, as day trips are reasonable between all the places. That being said, you may want to consider staying in Wengen instead of Grindelwald. It's a bit more centrally located to everything + you get the experience of a car free village.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.