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13 day Swiss itinerary question

Posted by (Pennsylvania) on

I tried to follow RS guide in 2 week Swiss itinerary (as shown on this link https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/switzerland/itinerary) - but there are few places I like to skip.. more specifically, I would skip Lugano and Pontre-Sina (as I just came back from Lake Como.. and Lugano seem redundant..and Pontre Sina seem way out of the way)

My preliminary itinerary is as follows
Zurich - arrive
go straight to Appenzelle/Ebenalp 1 night
Lucern - 2 nights
Lauterbrunner - 5 nights
Montreaux - 1 night
Zermatt - 3 nights
Lausanne - 1night
not sure if I'll fly out of Lausanne, Bern or Zurich etc..

of course, I'll be visiting obligatory. Jungfraujoch, Mannlichen, Grinderwald/Schildthohn, Murren. - all while staying at Lauterbrunner (is that ok?? or should I stay different location??)
It occurs to me, if I skip out on Lugano and Pontre-Sina route - I'll be missing out on the famous Bernina express and Glacier Express...
Are Bernina Express and Glacier Express worth taking?
is it worth taking a detour to Pontre-Sina just to experience Glacier Express to Zermatt??

Posted by
2493 posts

not sure if I'll fly out of Lausanne, Bern or Zurich etc..

I'm pretty sure you won't fly out of Lausanne or Bern.

I would skip Appenzell. I would also suggest paying a little bit of attention to spelling of place names :-)
I would not sleep in Lausanne and Montreux as they are just next door to each other. After Zermatt just go to Zurich or Geneva for your flight back.

Posted by
258 posts

Thank you for your response..
But my main question is I won't be able to do Bernina Express or Glacier Express train without detouring to Pontre-Sina location.

Is there any part of my itinerary that I may be able to experience Bernina or Glacier Express train ride?? or are they just over rated..
thanks..

Posted by
21140 posts

not sure if I'll fly out of Lausanne, Bern or Zurich etc..

If you end in Lausanne, Geneva Airport is only 45 minutes away by direct train.

Since Montreux is only 25 minutes from Lausanne, it makes no sense to go Lauterbrunnen to Montreux to Zermatt to Lausanne. Go Lauterbrunnen to Zermatt to Montreux to Lausanne.

If you take the Loetschberger train from the Spiez to Brig on the way to Zermatt, you will be on a very scenic train. Brig to Zermatt is part of the Glacier Express route. Luzern to Lauterbrunnen is also quite scenic, so I don't think you need to go out of your way to ride the Bernina and Glacier Express trains.

Posted by
258 posts

Thanks Sam, exactly what I was looking for..

Re: Spiez to Brig train - do I go to Spiez from Lauterbrunnen?? - how to do I get there from Lauterbrunnen??
And do I change train at Brig to Zermatt? or is this continuation train ride to Zermatt??
thanks again..

Posted by
21140 posts

You go Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken Ost to Spiez to Brig to Zermatt. You can look at schedules at https://www.sbb.ch/en/buying/pages/fahrplan/fahrplan.xhtml

Put Lauterbrunnen in the "from" box, Zermatt in the "to" box, and Kandersteg in the "add via" box to specify the scenic Loetschberger train. Put in the travel date and desired departure time and click on the "search connection" button.

Posted by
258 posts

Thank you again, Sam..
4 train changes..hmmm... it's giving me a pause..
SBB is quoting 38.40CHF for this trip..
I am planning to purchase Berner Oberland pass which may cover Lauterbrunnen to Brig part of the trip.. how do i purchase train tickets on SBB using the Berner Oberland pass?

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