9 full days, please give me your thoughts on this plan

At first I thought it was clickbait from a first time poster, but I see you have a number of forum entries.

If this is the way you usually travel and it works for you, then go ahead: each to his or her own. It looks ridiculously fast to me, though

I'd recommend maxing out the BO, skip Bern, and spend the night(s) before the Zurich flight in Lucerne. It's an easy 1hr commute, and the train goes directly into the Zurich airport.
The overwhelming beauty of Switzerland is the Alps, not the cities, so spend as many nights as possible sleeping in the Alps!
When is this adventure?
Have a great trip!

@Pat - We just will not have a good time in the Alps for too long. We aren't big hikers/adverture sports people, and we will get bored. I am trying to strike a balance. Also, our flight is at 7:45 AM, so being near the airport in Zurich is important.

This is late June/early July.

Are you landing in Geneva, departing from Zurich?

@gundersen yes

I don't like frequent base changes, and you can't see it all. I'm not a big fan of waffling but I'll break that rule for you.

We landed in Geneva this year. Although we slept 3 nights close by, on the edge of Morges, we didn’t spend any time in Geneva, Lausanne or Montreux. And I haven’t been to Annecy. Not much help so far. Morges and Nyon one day, small towns which we liked. The second day was mainly spent in and around Gruyeres, a terrific little place, but we had a car to get there. Seeing as hiking is not your absolute main interest, I'd do the following two or three out of four: you can play around with the number of nights.

A) If you land in Geneva, and Annecey is a definite and fairly easy to get to (Flix bus?), then stay in Geneva to start with. You can reach Lausanne, even Montreux, easily enough from Geneva. Check out photos of Morges and Nyon, see if they tickle your fancy. Even give Nyon some thought as a place to stay, fairly close to Geneva and less time to reach Montreux. There are some pretty vineyards on the west side of the lake.

B) Interlaken gets plenty enough stick on here. I think it's a good spot as a base. Two lakes to cruise, quick access to Kandersteg, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen etc for your in-the-mountains fix. Don't discard Bern, it has a lovely old core and is well worth a full day. Meiringen (Sherlock Holmes) has a great gorge close by (Aare).

OR

C) Stay up in the mountains in one of the places mentioned in C. Lauterbrunnen will provide faster access to the lakes and their villages.

D) Stay in Luzern for the town, lake and Rigi. Basel is a quick train ride and worth a full day. Zug is close by. As above, Bern is fairly close. Bellinzona will be a very pretty train ride of about 1.5 hours: Bellinzona has a small, attractive old town and 3 castles, a place really worth its Unesco status.

Last night in Zurich. Drop your bags off early at the hotel, if possible.

Think about a pass of some kind if you are planning on a mix of trains, boat rides and museums. The bus, train and boat rides will be a big part of the experience.

I can’t imagine choosing to go to Switzerland if I wasn’t going to like the alps & get bored, as that’s a bit like saying you’re going to Paris but don’t want to see the Eiffel Tower. You should note that you don’t need to hike to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, but to each their own :)

If Annecy is important to you, then I’d probably make Geneva your base to avoid too much backtracking. I’d also visit Bern as a day trip from Luzern instead of on the way to the BO.

I’d suggest Geneva 3 nights > Grindelwald 3 nights > Luzern 2 nights > airport hotel 1 night

Day 1 - Geneva
Day 2 - Annecy
Day 3 - Boat ride to Yvoire, France or other exploration of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) such as St Saphorin, etc.
Day 4 - Montreux in the morning (Chateau de Chillon) + Golden Pass Express (scenic train) to Grindelwald in the afternoon
Day 5 - Lauterbrunnen Valley + Mürren + Schilthorn
Day 6 - Lake Thun boat ride (castles at Thun, Oberhofen & Spiez) OR Wengen + Jungfraujoch
Day 7 - Golden Pass Express scenic train to Luzern + explore historic center
Day 8 - Optional day trip to Lugano (high speed tunnel), Basel or Bern
Day 9 - Skip seeing Zurich and instead use this day to explore Bern or Basel before heading to an airport hotel after dinner

@wanderweg I mean I hope the Alps are a lot better than going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, an activity I found super unpleasant the last time I tried and one I am certainly avoiding when I arrive in Paris this weekend!

Thank you for your suggestions. One thing I am finding that comes as a relief as I plan this trip is that the proximity of these places makes planning a little less stressful. I absolutely do want to do the lovely boat rides (assuming the water is very calm), and if what I am planning to do interferes, then I can just change what I'm doing. Unless these things require advance tickets? Do you know if that is the case? As I'm not planning to spend the night in Bern either way (I was going to store luggage at the train station to avoid backtracking), I can easily change the day of the Bern visit (although this is slightly more challenging because I won't know in advance whether I prefer more time in Lucerne or in the Alps).

It is not that I have no interest in the Alps! Obviously I want to see the Alps. I am just saying that knowing my style and that of my teenager who is traveling with me (and who has a healthy fear of heights), I don't think we are going to be happy spending three days on boat rides and hikes and staring at scenery and picnicking in beauty. I know many people like that! I know if I try that, I will be yelling at him to get off his phone (which won't even have service, but won't stop him). I am currently researching all activities and trying to figure out how much time we need.

No, you don’t need advance tickets but you should get a half fare card or Swiss Travel Pass for the amount of moving you plan to do.

Sounds like an episode of The Great Race. Considering how expensive Switzerland is and that it’s a country that’s mostly about the spectacular scenery maybe you should pick a country that has a variety of things that would interest you since you state you bore easily.

I have a similar plan so posting.

Need input on our trip planned in Mid March 2026; this is for 2 senior travellers.
2 nights Evian-les-Bains**
→ Lausanne + Montreux/Gruyères day trips
2 nights Grindelwald** (may need one more night?)
→ Brienz day trip + (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren) + (Thun, Spiez)
2 nights Geneva**
→ City + lake strolls
+1 bonus night (need your suggestion)
* Montreux or Interlaken/Grindelwald