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Advice on 12 Day Switzerland Trip for first visit

Hi, I am planning my first visit to Switzerland from 24/7-5/8 (12Nights). This is my current plan.

Day 1: Land at Zurich, Explore Mount Pilatus via Golden Round Trip (stay at Luzern)

Day 2: Stanserhorn + explore Luzern (stay at Lauterbrunnen)

Day 3: Brienz Town + Iselwald (stay at Lauterbrunnen)

Day 4: Jungfraujoch + Grindelwald First (stay at Lauterbrunnen)

Day 5: Schilthorn (stay at Montreux)

Day 6: Chateau de Chillon + Vevey (Stay at Zermatt)

Day 7: Gornergrat (Stay at Zermatt)

Day 8: Glacier Express (stay at St Moritz)

Day 9: (stay at St Moritz)

Day 10: St Moritz to Lugano via Palm Express. Explore gandria and Lugano (Stay at Lugano)

Day 11: Verzaska Valley + Sonogno + Ascona for lunch then walk around Locarno and return to Lugano before heading to Zurich (stay at Zurich)

Day 12: Rheinfall + Zurich Old town + Lindenhof (stay at Zurich)

Day 13: Morning Flight, Home Sweet Home.

I am not sure if I should get the 15 days Swiss Travel Pass or Multiple passes (Half fare card + Bernese Oberland Pass to cover Day 3-5 + Saver day passes for Day 2, 6,8,10,11,12). For Bernese Oberland Pass, can I choose to take the GoldenPass Express and buy the point to point ticket to cover the portion (Gstaad to Montreux) for which is not covered by the pass. Able to enlighten me on which of the two is better? On average, how many cheapest Saver day pass are available for each day? Feel free to let me know if i shouldn't visit any of the above.

Posted by
2545 posts

Your itinerary has you changing locations 7 times in 12 days. That is more than I prefer. You will have to get very lucky with weather to see what you hope to see at each stop. Staying in one place longer gives you flexibility if the weather requires you to change plans.

As an example, we spent 5 nights in Wengen in June. Going to Jungfraujoch was a priority, but it was rainy/cloudy every day except one day. We had to look at the weather every morning and adjust plans based on what made sense. Even then, we ended up at First, driving mountain carts in a rainstorm and stuck on the mountain when lightning shut down the lifts for over an hour.

Posted by
5603 posts

Way too much moving around. Perhaps skip Zermatt, as you will have the ultimate Alps experience in the Berner Oberland.
With the chaos of the airlines post- Covid, you need to build in an extra day at the beginning, in the event your flight gets canceled or significantly delayed. That's happened to us our last 2 out of 3 international flights.
Pontressina is much more charming than the glitzy high-end shops in St. Moritz.
Have you actually blocked out how much time it takes to check out of your hotel, walk to the train station, travel, walk to your new hotel, and check in? You also need a slow down day, maybe you'll have a cold, do laundry, and have the flexibility to adjust for bad weather.
This a is beautiful country and I wish you a wonderful trip!

Posted by
7300 posts

On top of the other comments, with which I agree:

I would choose between Lugano and Locarno, one is enough. I would probably pick Locarno/Ascona.

And I find the Rhine falls to be totally underwhelming. They're pretty, but there is very little to actually do. You could probably cut Zurich to 1 final night and add time elsewhere.