We will end our tour of Switzerland in Lucerne and have two nights free before we fly out of Zurich. I was thinking of heading to the Berner Oberland because our tour only makes a quick stop in Interlaken. We would arrive in the morning. I thought we would stay in Lauterbrunnen and spend the day doing waterfalls and the valley (unless the Jungfrau or Schiltorn are clear). The next day in the morning we would chose between the Jungfrau, Schiltorn, or First. I am thinking about going to First and walking to Bachalpsee. We could then do the Glacier Gorge in/near Grindelwald. We would have to be in Zurich in the evening for our early flight home the next day. We enjoy nature, plants, classic architecture, and walking/hiking. Any other ideas for such a short time?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Advice is to stay downtown in the old city of Zurich the night before your flight. Don't waste the last night of your vacation being stuck at a boring old airport hotel.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8440 posts
beearthy it takes 1 1/2 hours each way on just for the train ride to and from Jungfraujoch, so plan your time accordingly. Distances look small in Switzerland, but you will eat up a lot of your short time in transportation no matter what you do.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11316 posts
I think your plan is fine, as long as the weather cooperates. Even if it is cloudy, the valley is lovely and the lift to First is great, as is hiking up there.
Posted by
Alabama, USA
271 posts
Distances on the map versus the reality of travel in the mountains does take some getting used to. A lot of times I use Google Maps to estimate my travel times between areas as I am usually driving. The SBB site will tell you how long all train trips are if you are travelling that way.
In this forum where to stay the night before leaving Switzerland is the equivalent of blue v. red state in the US (as is the train v. rental car debate).
Check out this post that covers some options from last year.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/sleeping-in-zurich-switzerland
This is not historic but we stay at Hilton (operated by Apart Hotels in Opfikon/Glattburg). It is minutes from the airport and they run their own shuttle to the airport. The night before we leave we repack our stuff, take our car to the airport and turn it in (and weigh any bags that may be over), and take their shuttle BACK to the hotel. The next morning we take it TO the airport and go home.
With the shuttle we don't have to take the train or car to the airport. If you are arriving by train then you can stop at the airport, do your repacking (they have lockers and a luggage holding area), and then 'transfer' to the hotel shuttle for the ride to the hotel.
I think that it is just one of those things. I have stayed downtown before but love the convenience of a shower, a huge breakfast, and easy shuttle to the airport that takes, literally, 7 minutes. Either way, enjoy the mountains and don't forget that ZRH has a GREAT Observation Deck immediately to the right of where departure checks in!
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Cabalist...without a car to force you needlessly into an extra trip to/from the airport you can just hop on the train directly from downtown main train station and be in airport in 9 minutes. Our Hotel St Josef in the old city has everything that ticks your boxes (big shower, big room, huge breakfast all in the historic old city with lots of sites to just meander out and see directly from the hotel front door.
Posted by
Alabama, USA
271 posts
Tim, rental cars are never a problem and we drop them the night before we leave which is absolutely perfect. They open up so many options and are a great place to "keep our stuff" on the road so that we don't have to carry everything everywhere or worry about where we put it.
But like I said, there are folks on both sides who like one more than the other. To each his own--whatever helps people to enjoy Switzerland!
Posted by
OP
13 posts
Thank you for the replies! I have done a little more research and now need to pick two of three choices. I am interested in either doing 1) Schynige Platte to First one day or 2) Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and then the Eiger Trail to Grindelwald or 3) Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg then Murren to Grutschalp. I think for our short amount of time Lauterbrunnen seems like the best base. I was looking at the half-fare travelcard but I don't now if we will be there long enough or make enough trips for any cards to be of value to us. All suggestions are welcome.