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Bernese Oberland or Zermatt or both

Hello, We will be in Switzerland at the end of July and have a couple of days in our itinerary to finalize.

After spending time in Bern (first) and Lucerne (second), we have from Saturday morning until Tuesday evening to fill. (We are then meeting up with Friends to spend time in the Geneva area.)

Can we fit in both Bernese Oberland and Zermatt in these four full days or should we limit it to one and if so, which one do you recommend?

I was originally thinking of taking an early morning train on Saturday from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen for two nights (one day exploring each side of the valley) and then taking an early morning train to Zermatt on Monday and staying for one night before heading to meet our friends later in the day on Tuesday. Now I am thinking it might be too much?

Should we just do three nights in one of the locations and if so, which one?

Note: we are open to doing some hikes on this trip, but hiking is not the focus of this trip. It is our first time in Switzerland and we would like to see what we can without going crazy overdoing it.

Thanks in advance your any insight or opinions you are willing to share!

Posted by
4956 posts

I would definitely choose one or the other. It would be Murren or Wengen for me--I wanted the mountains in my face, and I got that in Murren.
You might look at the train schedules on the SBB website and see if there is much of a difference.

Posted by
907 posts

Noon to noon in Zermatt will check a bucket list box and it is beautiful but too rushed for me.. I would pick the Oberland and come back for a Zermatt Glacier Express adventure. Both areas are great.