We are a family of 4 (2 teens) traveling this July to Switzerland. We land in Zurich at night and have the whole of next day to travel by train between Zurich, Luzern and Bern before we get to Interlaken for our night stay. We then spend next 4 days sightseeing Interlaken and Zermatt area.
Our original plan was to do Luzern and Bern on our way to Interlaken. But the Lindt chocolate factory is sounding very tempting! Shall we or shall we not? Shall we do it and skip Luzern or Bern? Any thoughts?
If you are interested in the chocolate tour and think your kids would like it (who wouldn’t?) then why not book the morning tour? Do the guided one so you have a person to talk to.
Afterwards you still have time to stop in either Bern or Lucerne for an hour or two on your way to Interlaken. There are two routes to Interlaken from Zurich, one through each city. The Lucerne route is more scenic but takes longer.
Buy sandwiches for lunch at a bakery or grocery in the Zurich train station to enjoy on the train to save time. There are lots of options in that station.
I’ve found Switzerland to be an amazing country to explore. On the other hand for me Interlaken has always been underwhelming (been there at least four times). Consider arranging to enjoy what intrigues you including the chocolate factory as well as Luzern or Bern. One less night in Interlaken should not have you feeling like you’ve missed out on something.
You only need a couple of hours to tour Lindt and it is in the southside of Zurich so you could stop on the way to Lucerne. Interlaken is a good home base for lodging, restaurants and train trips into the different mountain valleys. Harder Klum is nice.
I would skip Zermatt for another trip as 4 days will only scratch the surface on the thing to see around Interlaken. Oeschinensee and Blausse, Aareschlucht and Giessbach Falls, Jungfrau region are options. All are within 35 minutes of Interlaken.
Thanks for all the feedback. After thinking thru this, I am considering visiting Bern and Luzern on the way to Interlaken. We planned 2 nights at Interlaken and two nights at Zermatt as our base to explore areas around. But now seriously thinking if we should spend all 4 nights at Interlaken area and skip Zermatt. Activities like hiking, boating in Blausee, Para gliding etc would be great with kids.
