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Extra Night in Gimmelwald or 1 Night in Luzern/Mt. Pilatus?

Posted by on

Hey everybody, I need just a little bit of guidance here. I should preface this by saying I have never been to Switzerland before.

I will be arriving in Gimmelwald on June 19th and (at the moment) staying until June 22nd (my birthday!). The morning of the 22nd, we plan to leave the Bernese Oberland and head up to Mt. Pilatus and eventually find our way down to Luzern where we will stay one night. The next morning, the 23rd, we will take the train south to Chiasso as we make our way to the Cinque Terre via Milan.

So the question is, should we stay an extra night in Gimmewald or stick with the plan and go to Luzern? I feel as though 2 full days is not enough time in Gimmewald. But my other concern, and the main reason I need help, is how we will get to Milan/Cinque Terre if we leave straight from the Bernese Oberland. I'm having difficulty determining the best route.

What do you all think? Thanks!

Posted by
9 posts

You are in such a tough spot! I do agree, 2 days in the Berner Oberland is not enough. But yet, I love Lucerne! I would hate for you to miss it. It is beautiful.

To leave straight from the Berner Oberland to take you to Cinque Terre would be many trains though. A brief Rome2Rio search looks like you will have to first cable down to Lauterbrunnen, train to Interlaken, train to Spiez, train to Brig, then train to Milan before making your Cinque Terre connections. It looks exhausting.

Perhaps the simplest way would be to spend the night in Bern instead of Lucerne. A great little city, easy to get to from the Berner Oberland, with a direct train to Milan each afternoon.

Posted by
2724 posts

Either option is fine, but I would stay in the Berner Oberland. You will not want to leave once you get there. An extra day will increase your odds of getting good weather.

Regarding the trains to Milan. Don't let the number of transfers worry you. Although it sounds complicated, it is not exhausting. The trains run like clockwork, and these are small stations, so very easy to switch trains. I'm not sure about getting to Cinque Terre, but it will not be hard to get to Milan.

Posted by
7364 posts

I am not a fan of last-minute itinerary changes, but you have to be realistic about the possibility of the top of this mountain or that being socked-in with fog on the day you were planning to go there. Even if you check the webcam (collect those URLs ... ) before you pay for the trip up, what could you be ready to do instead, that day?

Posted by
7209 posts

If you visit Gimmewald and Murren then Pilatus will seem rather underwhelming in comparison. I would definitely spend the extra time in the Gimmelwald area.

Posted by
12 posts

Thanks for all of your comments and advice! I think I'm just going to stick with the original plan and head to Luzern on the 23rd; I would like to experience an actual Swiss town while I'm there. I plan to hike and do the via ferreta in Murren, so hopefully we get at least one good day of weather. If not, hiking in the rain it is! We're not too concerned about seeing the top of the schilthorn or the jungfrau.

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