Hello Forum!
We are attending am August wedding in Bonn, Germany and would like to get to Switzerland to hike the Alps for a few days afterward. Having trouble with a good travel route there and back. Grateful for any suggestions.
Thank you!
Kevjill
Posted by
299 posts
Where in the Alps?
Most hiking destinations will require a train from a major Swiss city so there is little time savings taking a flight from Bonn into Switzerland. Look for an over night train as the ride will only be a couple hours more travel time than flying from one hub to another and taking a regional train.
Posted by
Switzerland
408 posts
Normally the train would be the best bet, BUT there is a big issue to be aware of for August 2024:
For most of this month (Aug 10th-31st), there are massive construction works going on the main route along the Rhine from Karlsruhe to Freiburg. This will impact almost all connections from Germany into Basel and on into the rest of Switzerland. Some trains will have bus replacement service along part of the route, others will just be cancelled. If you've been searching on train websites, you may have seen this showing up. Deutsche Bahn has info in German on their site, the English info hasn't been updated as much. The result is that the Bonn to Lauterbrunnen journey, for example, may involve 5 changes and take 8-9 hours instead of the much easier 2 or 3 changes and 7 hours it currently takes.
Therefore, you may want to avoid the train if your planned travel dates fall into this time period - or bring a huge reserve of patience.... If you only have a few days to play with, you may even want to consider another destination (Bavarian Alps perhaps?).
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2544 posts
How many nights do you want to spend in the Alps? Where are you flying home from?
Posted by
OP
Dallas, TX USA
2 posts
So much helpful info...thank you!
Sounds like with the construction, this is not a doable route. Will consider another location.
Many, many thanks!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33784 posts
I don't often advocate flying on a domestic European trip but with the track problems during your trip, perhaps consider leapfrogging the problem.
Google flights show flights from CGN - Cologne (Köln) Bonn Airport nonstop 1 hour to Zurich Airport ZRH on Eurowings / Swiss for as low as 170€ roundtrip.
Then your choices are wide open. An hour and a quarter by train right out of the airport to Luzern, with its lake and mountains; or about 3 hours and you could be in Lauterbrunnen or even higher. Zurich to Bern to Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen.
Presto - checks your boxes....