I need some help with my itinerary in Switzerland.
My June travel plan is as follows:
Is a Swiss train pass a good option?
Thanks
This is very fast and potentially some wasted time in places if what you are after is Swiss mountain scenery. What do you want to do? Will you hike? Ride to mountain vistas for photos? How many nights do you have? Planning nights is more helpful than days. 2 nights in a location = 1 day, so for Luzern do you have 2 nights allocated? Are you flying into Geneva?
Geneva is a largish city on a lake. Interlaken is achingly near but not in the mountains. And one-or-two night stays do not do justice to mountain locations as the weather is fickle. If you only allow one day to see a beautiful area and clouds roll in you may miss what you hoped to see. So depending further on your answers to the questions I pose above, the Berner Oberland/Lauterbrunnen Valley should take 3 nights, Luzern at least 2, 3 is better. Anything else is dependent on how many nights you actually plan to stay.
Laurel is right. Skip Bern, and move your Interlaken thoughts to Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Wengen, or Grindelwald. Those last 4 towns beat Interlaken by 10X.
I am flying into Geneva and departing from Zurich. Geneva 3 nights, 2 nights in Interlaken, 2 nights in Bern, 1 night in Lucern and 1 night in Zurich.
Hoping more for sightseeing vistas and photos. Still open for suggestions.
Hoping more for sightseeing vistas and photos.
Bern is near Interlaken, so no need to check in and out of hotels in each city; make Bern a day trip. But why Bern if you're looking for grand vistas? And Interlaken is OUTSIDE the alpine mountains. If you want the grand vistas, go a little south of Interlaken, to get INTO the alps, so stay in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Mürren, or Grindelwald. You can still go to Bern from there, if you want, but that's not for vistas.
You can also stay in Luzern, instead of Zürich. Trains leave Luzern for the Zürich airport very frequently, and it only takes about an hour.
You'll have to do the math to see if a Swiss Travel Pass is your best option. You can use the Swiss transportation web site, www.sbb.ch/en to add up individual ticket prices. Just note that the default is the price if you have a half-price card (which is another option).
I am flying into Geneva and departing from Zurich. Geneva 3 nights, 2 nights in Interlaken, 2 nights in Bern, 1 night in Lucern and 1 night in Zurich.
Hoping more for sightseeing vistas and photos. Still open for suggestions.
Upon arrival in Geneva go to Montreux or Lausanne for a more scenic location on the lake. Stay 2 nights.
Train to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Stay in Muerren or Wengen or Lauterbrunnen 4 nights. Sightseeing vistas galore!
Train to Luzern for 3 nights. Unless your flight is terribly early you can take a one hour trip to the airport on your departure day and not have to waste a night in Zurich.
Rick Steves' Switzerland guide is essential to your trip. If you do not have it, please get a copy ASAP.
Look up train times on the Swiss Railways website: https://www.sbb.ch/en
To emphasise the point about Interlaken, see this map: https://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/assets/karte-und-partner/Regionalpass-Panoramakarte-2017.pdf
Interlaken, whilst in the Alps, is in a wide valley between two lakes. You would end up commuting into the mountains every day. Instead stay in those mountains: Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Wengen or Grindelwald.
For info and hotels in these 4 locations see here: https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/summer/
Laurel's itinerary is perfect (as seconded by Chris). I know first hand - I did the exact same thing, but in reverse, for my first trip in September 2014, and had a great time.
Please don't spend unnecessary time in Geneva and Zurich. Bern is a nice city, but not the glory of the country. And Interlaken is near, but not in, the Alps. On a short trip like yours, go right to the best parts; don't waste time with the B-list.
I have been in all those cities except Zurich, which is of little interest to me. I would rank them as follows--Luzern, Berner Oberland/Interlaken, Bern, Geneva. I enjoyed Bern for 3/4 of a day. The Old town, clock and fountains are interesting and a bit different from other Swiss towns. The Einstein museum was wonderful for people into Einstein or physics. I am glad we went to Bern, but a day was enough. I cannot say enough about Luzern. It's perfect, extremely scenic with the lake, river, bridges and mountains. If weather is less than pleasant there are things to do, like museums or wandering around the old town. There are three different mountains you can go to. We did Rigi and the trip across the lake and mountain views were phenomenal. I wouldn't stay in Interlaken, I'd stay in Lauterbrunnen or Murren depending on what you are into. The views are incredible, there's hiking, cute villages, good people. We went to Geneva only to visit CERN (which was excellent). We had difficulty filling the rest of the day. We went to the UN but it was closed to tourists because the Chinese President was there. We ended up walking around downtown. Geneva is incredibly expensive. I would take a day away from both Geneva and Bern and add them to Luzern and Berner oberland/Interlaken. I might even skip Geneva unless you want to see CERN. We stopped in Montreaux for a few hours to see Chateau Chillon which was interesting and the lake views were pretty spectacular. I've not been to Laussane, I plan to go there at some point, that would be a place to go for wine and cheese making. We used the Swiss Travel Pass, and I believe we broke even. We did use the gondolas a lot in Berner Oberland. It would also mean that you wouldn't have to pay for Schilthorn in Berner Oberland or Rigi in Luzern. Additionally, we did "poke" into some museums that we found interesting for a short time that we wouldn't have gone into because they were included in the pass.
One thing we realized in Switzerland is that you are there for views and outdoor activity. If you limit yourself to one day or even two in certain locations, you may not get a "good weather day". There's nothing sadder than being in an area with beautiful mountains, but you can't see them due to cloud cover. We actually did Bern on a day trip from Luzern and we picked the day with bad weather, because weather did not impact our planned activities that much. In the end it was just overcast which was fine, but the next day when we went to the top of Mt. Rigi in Luzern was picture perfect.
I am thankful of all the advise given! I am also getting the Rick Steve's Guide to Switzerland. I have to say that aall my trips to London, Paris, Spain and Italy, I have done it thanks to his show and guides.
I am visiting Geneva for business (it is not my first time in the city or Lake Geneva) but it's my wife's first time in Switzerland, and after 2 days of work I off for some leisure time. We are arriving in Geneva at 8:00 am, and based on the advise, I adjusted my plans as follows:
Day 1. (SUNDAY) Arrive in Geneva, midday in Lausanne, Montreux and Château de Chillon (sleep in Geneva)
Day 2 and 3. While I work, my wife can enjoy an easy going independent day in Geneva and Lake Geneva (sleep in Geneva)
- For the remaining time in Switzerland we'll be driving.
Day 4. Geneva to Bern (sleep in Bern)
Day 5. Bern to the Berner Oberland before midday (sleep in Mürren or Wengen - not sure which place is best??)
Day 6. The Berner Oberland (sleep in Mürren or Wengen??)
Day 7. The Berner Oberland, late afternoon departure to Luzern (sleep in Luzern)
Depending on the weather activities in days 5--7
- St. Beatus Caverns and Interlaken
- Early morning, Schilthornbahn or Jungfraubahn???
- Afternoon, North Face Trail (Mürren and Gimmelwald), Lauterbrunnen Valley Walks Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg,
and/or Birg to Gimmelwald via Bryndli??
Day 8. (SUNDAY) Liechtenstein, Schaffhausen and Rhine Waterfall, and Zurich (sleep in Luzern)
Day 9. Luzern, Lake Luzern and Mount Rigi (sleep in Geneva Airport)
Day 10. Return Home
