Please sign in to post.

Itinerary Check: 4 days Switzerland

My husband and I are taking a river cruise the last 2 weeks of May, ending in Basel, and have added on 4 days for seeing some of Switzerland. Right now the plan it to stay 3 nights in Murren and 1 in Lucerne - since we're there just a short time, seeing the Berner Oberland area was our priority. We are in our early 60's, both healthy and fit but not huge hikers.

I would love any feedback on this tentative/loose itinerary, and any other activity and/or restaurant suggestions. Also, I'm not that clear on how long things will take, but this seems like a very relaxed itinerary - i was wondering if it would be better to combine Lauterbrunnen and Schilthorn into one day, and spend 2 nights in Lucerne?

Day 1:

  • disemabark early am, trains/cable car Basel to Murren (staying Eiger Guesthouse)
  • suggestions for lunch - would we eat on the train?
  • afternoon - funicular to Allmendhubel, walk back down

Day 2:

  • Lauterbrunnen (Staubbach, Trummelbach Falls)
  • walk or bus to Stechelberg, cable car back to Murren

Day 3:

  • Schilthorn Summit, Birg Thrill Walk
  • Other ideas?

Day 4:

  • train to Lucerne (staying Hotel des Alpes)
  • ideas: walk around (Chapel Bridge, Old Town), lake cruise
Posted by
2973 posts

If you plan to eat on the train, get food before boarding. If you use Saver Day Passes to get to Murren, you can travel on any train, so you’re not tied to a specific departure time.

Don’t schedule your time too much. Weather will dictate what you do. If the weather is clear on day 2, go to Schilthorn that day. If it’s still clear when you’re done, go over to Wengen, then up to Mannlichen. Walk the Panorama trail to Kleine Scheidigg if you feel up to it, then take the train back to Wengen and on to Lauterbrunnen.

Posted by
1241 posts

Relaxed itineraries are great, but you can add a bit of additional flavor to these days and they’ll still be relaxed. Note that the traditional route to Mürren will be closed for construction during your stay so you have to go via bus to Stechelberg + cable car from there. I wouldn’t take a night away from Mürren. Weather in the alps can be finicky and it’s always good to have 3+ nights for the best chance at views.

Day 1: Basel > Mürren
-Eiger Guesthouse has good food, just grab lunch there (or if you’re hungry earlier, the trains have basic blah train food in the dining car)
-Allmendhubel for views. Optional Blumental Trail return to Mürren or funicular back down
-Explore the village
-Hotel Alpenblick or Hotel Eiger for dinner

Day 2:
-Morning - Schilthorn + Birg Thrill Walk
-Afternoon - Easy paved walk from the Mürren down to Gimmelwald for drinks and dinner (Pension for fixed menu + their local brewed beer or the Hostel for wood fired pizza)

Day 3:
-Morning up to Wengen + up to Mannlichen for views - from there you can do the easy walk to Kleine Scheidegg or just cable car back down to Wengen (lunch near Kleine Scheidegg or in Wengen)
-Afternoon back down to Lauterbrunnen, walk to Trummelbach Falls. Optional walk or bus to Stechelberg to return to Mürren
-Dinner at Hotel Eiger or Hotel Alpenblick

Day 4:
Mürren > Luzern - explore old town and the Musegg Wall - if you want to add on a lake cruise, train to Interlaken from Mürren, board the boat to Brienz with your luggage and then debark in Brienz to catch the train the rest of the way to Luzern. The water is prettier on Brienz and is a scenic way to get to Luzern. The boat ride on Lake Luzern is prettier down towards Brunnen/Fluelen but that’s a long ride and I think you’ll want to spend the afternoon exploring the historic areas if you’re going to spend the time going to Luzern.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you so much for your suggestions, @travel4fun and @wanderweg - these are very helpful!