Please sign in to post.

Itinerary help for 8 days, April 2018

Hi Everyone,
I'm planning for 8 days trip to Switzerland by April 2018 and pretty much excited about it!!
I would be flying from Dubai with my wife and 20 months old infant( april 2018). Travel dates 13th of april to 20th. I love mountain/ snow landscapes. No hiking or any advetureous activities since travelling with infant
Two bases. Luzern and wengen. I have made this itinerary and need your suggestions.
Day 1 zurich to luzern and check in by 3.
Day 2 Mt Titlis depending on weather, if not lake trip with Mt pilatus or Rigi
Day 3. Back up day for Mt.Titlis/ pls advice on scenic lake cruise in luzern
Day 4 leisure day n leave via Interlaken golden pass route to wengen (snow possible in wengen??) later in the day
Day 5 Mt Jungfrau, if weather is bad then exploring BO villages gimmelwald murren and laturbrunnen
Day 6 Back up day for Jungfrau
Day 7 Grindelwald
Day 8 Depart to zurich. Visit Rhine falls. Back to airport for return flight
Please advice if this plan looks good with infant.
Also advice 8 days swiss travel pass would be ideal option?
Thanks in advance!!
Cheers😊
Siva

Posted by
11322 posts

I think it looks good, providing I am interpreting correctly that you will spend 3 nights in Luzern and 4 nights in Wengen. It is good to have back-up plans as you will have to base your activities on the weather only a day or so in advance. Not sure I would spend a day in Grindelwald but from there you can take an amazing ride on the lift at First, assuming it is open.

A couple of thoughts, though. I would stay in Mürren or Lauterbrunnen. Mürren gets more sun than Wengen and Lauterbrunnen is more central, in the valley, which can facilitate your day trip choices. Is your flight on Day 8 quite late in the day? Have you allowed enough time for transport to Rhine Falls, the visit, and on to the airport where you will need a healthy amount of time prior to the flight (2-3 hours depending on the airline I should think).

Note that there will be snow in some locations and certainly up high but not necessarily in Luzern, Wengen, or other towns.

You have to do the math on passes. A Half-Fare Card is a no-brainer, but if you plan to ride a lot of lifts in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, a Berner-Oberland Regional Pass might be economical as well. I always do a spreadsheet when we go to Switzerland (4 trips now) and plot out all the transportation we plan to take, then assess the full price and the discounts with various passes. Although we are hikers and ride lifts all the time, I have never been able to make a Swiss Travel Pass pencil out. We always make good use of the Berner Oberland Regional Pass, though.

Posted by
219 posts

You've done a good job of allowing needed extra time for weather delays. Looks like you got good advice from Laurel.

The only other thing that comes to my mind is that you'll need to watch your infant for any signs of altitude sickness distress like chest pain, difficulty breathing, rapid heart beat, severe headache and nausea. You're coming from sea level in Dubai and going to high altitude mountains (Klein Titlis is 3,028 meters or nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. The Jungfraujoch is 3,466 meters or 11,371 feet above sea level.) That's a big adjustment. Some people handle it more easily or adapt more quickly than others.

Posted by
10 posts

Hi Laurel, Thanks a lot for your valuable suggestions. Yes i stay at luzern 3nights and wengen 4 nights.
I too preferred Murren but couldn't find accomodation of my choice as most of them were closed. Lauterbrunnen gets less sunlight compared to other villages so i preferred wengen.
My return flight is at 10 pm , so i thought i can see Rhine falls too. Any suggestios?
I will work on railway passes as you adviced.
Thanks again for your valuable time and inputs

Posted by
10 posts

Hi Linda,
Thanks a lot for your concerns reg my kid. Initially that was my concern and after seeing many videos where small infants play up in the mountains i thought we can manage. Rightly as you mentioned, some adjust pretty well. Hope we too...And being a Doctor, Pediatrician, hopefully i can manage if any situation arises.
Thanks again!!

Posted by
219 posts

Siva, the Chocolate Train only runs from May to mid-October according to the timetable on this website:
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/swiss-chocolate-train.html
Unfortunately, you'll be out there off-season. But you can get to most places with public transit, as I do. Here's the Swiss transit app that makes it easy:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/
My husband and I went to the town of Gruyéres by train and bus from the Jungfrau region during the summer last year. That's where the Chocolate Train goes for the cheese part of the trip. The town on the mountain was extremely charming and had the best quiche and cheese we've ever had. There's a cheese factory down below the town that looks geared for large tour groups. We didn't go to it. A bus shuttles people from the cheese factory where there's a parking lot, up to the town on the mountain. There are cheese shops and cheese-oriented restaurants in the town on the mountain.
We haven't gone to any chocolate factories in Switzerland. We just eat chocolates in Switzerland from little chocolate shops and patisseries that make their own chocolate in most villages (including Wengen and Luzern). My favorite local chocolate shop in Luzern is Au Cachet: la maison du chocolat (at Pfistergasse 15). But there are loads of chocolate shops all over Luzern.

When in season, I believe the Chocolate Train only runs once per day, at around 8:00 in the morning, from Montreux, which makes it impossible to catch unless you spend the night nearby first.

Posted by
10 posts

Hi LindaL,
Thanks a lot for your detailed information about Grueyer and chocolate train.
Could you please advice is it a good idea to visit Montreux by shortening one day from BO and spending 2 nights there?
As of now i have planned for 3n in Luzern and 4n in Wengen. If i visit Montreux then it would be 3n each in Luzern /Wengen and 2 n in Montreux
Thanks
Siva

Posted by
219 posts

No, you should NOT shorten your BO stay in Wengen--it's already very brief. If you want to experience more parts of Switzerland, you'll need to extend the length of your stay in Switzerland. And the chocolate train doesn't run in April, anyway.