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Need Advice on 11 Day Itinerary

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Wife and I are in the early stages of planning a 11 day Switzerland/Italy trip in early October. Flights in and out from Zurich have been purchased as well as the 8 day Swiss Travel Pass. Here's the basic framework for what we have in mind at the moment:

Day 1 - Flight arrives at 8 AM. We'll tackle Mt Rigi, or something to that order, before heading to the Bernese Oberland region. From there, we'll ride the Brienz Rothorn Bahn and spend a night at the mountain hotel.
Days 2 to 4 - Explore Lauterbrunnen and the surrounding areas. We need to establish a good base camp for these nights depending on the activities we hope to do. We'll be looking for a place to stay that's reasonably priced.
Day 5 - Take an early GoldenPass Express train from Interlaken to Montreux. We plan to walk the Lavaux Vineyards and do whatever else that time permits before heading to Zermatt to sleep.
Day 6 - Ride the Glacier Express to St Moritz and end the night there.
Day 7 - Explore the Engadine region.
Day 8 - Ride the Bernina Express to Lugano. This would be the last day to use the Swiss Travel Pass.
Day 9 and 10 - Explore Lugano and the Lake Como area. We'll use busses and ferries to get around as needed.
Day 11 - Depart for Zurich where we'll spend the night.
Day 12 - Flight departs at 1 PM.

Thoughts:
- I realize that we may be trying to do too much. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for tweaks where justified.
- I've read several things saying that the Glacier Express is not essential and that it can be a long, boring ride. We're open to cutting it out or using regional trains, but I could not come up with a better overall plan that still hits the following points: Engadine region, Bernina Express, Lake Como area.
- I'm aware that Zermatt is largely being sacrificed in this itinerary. I feel that so much of the Zermatt experience depends on the visibility of Matterhorn and that is not something we want to lose time on. Alternatively, we could use one of days 2 to 4 to make a day trip or depart slightly later from Zermatt on day 6 by using regional trains vs the Glacier Express.

Posted by
268 posts

Day 1 - Flight arrives at 8 AM. We'll tackle Mt Rigi, or something to that order, before heading to the Bernese Oberland region. From there, we'll ride the Brienz Rothorn Bahn and spend a night at the mountain hotel.

You are arriving early, so I guess you technically have the time to do this but it is a lot to do in one day, especially your first day when you will be tired/jet lagged from your trip.

I love that you are going to stay the night on the mountain. Definitely a great experience and if the weather plays along you should be able to see an amazing sunset/sunrise. I wouldn't wear myself out beforehand and then sleep through it all. :) Does it work for you to go straight to Brienz when you arrive?

Posted by
5 posts

That's a good thought. We could try to fit that in on day 11 on the way back up to Zurich.

Posted by
5 posts

What if we were to skip Zermatt completely, end day 5 in Brig, and catch the Glacier Express from there?

Posted by
1026 posts

I’m going to confirm what I think you already know. Your itinerary is way too ambitious for 10 full days + 2 travel days. You’re going to spend your entire trip checking in and out of hotels and on trains, with very little time to actually enjoy anywhere you go.

For example, there is absolutely no way on earth you’re going to land at the airport, get out of the airport, get to Luzern, do Rigi, get to Brienz, do Brienzer Rothorn and then get to a hotel in the mountains, all with your luggage. That’s 3 days crammed into one.

Going from the BO to Montreux on the GPE, which takes a solid half day, then getting into the vineyards, which also takes time, then getting to Zermatt only to leave the next morning. I can’t think of a scenario where this would be a good idea.

You’re trying to cover Luzern, Berner Oberland, Montreux, Zermatt, Engadine, Lugano, Como, Zurich and multiple very long train rides. With the amount of time you have, that list should be cut in half if you want your trip to actually be enjoyable. What are your 4-5 top priorities in this list? That would be a starting point for creating a more enjoyable itinerary.

And a side note - I wouldn’t have recommended you get the 8 day Swiss Pass for a 12 day trip, because you’re going to end up with 4 days of very expensive full price travel. Way over exceeding the 40 chf extra you could have paid to get a 15 day pass. I’d immediately contact SBB and see if you can exchange it, because for example, just getting from Lugano to Zurich is going to cost you 70 chf per person. Even if you purchase Saver Day Pass far in advance, it’s still 44 chf per day. Already more than having the extra days of your pass.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks for the input. We've made changes:

Day 1: Flight arrives at 8:05 AM. Depart ZRH and take a train to Wengen. Settle in.
Day 2-4: Explore Bernese Oberland region. Skip Jungfraujoch.
Day 5-6: Take an early GoldenPass train from Interlaken to Montreux. Explore Montreux and surrounding area.
Day 7: Take regional trains from Montreux to Lugano. What would be the best route?
Day 8-9: Explore Lugano and Lake Como area.
Day 10-11: Take an early train from Lugano to Lucerne. Explore Lucerne area.
Day 12: Flight departs at 1:20 PM from ZRH. We'll leave Lucerne early to arrive at an adequate time at ZRH.

We're planning to get a refund on the 8 day travel pass and purchase the half-fare card instead.

Lauterbrunnen Valley: 4 nights
Montreux: 2 nights
Lugano: 3 nights
Lucerne: 2 nights

Posted by
1026 posts

MUCH better :)

The two simplest routes through Switzerland are Montreux > Renens > Zurich > Lugano or Montreux > Lausanne > Luzern > Lugano — either way is fine, as you’re going to be backtracking part of that route to go to Luzern. Or if you don’t want to go over the same route twice and want to see some different scenery, you can go through Italy — Montreux > Domodossola > Locarno > Lugano

All 3 options are around 5 hours.

Posted by
5 posts

Or if you don’t want to go over the same route twice and want to see
some different scenery, you can go through Italy — Montreux >
Domodossola > Locarno > Lugano

Yea we want to see different landscapes so that's what we had in mind.

Would Montreux > Andermatt > Lugano be more scenic? We'll probably hop off and get lunch somewhere along whatever route we choose. Anything else noteworthy on the way that we could do to make the most of a travel day?

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