Please sign in to post.
Holiday Sale! Save 20% Storewide!

Request urgent help in finalizing my swiss itinerary

Posted by on

hello Experts - We are landing Zurich (from Chicago) on 12-Oct around 11 AM and leaving from Zurich on 16-Oct Noon. Here are two itineraries I am thinking , need your comments in terms of practicality,what if its rains etc, way too many high altitude trips to handle etc. We are ok to stretch ourselves a little bit to cover more and make most of our stay but want it be practical and doable.I am open to suggestions /any thing to drop or add etc. PLEASE help me finalize so I can do my hotel bookings etc. We are travelling with 2 kids (9 & 7) and more into natural beauty/scenery than into museums etc.

​Itinerary 1
Day 1 - Land Zurich at 10 AM , spend time in Zurich for the day(any recommendations) and in the evening catch train to Chur for overnight stay
Day 2 - Take Glacier Express from Chur ( around 9 AM ) to Brig (2 PM) and take regular train from Brig to Zermatt ( reaching around 4 pm).Spend time in Zermatt...and head to Interlaken in the evening? or Shall I stay overnight in Zermatt , do Gornergrat OR Matterhorn in the morning Day 3 and then go to Interlaken?
Day 3 - Inetrlaken - Goal is to see Jungfrujoch (depending up on weather?) if weather is cloudy/foggy/rainy - what to do in and around interlaken? Head to Luzern in the evening.
Day4 - Luzern - Spend time in Luzern and see Titlis or Rigi or both? Stay in Luzern overnight and go to Zurich in the morning OR go to Zurich in the late evening and stay overnight in Zurich.
Day 5- Fly out from Zurich around noon.

Itinerary 2
Day 1 - Land Zurich at 10 AM , spend time in Zurich for the day(any recommendations) and in the evening catch train to Luzern for overnight stay
Day 2 - Spend time in Luzern , see Titlis and/or rigi. Either stay overnight in Luzern OR head to Interlaken in the evening?
Day3 - Interlaken -
Day 3 - Inetrlaken - Goal is to see Jungfrujoch (depending up on weather?) if weather is cloudy/foggy/rainy - what to do in and around interlaken? Go to Zermatt in the evening.
Day4 - Zermatt - Spend time in Zermatt and see Gornergrat and/or Matterhorn? Leave for Zurich late in the evening.
Day 5- Fly out from Zurich around noon.

thanks

Posted by
7301 posts

Hi,
A few comments first:
- No need to spend any time in Zürich
- Zermatt is extremely weather dependent. It is unwise to only plan one night there --> I would skip Zermatt!
- Glacier Express is a long ride that takes a whole day. Not sure you have the time.

I would tweak Itin 2 as follows:
- 12 Oct: Head straight to the Bernese Oberland, but do NOT stay in Interlaken if possible - Lauterbrunnen is a better choice, or Grindelwald, or Wengen, or Mürren
- 13 Oct: Explore Bernese Oberland. Jungfraujoch is crowded and expensive: Männlichen, or Schilthorn, are better choices. There are plenty of easy and harder hikes too
- 14 Oct: Bernese Oberland still
- 15 Oct: Leave early for Luzern, stay in Luzern. Do a short excursion on the lake, or Mt Pilatus if weather is great, but try to leave 2-3 hours to stroll in the city.
- 16 Oct: Leave Luzern for Zürich Airport - plan on arriving at Zürich airport 3 hours ahead for flight with passport control, 2 hours ahead for within Schengen area. So leave Luzern around 7-8 AM.

Posted by
248 posts

I second the above itinerary. No need for anytime in Zurich. You need extra days in Berner Oberland staying in one of those areas mentioned. We liked Schilthorn better than Jungfrujoch but for a couple days didn't see anything because of snow and fog and that was early September. Luzern is great and would definitely recommend Mt Pilatus.

Posted by
124 posts

Akdwivedi79,
With only 4 days and 2 kids in tow, I would pick one spot and stay there. Both itineraries include quite a bit of moving about. I would Recommend Luzern, you can make two easy day trips, one to Mt. Pilatus and one to Rigi. You'll also have an opurtunity to take a boat on the lake which is gorgeous. Since you can't control the weather or cloud cover this would give you a better chance to see the view. Luzern is quite lovely as well.

I hope you and your family have a great trip!

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.