See it all Switzerland from Geneva to Zurich

I loved my Rick Steves tour of Switzerland! I would recommend skipping Zurich and going straight to Lucerne and spending 2-3 days there going up Mount Pilatus, roaming around on the lake on paddle steamers, etc, Then I would head to Zermatt for 1-2 days and see the Matterhorn, the town is fun to walk around in. Then I would go straight to Murren in the Lauterbraun Valley for the rest of your time (This is the most spectacular part of the Alps and is amazing), then head back to Zurich on the train to catch your flight home.

You need to make your reservations ASAP, this is the busiest time of the year for tourists and many places may be fully booked already. I recommend that you down load the Rick Steves Switzerland guide book right now to get an idea of the things to do at each place, how to travel from place to place and where to stay.

Hope you have a great trip!

First you will have to determine what do you want kind of experieces you want to have on this trip. Are your teens mountain hikers? Do you want to ride trains thru scenic mountains? Check on prices of rail passes and where they go. Do you want to visit famous tourist sites? Switerland is very pretty, very clean and very expensive. Since you have a week it might save you money if you stay in one location with a weekly rate. I've not been there for several years, so can only offer general advice. I enjoyed staying by Lake Lucerne, because I am more of a culture seeker than being a hiker. Others like Donald will have more good ideas. Bon Voyage!

Do you leave for Zurich or from Zurich on Aug 13?
I'd go like this, go directly to Montreux after you land at Geneva and spend 2 nights, then take the Golden Pass train to Interlaken. Look for someplace in to stay 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen, or Muerren, or Wengen, or Grindelwald for 3 nights. Then to Luzern for 2 or 3 nights, then direct to Zurich airport for your flight home.

Do you mean like in 3 weeks? If you don’t have lodging yet you need to figure out where you can even find available places for 5 people on a budget. It won’t be in the popular mountain destinations this close to your trip dates.

Thanks everyone for responding. Going to Switzerland was a last minute decision but I aim to make a go of it. We fly into Geneva on 5th and out of Zurich on 13th. I will get cracking with the accommodation before it’s all gone. Thanks!

Switzerland is not place for budget travel (a Big Mac will cost over US$10). Geneve and Zurich are even worse than national averages. If you definately want to spend time in Geneve, check prices for rooms in Annemasse across the near invisible border in France. Geneve tram line 17 goes as far as the centre of Annemasse. https://www.tpg.ch/en/lignes/17

Zurich is probably not a good idea.

Define or describe your family of 5 "budget" for Switzerland. It is a very expensive country, my usual recommendation to friends is go for the gusto, head straight to the mountains for say 3 days, and then leave the country. Make Switzerland a stop on a multi country trip tying together, say, France, Italy, Germany, and/or Austria...good luck.

And I agree with others, punt Zurich. Personally I liked Montreux, Lausanne, and Bern, but Bern is only worth a day trip or an overnight. My favorite spot in the mountains is Wengen, but you will get lots of opinions on that. At this point, you have to take what you can get; I looked at booking.com and accommodations are quite limited and expensive. I have a friend who was just in Switzerland, and the hotel prices he encountered were mind blowing (to me) - and he planned and book his trip 4 or 5 months ago.

Finally, for a trip to an expensive and popular destination like Switzerland, I would have worked out accommodations BEFORE buying airplane tickets...I frankly do that for all trips I take, especially short notice trips like this one. And I do lots of trips that I plan and schedule within one month of travel, with one exception: I don't typically travel in high season.

I think the big mac test is a red herring. It isn't native Swiss culture and not representative of many Swiss diets, although young families eat there but often have less of a whopper of a sandwich.

Here in the UK one is generally between £5 and £6 - down the street the app says it is £5.39. That today is $7.27, about 20 percent less than the Swiss price quoted above. I'd expect 20% more in Switzerland but 20% won't ruin a trip. As was suggested on the Simon Calder show a couple of days ago the price at a bratwurst stand for a sausage and roll is much cheaper and much more representative.

the Big Mac price was sourced from the current Geneve price list and converted at current rate (well, Saturdays rate, probably worse by now). I could have said a simple lunch hot dish in a Coop/Migros self service cafeteria will cost around US$20 - but they won't realise who Coop/Migros are - or how badly that bodes for real restaurant prices.

anyway, the coming week in Zurich region Migros https://gastro.migros.ch/media/bcqhkxyq/online-menueplan-kw-302025.pdf Visa say that without adding any bank fees the CHF19.50 of the first plate would be US$24.52. It's some chopped veal and mushrooms in a sauce with some small hashbrowns and carrots, and it's a lunch portion, self service. The turkey curry with rice would be $20.75