My husband & I (in our 70's) are contemplating a trip to Switzerland, probably September of 2027. We were looking at Great Rail Journeys initially but we have planned many trips previously & after reading Rick Steve's brief intro & many forums, we think we could customize the trip better by doing it on our own. Last year we went to Spain for a week on our own followed by a 7 country, 15 day Viking Ocean cruise & extended on our own in Bergen. It was an amazing trip, first and last Viking cruise because we didn't have that independence we had enjoyed with all of the other trips (although not having to plan as much was a nice change). We both got sick by the end so it was rough the last 3-4 days & some recovery time once home but we are getting the travel bug again and we have not seen any of Switzerland. We loved Salzburg & the Bavarian region and we want to see more of the Alps.
I think we would like to spend time in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Lucerne, Zermatt, Lausanne/Lake Geneva area & Appenzell.
We will fly into Zurich and I am assuming out of Zurich unless there is a better option depending on the itinerary and order of the trip. We are interested in taking some of the scenic trains like Goldenpass, Glacier Express, to mention a couple but I have a lot of research before figuring out which ones work. We also could consider a couple of Viator day trips which we have enjoyed before on our trip to Salzburg & Munich. Other possibilities are Lugano or a day trip to Annecy. We would like to stay at least 2 nights in each place we end up, 3 is even better so we don't have to move too often whenever possible.
My question about Heididorf & Appenzell: Would a train ride from Zurich and spending a day between these two areas be most practical and give us a good experience of that region rather than spending a night there? When I saw that Heidi's house and area she lived is there, that was appealing as I loved the book, movie with Shirley Temple, etc. And Appenzell seems to be the quintessential Switzerland farm land with cows, cheese, beautiful alpine scenery. I was thinking that could be at the start or end of our trip. Any other thoughts or tips are welcome.