Hello! I am looking for ideas and inspiration for a family trip! Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Our family: 2 adults and one 8-year old daughter.
Month of travel: July.
Travelling style: 3 or 4 stops. We are seeking a variety of experiences (hiking, sight-seeing, museums, medium-size towns). We would like to do a loop.
Transportation: by train.
We would start and end in Basel
Thank you!
If budget is a potential concern, check on costs of hotels and transportation in Switzerland before deciding to spend a lot of time in that country. From Basel you can just as easily make your trip about France or Germany.
One idea:
I would not add more stops These three locations (plus a night in Chur) will give you magnificent scenery, hiking, great train rides, museums in Luzern, Bern, Zermatt.
I find Austria's Alps in Western Tirol easier to travel through than Switzerland. The scenery is absolutely incredible.
Also much cheaper rooms with thousands and thousands of rooms in small hotels. Every one is impeccably clean, too.
Is there any reason you would be starting in Basel? We usually start our tours in Munich.
Thank you for your suggestions!
David - we would start and end in Basel because of our direct flight from Montreal.
We visited Appenzell for the first time this past September. We loved it. If you stay at least 3 nights, you get a guest card that lets you ride 3 lifts (including Ebenalp), visit many museums ride a rodelbahn (similar to a luge ride), have a free day of ebikes, and more all for free. The area is beautiful. While the Lauterbrunnen valley is still my favorite, this area is a close second. There is good hiking. Several nights a week there is free traditional music shows. All,the places mentioned are great, but if I were picking 3 Lauterbrunnen and Appenzell would make the cut.
Edit: The guest cards also give you free train and bus transportation in the area. It includes all the way up to St. Gallen
I agree with Laurel's suggestion (Basel --> Chur --> Glacier Express route --> Zermatt --> Jungfrau Region --> Luzern --> Back to Basel). That would be a perfect first trip to Switzerland.
BTW Montréal is the only transatlantic route from Basel, otherwise it serves European, Middle East and North African destinations only.
Make sure you schedule in at least 1 day in Basel at the beginning or end of your loop, plenty to see.
Edit: Virtually every town in Switzerland gives a free transport card to everybody staying in a hotel, for the duration of their stay. It is usually valid for the city and suburbs only. Luzern and Basel do this, the Basel one includes the bus out to the airport.
Fiesch (and Ernen>Binn(tal)>Bintalhuette is wonderful. Train stops at the Fiesch Sports Ferien Resort (with a small person pool and a very deep diving/olympic type pool. As it is a converted military hospital 'site' there are several types of accommodation within the campus (but one check-in!) and an overhead ropes course for the little ones!
