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Suggestions regarding 3 week Switzerland Itinerary

Hello – I would appreciate any comments on my proposed three-week itinerary for Switzerland in August 2019.

  • Are we missing any highlights or other good places to visit? We like to be busy and active.
  • Any suggestions for accommodations? – we like clean, budget accommodation but willing to pay extra for location or unique places. (We are travelling with backpacks to make it easy to deal with luggage.
  • We will buy a 15 day pass and then determine if we should buy a 3 or 4 day pass

Day 1 – Zurich - arrive late in afternoon and will stay in Zurich in case of flight delays

Day 2 – Ebenalp – walk around Appenzell, Aescher for lunch, hike to Seealpee, staying at Berggasthaus Ebenalp

Day 3/4/5 – Luzern - Mount Pilatus, Mount Rigi, Fortress Furigen, Walking tour of Luzern, Stoos Funicular

Day 6/7 – Lugano – William Tell Express, Walking tour of Lugano, Mt Bre, Boat to Gandria, Alpenrose chocolate factory

Day 8/9 – Pontresina – Bernina Express – walking tour Pontresina, Muottas Muragi to Alp Languard hike, St. Moritiz, Samedan

Day 10/11 – Zermatt (here 2 full days - take 5pm train to Lusanne) – Glacier Express, Matterhorn Glacier, Gorner Gorge, Rothorn – 5 lakes hike

Day 12/13 – Lusanne – walking tour/market, Olympic Museum/Park, Chateau de Chillon (really only one day here)

Day 14 – Gruyeres – cheese and chocolate factories

Day 15/16/17 – Gimmelwald/Murren – Golden Pass train, Hikes - Mannichen to Kleine Schieidegg and Schynige Platte To First, Jungfraujock (one person has already some time in this area – never been to Grindlewald)

Day 18/19 – Bern – walking tour, Einstein museum, Avenches, Murten

Day 20 – Schuffhaussen – Rhine falls, Munot castle, night watchman tour, cheese maker tour

Day 21 – early train to Zurich, walking tour of Zurich then catch flight home at 5:30

Thank you so much for any advice you can provide.

Posted by
2829 posts

I see you put many panormamic trains.

There is no longer a Willian Tell Express train. Check for Gotthard Panorama instead. I'd change that anyway for a route through the Luzern-Interlaken part of the Golden Pass Line + the Centovali railway, traveling through Domodossola.

Posted by
21150 posts

Looks fine to me just the way it is, I guess you are a candidate for the 15-day Swiss Travel Flex Pass.

Posted by
11776 posts

I think you will be exhausted with all that moving around. I would drop at least a couple of places. Based on every where we have been in Switzerland, the experiences in Lausanne, Gruyeres, and Bern do not compare to Zermatt, Pontresina, and the Jungfrau Region, Gimmelwald and Mürren. You can be very active in those three places with hiking, mountain trains, and lifts.

Posted by
30 posts

Many thanks for reviewing the itinerary and comments - I will look into the alternative train.

Posted by
74 posts

In general, that is a lot of moving around Switzerland.
I'd spend more time hiking in the mountains by Appenzell. Cable car up to Aescher is good, hiking down to Seealpsee is a nice hike, it is about 1.5 hours one way to the lake. You will back track to go up to Ebenalp for the night and not really see or experience the beauty of the area. It is a big time commitment to get there and you will be leaving the next day for another train ride.
There are mountain huts all over the area that serve great food with fantastic hiking trails between them. You will be missing them.

You could save the Appenzell hiking for another trip. It seems like too much travel time for such a short visit in this itinerary. Planning a future trip with 2-3 nights in the mountain huts makes more sense to me.

Jay