My wife and I are planning a trip for next June to Switzerland and Austria and will have 8 full days (leaving on the 9th day) of travel. The only things we know for sure we want to do are spend a couple days in a Swiss mountain town and a couple days in Salzburg. I'm looking for recommendations for the best Swiss mountain town to visit and the best way to get over to Salzburg after that, along with any other suggestions for in-between. We don't have plane tickets yet so we can fly in/out of whatever cities make the most sense. Thanks!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
For the time allotted, we would just visit Austria. The Alps there are incredibly beautiful, and it's easier and much less expensive than traveling to Switzerland--with the time you have.
Posted by
Chicago
8164 posts
Fly into Geneva. At Geneva airport buy a Swiss Travel Pass 4 days
Take the train from the airport to Murren. Stay in Murren 4 nights while taking day trips to explore other mountain towns nearby include a boat ride on Lake Brienz. From Murren take a train to Zurich airport and fly to Salzburg.
Posted by
Erin, WI, USA
19 posts
I agree, in 8 days you can only see Austria or Switzerland.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32351 posts
nk,
If you just want a small sample of the two areas and plan to return later, it would feasible to visit the two places you mentioned. However it would help if you could add a bit more time.
" along with any other suggestions for in-between."
I doubt that you'll have the time for "in-between". Focus on the two locations you listed, with perhaps a partial day trip or two.
IMO, the only way this will work is to use open-jaw flights, perhaps inbound Zürich and outbound Munich. Perhaps something like this would work.....
- D1 - flight to Europe
- D2 / N1 - arrive Zürich, take train to Lauterbrunnen via Interlaken Ost. You could substitute Mürren as it really is a nice "Swiss mountain town", but that will add slightly to your transportation times and costs.
- D3 / N2 - Lauterbrunnen Valley
- D4 / N3 - Lauterbrunnen Valley (You may not be up to full touring speed at first, as you'll need some jet lag recovery time)
- D5 / N1 - Train to Salzburg. One of the easiest trips will be a departure from Lauterbrunnen at 08:02, arriving Salzburg at 16:03, travel time 8H:01M, 3 changes). That will use one of your days.
- D6 / N2- Salzburg
- D7 / N3 - Salzburg
- D8 / N4- Salzburg
- D9 - Train to Munich and Flight home
If your main focus is the Swiss mountain town, add one day to Lauterbrunnen and subtract one day from Salzburg. Be sure to budget accordingly for Switzerland, as it's an expensive place to travel.