I am taking the 11 Day Tour of Sicily in October. Before the trip I am traveling to Dublin to visit friends and a client. When I was looking at flights from Dublin to Palermo I noticed Swiss Air was an option. I am considering a layover in Zurich (or somewhere else in Switzerland). I would arrive on a Tuesday afternoon and the tour in Sicily begins Friday afternoon. I am considering a day trip (tour) from Zurich to Bernese Oberland with a stop in Interlaken then to Jungfraujoch. Saw some other posts about taking the train from the airport and stay in Lucerne. Would welcome any ideas or suggestions. Traveling solo.
Posted by
Chicago
8164 posts
With just 2 and 1/2 days just stay in Luzern and explore the lake and mountains around there and not the Berner Oberland area this trip. Or just do the Berner Oberland as a day trip Wednesday or Thursday weather permitting and only stop in Interlaken to catch the boat tour of Lake Brienz.. I would not try Jungfrau it is too far and you want to be able to be on the first train going up before all the crowds get in your way since it is pretty expensive. You have to check the web cams the day of to see the weather conditions before buying any ticket to go up. All of the mountain excursions have a website with web cams
Posted by
Connecticut
692 posts
Lucerne is beautiful and could be relaxing. Options abound from there. If either Bernese Oberland or Jungfraujoch are essential then I would choose a day tour (or two day trip) that doesn’t stop in Interlaken but rather gets you right to the preferred location.
Edit: Rather than stay in Zurich and do a day tour I would go straight to Lucerne or straight to Bernese Oberland for the 2 and 1/2 days.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17422 posts
I suggest you fly to Sicily onThursday rather than Friday. With all the problems with air travel lately (flight cancellations, schedule changes, staff shortages, etc.) I would not want to count on flying to Sicily same day the tour starts.
That means 2 nights in Switzerland, and I concur with the above suggestions to spend your time in Luzern. It is only an hour from the Zurich airport.
Do a daytrip to the Berner Oberland if you like, but personally my choice would be the “Rigi roundtrip” by boat, cogwheel train, and cablecar.
https://www.rigi.ch/en/experience/mount-rigi-experience/queen-of-the-mountains-round-trip
Posted by
OP
Michigan
11 posts
Thank you for the feedback and ideas. I just watched a couple of RS videos and think Lucerne is a great option for me. I agree @Lola that I should probably head to Palermo on Thursday just in case.
I also am tossing around the idea of just going to Sicily from Dublin and staying in Cefula or Sferracavallo. But I would love to see the Alps if possible. So many places to see!