Switzerland September 2017--input needed

Provided budget is not an issue, I would spend the entire 12-14 days in Switzerland. It is stunningly beautiful, but expensive. My first suggestion is to spend at minimum four nights in the Berner Oberland. (Five would be even better.) We have stayed twice in Murren and love it there. You cannot count on perfect weather, so you want at least three full days in case the weather is less than ideal. If it's perfect (which happened to us the second time), you'll have plenty to do and you will love every second. I would also suggest saving it for last because everything else will pale in comparison.

For a city experience, I would suggest Lucerne, which is worth two or three nights.

I would also suggest staying in Vevey on Lake Geneva (halfway between Lausanne and Montreux) for three or four nights. That may be all the time you have, depending on whether or not the 12-14 days include your travel days. There are many other places in Switzerland, but I would suggest not trying to cram in too much. It's better IMHO to spend a little time at each spot.

Hi Jess:

Engleberg is also nice as you can take the gondola to the top of Mt. Titlis. If clear, the views are just stunning. I have been to Murrin twice and found Mt. Titlis to be just as stunning. There is also hiking and other outdoor sports.

Lake Lugano and the town of Lugano is also very nice. It will give you the Italian flavor of Switzerland and Lake Como with Varenna is an hour train ride away.

Jess,

With 12 days, you should be able to visit both Switzerland as well as Vienna and Salzburg. Of course using open-jaw flights will be essential.

You could (for example) consider something like this.....

• Fly inbound to Zürich and then travel straight away to the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen, Mürren?) - 3 nights?
• Train to Lucerne to get some "city time" and see some of the sights there including a day trip to one of the mountains (Pilatus, Rigi, Titlis). With the trip to Pilatus, you can combine that with a boat trip - 3 nights?
• Train to Salzburg - it will be a longer travel day, and I'd probably use the 08:30 departure from Interlaken Ost, arriving Salzburg at 16:03 (time 7H:33M, 2 changes, reservations required for some segments) - that will get you to Salzburg in time to do a brief walkabout and then have a nice dinner. - 3 nights?
• Train to Vienna - you can use either Austrian rail or Westbahn - the trip is about 2.5 hours - Getting from Vienna to the airport for your return flight is very easy - If your flight is very early in the morning, a pre-arranged Taxi is probably the easiest solution. - 3 nights?

One benefit of splitting your time between Switzerland and Austria is that it will probably save you some money. Switzerland is very expensive so be sure to budget accordingly!

Good luck with your planning!

I think Ken has it just right with one exception. I would spend two nights in Salzburg. The arrival as Ken suggests, then one day seeing the sights and sites, then the next off to Vienna. There is a lot to see and do in Vienna, a very beautiful, major European city.

If you find you have extra time you could sneak down the Danube to Budapest.

Day 1 - Arrive Zurich. To Bern - 1 night
Day 2 - To Lausanne - 3 nights
Day 3 - Day trip to Geneva
Day 4 - Day trip to Montreux
Day 5 - To Zermatt - 2 nights
Day 6 - Matterhorn excursion
Day 7 - To Lauterbrunnen - 3 nights
Day 8 - Day trip to Murren
Day 9 - Day trip to Wengen/Jungfrau
Day 10 - To Luzern - 2 nights
Day 11 - Luzern sights or mountain excursion
Day 12 - To Zurich - 1 night
Day 13 - Depart Zurich