Switzerland Travel Planning

Switzerland is one of the most efficient , orderly countries I Europe. The trains are a marvel in dependability and ease of use. Cell service has been very good in our experience. The Swiss have high standards for their services. Many folks in hotel and food services speak very good English.
It all comes down to whether you are ready to put time into researching and planning your own trip. Switzerland is an expensive country, the chf is stronger than the USD, and add travel agent commissions over that.
Look at the costs of A RS tour as an example of a guided tour cost. Look at the itinerary. We took this RS trip and it was fantastic.
I'd suggest you get a RS guide book, review the Trip Reports here, watch some RS Swiss videos, and read the posts here under Switzerland.
Then decide how you will travel through this beautiful country. Safe travels!

One concern I have might be trying to get around but not having the cell phone service I need in some places to find
the answers I need to get from train to train correctly. Not sure how cell coverage is around Switzerland.

Cell coverage is great. With the SBB app, you will have all the schedules and platforms for your connections at your fingertips. Swiss railways are the gold standard for easy-to-use and navigate transportation.

How much of a language barrier might there be for an older couple who speak pretty much only English?

Not much. Virtually everyone in the tourist industry, hotels, train staff speak English, at least to the extent of answering common questions and solving basic problems. English is the go-to language for people from all different countries to communicate with people from other countries and languages.

i have never used a travel agent and never had a problem that couldn't be solved on the spot. If you do want a TA, be careful you use one that is very experienced in Switzerland. Too many I see these days are only interested in selling cruises which have decent commissions.

How experienced are you with booking hotels in the US on-line? It would be difficult to find a travel agent with experience and detailed knowledge of the intricacies of small Swiss towns, trains, hotels etc., let alone one that can provide real-time help with minor communication issues from half a world away in a different time zone. And services like that are no longer free.

Perhaps you should consider an organized tour. On the surface that might seem more expensive, but will relieve you from dealing with the logistics issues.

I know it's daunting planning a multi-city travel in a foreign country - but with more practice, more comfortable you get.

When we first started traveling to Europe - I had no idea how to prepare. I looked up places to visit via internet.. and actually printed out on my journey.. still had great time, but missed many interesting places...
As I gained more experience, the itinerary planning got easier and more efficient - I had more resources and planning became second nature..

One thing I know is, using a tour company is a BIG NO for us.. you are constantly with a group of people you don't know, the tour operates on their schedule and not yours.. and you'll never get away from the crowds..

When planning always use this principle - set your itinerary and then purchase flight first, hotels second and trains third.. and then any advance purchase tickets for sites... and then use google map to input all the interesting places you want to visit..
I use tripit which organizes our flights/hotels/trains in a neat one app..
As far as cell service - always use airalo.. cheap esim data plan..

Thanks all for sharing info in your reples! I may not have described correctly the kind of planning the company would be doing for us. We are looking at a self-guided trip through Switzerland with just the two of us. The TA would make suggestions of things to do in different areas on our own, but mainly would be booking our hotels, and creating an itinerary of how to get from place to place on our own. I see where the term "Tour Company" leads to what you thought though, and most of the companies we have looked at do also book those group tours you mentioned as well as the self-guided trips we are seeking. We had a similar company in Iceland book our car, hotels, driving directions between hotels, and recommendations (that my or may not do on our own) of things to see, things to do, and places to eat in each area we visited. It went really well in Iceland. Just not sure the same approach is right for Switzerland. Thanks for your reply and info!

Your itinerary looks pretty simple to me. Looks like you are coming off a Rhein cruise in Basel. I'll give you an off-the-top-of-my-head itinerary.
Train from Basel to Zermatt with a train change in Visp. Stay 3 nights.
Glacier Express train to St Moritz. Stay 2 nights.
Train to Wengen with train changes in Chur, Zurich, Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen. Stay 4 nights.
Train to Luzern with train changes in Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken Ost. Stay 3 nights.
Train to Zurich Airport with a train change at Zurich HB. Catch your flight home.

This could be tweaked adding or subtracting days. One suggestion is that instead of St Moritz, choose nearby Pontresina, which is generally agreed to be a much more attractive town.

Next is book your hotels. We can offer suggestions here. Do you want high end or mid-grade hotels.

Finally, transport tickets. A 15-day Swiss Travel Pass would be the simplest. That would cover all your intercity travel and give you discounts, 50% for the most part on mountain lifts. Do you want 1st class or 2nd class? 2nd class is perfectly comfortable.

PS, I should add that the Glacier Express requires seat reservations that are rather pricey, but they are not covered by any pass, purchased separately. All other trains you board when ever you want and show your pass when the conductor comes by.