Switzerland two-week by train itinerary...Rick Steves

I know quite a lot about Swiss scenic trains but I have not seen Rick's talk.

Can you summarise which routes and trains he suggested that you intend to follow?

As this is only your second post I'll just mention that we are all volunteer fellow travellers and not Rick Steves staffers.

The route we are planning is: Fly to Zurich- Zurich-1 night, Appenzell-2 nights, Luzern -2 nights, Pontresina-2 nights, Zermatt-2-nights, Lausanne-1-night, Gimmelwald or Murren-3 nights, Bern-1 night then back to Zurich. We have not figured out the train transportation between the cities we plan to visit yet.

Well it sounds like a 15-day Swiss Travel Pass for each of you is in order. 1st class or 2nd class?

One fly in the ointment is that it would appear that you want to take the Glacier Express from Samedan (near Pontresina) to Zermatt. Seat reservations are required for this train and they go on sale 93 days before departure. Often, tour companies suck up most of the these reservations as soon as they become available (and maybe even sooner according to some). So you need to decide on the specific date for this journey, and be ready to go on-line early in the morning AT SWIZERLAND TIME, exactly 93 days before that date.

As an example, today, the furthest out to get seat reservations is June 23. The 7:15 am departure has 20 1st class seats and 26 2nd class seats, and this train requires a connection at Brig to a regular train. The 8:46 am departure is direct and has only 1 seat in 1st class and 15 seats in 2nd class. The 9:46 am departure is direct and has 7 seats in 1st class and 39 seats in 2nd class. The 12:15 pm departure only goes as far as Chur and then regular trains from there to Zermatt.

Everything else is pretty easy and you probably do not need any other seat reservations. Trains are at least every hour.

Rick Steves offers a lot of great info, but honestly his full itineraries are crazy to me. Unless you’re on a bus tour that takes care of all your transportation and luggage transfers, the pace of his itineraries is stressful and not the best way to really experience the country. You’ll just be constantly on the move and when you only have 1 night in a spot it really only gives you a few hours to explore. You’re better off doing less bases and doing some day trips. You’ll see a lot more if you move a bit less.

With 14 nights, I’d suggest something like this….

Fly in to Zurich > Murren 4 nights > Montreux 2 nights > Zermatt 2 nights > Pontresina 2 nights > Luzern 4 nights > Zurich Airport

Hypothetical itinerary (adjust for weather & activity preferences)

Day 1 - Zurich Flughafen > Murren - explore the village
Day 2 - Schilthorn + Birg Thrill Walk + easy walk down to Gimmelwald (or cable car if you can’t walk)
Day 3 - Wengen > Mannlichen + optional easy hike to Kleine Scheidegg > train back to Wengen for exploration > train to Lauterbrunnen and do the easy valley waterfall walk > return to Murren via Stechelberg
Day 4 - Lake Thun boat ride with castle stops at Spiez, Oberhofen & Thun
Day 5 - Train via Golden Pass Express to Montreux - explore the town, optional Lavaux vineyard terrace tour

Day 6 - Walk the lake promenade to Chateau de Chillon (do the English audio guided tour) + boat ride to Vevey & Cully
Day 7 - Montreux > Zermatt - explore the village
Day 8 - Gornergrat scenic train to see the Matterhorn
Day 9 - Zermatt > Pontresina via the Glacier Express scenic train
Day 10 - Pontresina
Day 11 - Pontresina > Luzern - explore historic old town
Day 12 - boat ride to Vitznau + cog train to Rigi
Day 13 - optional day trip to Bern OR scenic boat ride to Fluelen OR mountain excursion to Pilatus OR day trip to Lugano via the high speed tunnel to experience “Italian” Switzerland
Day 14 - another from the list above
Day 15 - Luzern to Zurich Flughafen (airport) via 1 hr direct train

For train info, you should really lean towards the Man in Seat 61. And also look at his recommended tour company Railbookers. By doing that you should also get ads for similar companies and you can either hook up with them or use their planned itineraries as "inspiration" for your own trip.

Sam gives good advice in regards to booking seats on the Glacier Express. 93 days out at 0100 Swiss local time they go on sale, and yes it appears tour companies get early access much like concert ticket brokers here in the US. I secured my seats for our journey on May 22 but it was certainly a frustrating experience. Good luck if you book on your own.

Thanks for all your helpful comments! Seems like taking a Regional Train instead of the Glacier Express would be a good option.
It would offer more flexibility in travel planning and the same scenery.

Just know that you will have to make several transfers to take the regional trains from Pontresina to Zermatt. Offhand, Samedan, Chur, Disentis/Muster, Andermatt, and Brig.
You only have one transfer at Samedan if you can get on one of the direct GEXs.

psevig,

The Itinerary you posted is (IMO) a marathon that will leave you exhausted (especially in a two week time frame) and won't allow you much time to see the amazing destinations you'll be visiting. I'd suggest reducing the number of stops so you'll be able to enjoy those that you do see. The suggestions offered by wanderweg in a previous reply is one option to consider.

I'd have to spend a bit of time to work out a more relaxed trip. One suggestion would be to skip the one night in Zürich and go directly from the airport to Lucerne and spend two or three nights there. There's a rail station right at the airport and it's a relatively short trip.

What might you suggest for an 8 to 10 day tour of Switzerland by train? Starting in Zurich and ending in Geneva? We arrive in Zurich about 8:30 am. Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

Look for my answer to your private message in your inbox.

I'll share my answer to you here in case it helps anyone in the future:

Fly in to Zurich > Luzern 2 nights >. Murren 5 nights >. Montreux 2 nights > Exit via Geneva

If you spend most of your time in one spot you’ll have a better chance of getting good weather for viewpoints. If you move every day or two, you run a high chance of hitting poor visibility up in the mountains. You can do an amazing mix of biking, hiking/walking, viewpoints, lakes, valleys, etc. all from Murren as a base without having to move so much.

Here is a hypothetical itinerary. You can adjust Days 4-7 based on the weather (use MeteoSwiss + webcams) and save your best weather days for Schilthorn, Mannlichen & Schynige Platte (you can do the biking in the valley even on a cloudy day)

Day 1 - Zurich Flughafen > Luzern - explore historic old town

Day 2 - Luzern > boat to Vitznau > cog train to Rigi (viewpoints, optional hiking, optional spa for relaxation) — or just rest and explore more of the old town

Day 3 - Luzern > scenic train ride to Murren - explore the car free village

Day 4 - Schilthorn + Birg Thrill Walk + easy walk down to Gimmelwald
- optional Northface hike counterclockwise from Allmendhubel + walk or cable car down to Gimmelwald if you’d like)
- explore the car free farming hamlet, purchase cheese from local farmer self service fridges, get the home brewed Schwarz Monch beer down in Gimmelwald at the Pension with a view, if you like - can also have fixed menu dinner here

Day 5 - Wengen > Mannlichen + easy hike to Kleine Scheidegg (best apfelkuchen at the outdoor tables at the train station) > train back to Wengen for car free village exploration & optional dinner

Day 6 - Rent e-bikes to bike the Lauterbrunnen Valley (go past Stechelberg to the back of the valley and if you have the physical ability, bike up to Trachsellauenen - outdoor patio for drinks/snacks at Berggasthaus Trachsellauenen)

Day 7 - Schynige Platte open air cog train to lunch viewpoint, alphorns and optional hiking (Panorama Daube Oberberghorn Loucherhorn)

Day 8 - Train via Golden Pass Express to Montreux - explore the town, optional Lavaux vineyard terrace tour

Day 9 - Walk the lake promenade to Chateau de Chillon (do the English audio guided tour) + boat ride from the castle to Vevey & Cully before returning to Montreux

Day 10 - Montreux > Geneva > exit to next destination

For lodging in Murren, I'd recommend booking ASAP, as August is high season. Depending on your budget, I recommend Murren Palace, Hotel Alpenblick, Hotel Eiger, Eiger Guesthouse, Hotel Alpina or an apartment chalet if you can still find any available.

We took Rick Steves Switzerland tour last summer that used an itinerary that is similar to his train tour recommendation (https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/switzerland/itinerary .) It was an absolutely fabulous trip.

If we hadn’t taken his tour and traveled independently, we likely would have used his itinerary. While I have tremendous respect for posters recommending slower pacing, we personally still prefer Rick’s pace. As we age, it is easy to project a time when it will be too much for us.

It is fairly common on these forums to hear great and well traveled posters saying to slow down. They make great points. I do find it funny to see folks criticizing Rick Steve recommendations so strongly. I recall another super poster actually requesting to find an anti-rick steves style guide for a destination. (And I too took a potshot at Rick Steves episode on French canals so it fair to say “look who is calling the kettle black.”)

Despite the fun of challenging the take of an all-time expert, I would still maintain most folks would be well served listening to Rick’s itineraries and adjusting them to their preferences.

Happy travels

I really appreciate Rick Steves info as a general overview for a country to learn about options and we’ve used and loved his self guided walking tours and recommendations in bigger cities like Paris, Rome, etc. However, when it comes to a place like Switzerland where it’s less about museums and specific sights and more about soaking in the nature and views, I just think the rushing feels unnecessary. Packing up to move from one mountain to the next when you could just enjoy the one you’re already at and have time to actually experience beyond just the 1 highlight thing in an area is ideal for a country like Switzerland. When it comes to countries like Italy, for example, where you’re city hopping,
I can totally see the draw of a bunch of 1-2 night stays.

I’ve done both types of trips and in Switzerland I regularly talk to “Rick Stevers” who are pretty exhausted, wished they had slowed down and are bummed they didn’t get more time in places like Mürren instead of rushing to a city like Lausanne.

Definitely everyone should decide for themselves though :)