Zurich/Lucerne/Lauterbrunnen

Mary…….we did your trip from the opposite direction…..we LOVE Lauterbrunnen because it is right there at the trains and is in the valley of these gorgeous mountains……i would say to go straight to Lauterbrunnen, stay there and explore the mountains and go on to Bellagio and Varenna from there. Lucerne is great…..we stayed on Hotel Balances right on the old bridge and river…..loved the night views from our balcony……but NOTHING can take the place of those mountains to explore outside your windows in Lauterbrunnen……there are so many hikes and day trips you can do out of Lauterbrunnen that I would get there asap from Zurich……we stayed in Varenna and took the ferry each day to Bellagio and gardens around Como……..if you need more hotel info, etc let me know………wonderful trip!

What time of year will you be traveling?

Thank you, Jane! That does sound wonderful!

Follow up:
--My husband experienced altitude sickness when we stayed in a resort near Breckenridge, CO. We did not stay the entire week we had booked since he just did not feel good the entire time. Not sure if that would be an issue in the Lauterbrunnen area...
--Did you purchase any of the Swiss train passes for your stay?
--Was the train ride between Lauterbrunnen and Bellagio (reversed in your case) scenic? We have planned to either do the actual Gothard Panoramic Express or a similar route with ferry trip on Lake Lucerne part of the way.
--Did you do any lake excursions in Switzerland during your stay in Lauterbrunnen?

We arrive in Zurich early on September 14.

I am not a fan of the “base” idea with daytrips everywhere. You end up spending more of your valuable time going back and forth on trains, and you miss the experience of quiet evenings, sunsets, and early mornings in the daytrip destinations. And it is not that hard to change hotels. (At least we do not mind doing that).

So . . . I suggest that you can make better use of your time in Switzerland by heading straight to Lauterbrunnen for two nights, then moving to Luzern for two nights. Since you arrive in Zurich early in the morning, this plan will give you almost two full days in Lauterbrunnen (although one will be your “jet lag” day), and a day and a half in Luzern. Use that full day to visit either Rigi or Pilatus; there is no need to do both.

There are direct trains from the Zurich airport station to Interlaken Öst ( no change at the main Zurich Hauptbahnhof), departing once or twice per hour at :08 and :45. Board one of these and you will only have one train change at Interlaken Öst to reach Lauterbrunnen.

Mary, I just saw your post about your husband’s altitude issues at Breckinridge. The altitude of the town is 9600 feet, which is definitely high enough to trigger problems in some people.

By comparison, Lauterbrunnen’s elevation is 2631 feet; Wengen 4180, Mürren 5450. None of those are likely to cause problems, especially if you sleep in Lauterbrunnen. You would want to skip the Schilthorn summit (9744), and the (pricy and over-rated) Jungfraubut you could consider a short visit to the Männlichen ridge above Wengen at 7687 feet. Or head up to Mürren and enjoy the views from there, and walk down to Gimmelwald.

Or just stay in Lauterbrunnen and enjoy looking up at the mountains and waterfalls. The valley itself reminds me of Yosemite, with its cliffs and waterfalls.

I've only been to Luzern in that area so I can only speak of our experiences there. We are the opposite - we don't like to change locations every couple of nights - too much unpacking (I don't unpack much but the other half does), packing, limited time to learn about the new area, etc.

We spent 3 nights and 3.5 full days in Luzern. We bought the 3 day Tell Pass and used it to ride the boat on the lake, trains, cable cars, etc. to Rigi, Pilatus and Titlus. It may seem repetitive to go up 3 mountains but each had their own "flavor". I'm very glad we did all three. We only walked around - no hiking or anything strenuous - no problem with the altitude but it may impact others.

A brief visit to Schilthorn, just below 3,000 metres above sea level, is very unlikely to cause issues similar to the ones caused by a stay in Breckenridge. Jungfraujoch, at 3,400 metres, could be a bit more troublesome for some people.

During both visits that I made to the Schilthorn I encountered altitude issues. I wisely chose to not go up during my third visit to Murren. I would definitely avoid it if you’ve had problems.

I definitely had issues at Breck, and I don't usually have issues. But it is way, way up.

FWIW my wife had problems after a while at the Schilthorn so we had to descend. I didn't notice but it's possible they have oxygen handy for such situations, I was watching a travel vlog about a luxury train in South America and they had a whole medical facility onboard for this issue.

I also have problems with high altitude. We stayed in Interlaken which has an altitude of 1864 ft. It was easy to take the train from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen and Wengen during the day. Then at night we could sleep at a lower altitude and enjoy the restaurants in Interlaken. The Berner Oberland is gorgeous! You could do 1 or 2 nights in Lucerne after your arrival in Zurich and then take the Golden Pass Panoramic train to Interlaken and stay 2 or 3 nights there before you go to Bellagio.

A better plan, IMO, is to go immediately to Lauterbrunnen after you arrive at Zurich airport. You can take the "fast" way via Bern and be there in 2 3/4 hours. Then move on to Luzern by direct scenic train. It will be easier to get to Bellagio from Luzern, than from Lauterbrunnen.

I definitely would split your time between the 2 locales. We went the other direction, coming from Italy. ZUR to Lucerne is just over an hour by train We just returned and although we live at sea level, are in our 80s and have heart issues, we had no trouble whatsoever with altitude sickness, even on Schilthorn. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen only for 1 night (the Bellevue in Mürren had availability only for 4 nights so we moved to Lauterbrunnen for 1 night). I can recommend Rosa’s B & B; it’s comfortable, reasonable and has a good breakfast. We took the bus to Trammelbach Falls, which is an amazing experience. We hiked up to see the waterfall inside the mountain; glacial water that’s cut through the mountain for millions of years. That alone is worth staying in Lauterbrunnen. This is a bit rambling but I’m rather jet-lagged after just getting home. Have a great trip.

Hi, we are spending 2 nights in Zurich next April, 2023. Does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel neat the train station? We are also in the Bern area for 3 nights. Any ideas for things not to miss in either area?

We have a train pass so we can get around pretty easy. Thanks for the help.